Hi there,
I've done a number of parties and developed a "plan" which may be useful.
Generally the lighting is very poor. Even with a 1D3 and a 50 1.4 I'm often ending up in uncomfortable ISO zones, so I generally do the following:
Before the party
Get some setup shots. All sorts of stuff you can do with the preparations, decorations, food etc etc. Let your creativity run wild.
Start of the party
Everyone wants formal shots as they haven't chucked up on their pretty dresses yet. I find a nice neutral background and set up a shoot-through umbrella flash thing on a stand, triggered by a poverty wizard (proper pocket wizards to come soon hopefully). I may use another flash to balance the light. I'll use manual, set the shutter speed at 1/125th, the aperture to get the right depth of field, and then set the lighting power using a volunteer.
Once people come in, it's a fairly quick process get them to stand on the mark (use gaffer tape) then bang off 2-3 shots in landscape & portrait.
If it's a bit quiet you might want to use on-camera flash to get people coming in to the party. I use manual again to avoid that over-flashed look by getting the ambient light a stop or so below ideal, and fill with flash. Outside it's a bit difficult to bounce flash off the sky, so direct is the only thing you can do.
Once all the formal's are done
I sneak about subtly and get candid shots generally using a 24-105 to allow some flexibility, and bounce flash off the ceiling. Again using manual mode I'll set the exposure without the flash and then fill with the flash.
If there's enough light I'll put my 50 1.4 on and wander about getting candid shots without flash.
When they are all a bit razzed
I start having fun at this point. I'll put a 17-40 wide-angle on, get in really close, use manual to set a slowish shutter speed of about 1/10th or less, use on-camera flash on 2nd curtain sync, and do some dragged shutter shots. These look really cool and get across a lot of dynamic motion and energy.
Generally I tend to avoid making the guests look like idiots.
Act confident and people will pose for you. Smile all the time. Thank them. Look really happy like you're having a superb time. Ask them to do something ridiculous and they will. Stuff a wide angle a foot from their face and they'll love it. They'll feel like stars. The girls particularly are drawn in - bizarre but true. I've never had so much attention than when I've been shooting at a party.
Obviously you need to feel the mood of the party. Dont go bonkers if it's all old folk drinking tea.
And dont drink alchohol until you're done. Previously when I've had a couple of beers I've sort of lost track of simple things like checking aperture, exposure etc even though I'm nowhere near lashed. Believe me you need to concentrate.
Good luck!
Tobers
In comparison, Sony lenses are no more expensive that the Nikon/Canon equivalents. The 50mm f1.4 isn't a nifty fifty as such. That still lies with the Minolta 50mm f1.7 which can be had via ebay.
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one of which is a minolta 50mm f/1.7 and i was told if i wanted to borrow it!
