being doing this for over 10 years, and when hear photos fall apart over 4000 ISO is like. God help me to get over 300 iso lol maybe it's time to change my good ol camera lmao
I get usable shots up to 12800 with my d750 and stabilised f/2.8 zooms with some editing trickery. I don't use much noise reduction or lens correction. Just fade the blacks and go easy when raising shadows. Images are always soft anyway shooting at low shutter speeds and wide aperture so a bit of digital grain adds some texture I find. Sometimes as low as 1/25 in burst mode even with telephoto so imagine how dark these club nights are to hit 12800 at f/2.8! I've resisted getting a speedlight and just shoot with available light in small clubs, but just ordered a V1 Pro. Just a bit of white light fill to give more leeway in editing is what I'm hoping for. Otherwise prefer not to desaturate the ambient light.
Switching to the S5ii I can now comfortably shoot at 12800-25600 ISO and get amazing images in super low light, but I still also use the flash as the clubs I work at love that look, I find a mixture of both to be a great choice.
When I shot with a DSLR the IR assist beam in the flash meant that I got focus in a dark nightclub almost instantaneously- it was very impressive and why I continued to shoot clubs with my 5d long into owning the R6. Mirrorless is a bit slower but on the R6 and XH2s I find they focus good enough at night that it’s not really a problem, set it to single point, half press to acquire focus and recompose if necessary. Just need to be a little patient and also try and track what’s going on, for example if you can tell there’s going to be a drop or something and you expect the crowd to go rowdy, focus on the crowd in anticipation so when the crowd goes wild you can just fire off as many shots as you can and know it’ll more or less be in focus.
great tips, i started to moving out from weddings and the earplugs now on cart! :D how much time/photos avg u take in one club? i mean can u do 1~2 hours and move to another club or it depends on the size of the event venue or contract
I only shoot one club per weekend because the peak time when you’ve got the most patrons in the venue is between 12-2 and it’s not really viable for me to go between different clubs as they all want me at that time - I used to shoot another venue from 4-7am which was good as it allowed me to do two in one night but that has since closed and I am much happier finishing my night at a more reasonable time! I shoot for 2 hours and deliver an album of 100-150+ photos and charge $150 per hour.
Ofcourse! I can't imagine not using a flash in a nightclub, its far too dark! Unless you are purposefully going for something moody. Either way, you aren't taking photos that quickly that it would become annoying, and theres plenty of flashing lights in a club anyway, i've never had a complaint about excessive flash use in nearly 8 years of club work.
@@rudermanphoto how do you reach out to the clubs? do you just go there and ask them if they're interested? do you email them? or is it through networking?
@@LivingLife972 I have worked at Glamorama since 2018 - I was referred by a friend and just did a trial shoot there and they loved me and I’ve worked there ever since, any other club work I’ve done since then has been through networking while going out to clubs and meeting new people, usually most nightclubs will have a resident photographer so while you can always reach out with your folio the best course of action would be to frequent the club itself and try become friends with their marketing manager or booker and go through that way.
Is it common to do drone photo/videography at certain venues? I’m an aspiring club photographer/videographer and was wondering if it would be reasonable to fly my DJI Mini Pro 3 around in venues with adequate airspace (maybe a couple meters or more?) for some sick B roll. Plus orbital panning clips, and some wide angle, aerial photos of the audience and performer(s) that would require a tall ladder and/or awkward positioning to be taken with my primary. Just want to take my portfolio to the next level and make a name for myself, ya know? ☺️
I don’t think that would be viable as most venues aren’t that big and the risk of crashing into patrons would be far too big to risk it, perhaps outdoor festivals might be ok with it but even then - very unlikely you’d get the ok.
I think to achieve the kind of image you're trying to get, most people use 360° cameras. I've been there 😅 i also thought they use drones at the beginning! Cheers
nope it is not cool, it is first safety hazard, and if a club want to do something like that, it would be a one time deal to make a promotional video, But even then I don't think they will let you shoot when general population is there.. Maybe with actors..
No 1 tip to take better nightclub photography is a find a cool club with great atmosphere and cool and stylish clientele...When your subject is cool, it will be easier to take cooler photos.
Yes, shooting at F8 means you can take photos quickly and get shots more or less in focus quicker, if you want to shoot at 5.6 and below by all means, but if you want to ensure you capture the moment I think F8 is a great sweetspot.
Dude wtf. Never ask what style they are after. You have your own style and you shouldn't change it for anyone, otherwise then wtf they asking you!? You are commissioned for your particular style.
That advice is directed towards newcomers to club photography who might not be established yet and want to get repeated gigs - if you are unknown and you go into a club and shoot it the way you want and not the way the club wants they just won’t book you again lol It’s always good to double check and make sure you are on the same page so that there are no nasty surprises - they pay you, they get to decide what you shoot.
