Off Camera Flash

Q: I am a little confused about something you wrote concerning the flash. You said you hold it in your left hand when it's off camera. Please explain that a little more. Is it off camera but supported by a bracket?

A: I use a Canon Speedlite 430EX II Flash and a Canon STE2 Speedlite Transmitter when doing nightclub photography. I hold the camera with my right hand and hold the flash unit in my left hand. That is, I don't use a bracket. By the way, the flash is on slave mode.

The Canon STE2 Speedlite Transmitter is a wireless flash controller for the Canon 420EX. It goes on the camera body's hotshoe where the external flash unit would normally go. This means that I'm free to hold or put my flash anywhere as long as the transmitter and the flash are within range of each other and not obstructed by anything that would prevent them from communicating with each other. I find that this technique is more versatile than using a bracket.

Help

Q:Hi there, I am an amateur photographer in Australia doing mostly studio photo-shoots for clients, however, I have been recently asked to do event photography for a 21st birthday. It is going to be very low light. I have a speedlight, a 55mm f1.8 prime lens, and a 17-70m f2.8 zoom lens. I'm not very familiar with this type of photography and know I will need to use my external flash but am not sure how to set it up in regards to the settings. I am just wondering if you could help me or have any tips!

A: Check out the following page for insights on the camera and flash settings: Nightclub Photography Tips: Camera and Flash Settings

My suggestion would be to use the 17-70mm f/2.8 lens and bounce the flash on the ceiling or walls (try out different angles).

You should position yourself so that the light is behind the subject. Use a slow shutter speed (around 1/4 to 1/2 sec) and set your flash to 2nd or rear curtain sync. This will allow you to catch any colorful backgrounds. You should also try moving your camera around so that there's movement in the light.

Speedlight

Q:I have a few questions regarding this.

First: are the speedlights hard to set up for different occasions?

Second: what should the settings be like?

Third: is the Canon 17-40mm f/4L an alright beginning lens?

A:

  1. The speedlight is not hard to set up for different occasions. I either have it on the camera and I'm bouncing it on the ceiling or walls at various angles or I'm shooting with the speedlight off camera and I'm holding it with my left hand at different positions with the the flash pointed directly at the subject.

  2. Flash Settings: TTL

    I don't use any flash exposure compensation. You might want to try rear/2nd curtain sync if your flash/camera body is capable of doing it. The results you'd get would be different from 1st curtain sync.

  3. The Canon EF 17-40mm f/4L Lens is an awesome lens! It's one of my go to lenses for nightclub photography.

Prices

Q: I have been shooting club events for a few years now and have been working for free. I did my first gig with one company and now they keep asking me to work for them, but since then have not been paid a cent. I'm from Australia and I am wondering a) How much I should be charging? and b) How to ask them for some sort of wage now?

A: Even though it's understandable to do nightclub photography gigs for free at first to get experience, I don't suggest doing it without setting some payment terms in the future. How the payment is going to be made, how much it's going to be, and when to expect it should be clearly discussed if the company is going to have you do the nightclub photography.

When I was starting out, I did my first nightclub photography gig for free with the understanding that it's going to be a trial run and I would get paid on future gigs. They wanted to see if I would be a right fit for them and if they were going to like my photos. It was also a way for me to see if I would actually enjoy doing nightclub photography and if the photography skills I already had would be applicable to nightclub photography. I actually shadowed one of their photographers. They liked my work and I enjoyed doing nightclub photography so they asked me to start the following week.

To answer the questions:

  1. It seems like you've already built up enough experience from having done club events for a few years now. I think it's fair to say that you should be charging $50 to $75 per hour with a two hour minimum per night. That is, you should be charging at least $100 to about $150 per night.
  2. Since the company has the expectation that they would be getting nightclub photography services for free, it's somewhat hard to ask them to start paying now. Try asking them in a way that they see how it would benefit them. For example, mention that you know the venue, the people, etc. and that you're able to make the best photos for them. Be prepared to walk away if they still don't see the value you're providing for them. Because you're not getting paid now, you're not really losing anything. You've already gained experience from shooting for them and you could pursue new opportunities at other companies that are looking for nightclub photographers.
I hope it turns out well. Best of luck!

Please also see the following for additional info:

Social Dancing Photos

Q: I admire the social dancing photos taken by this Photographer Valentin Behringer.

I love his color vibrancy, sharpness, composition and light effect. Any suggestions/guidance in obtaining similar results would be greatly appreciated.

A: Since a specific photo wasn't provided, I browsed through the Facebook page and looked at the photographer's photos. I think I understand which photos are in question. I think it's similar to the question I received about how to achieve the DJ photo I had on Facebook.

Here are some tips on how to achieve similar results for the social dancing photos:

  • Position yourself so that there's light behind the subject.
  • Use 2nd or rear curtain sync for the flash. You could also try shooting with the flash off camera.
  • Drag the shutter. That is, use a long shutter speed. You may have to experiment to get the desired results.
  • Rotate the camera from portrait orientation to landscape orientation or vice versa. You could also try moving the camera in a semicircle motion from left to right or in a semicircle motion from top to bottom.
The slow shutter speed means that the camera is capturing the light behind the subject as the camera moves. The flash freezes the subject.

Please also see my other post about background light effect.

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