Starting new job soon advice needed on new equipment!

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ricky23432

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Ricky
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hi everyone starting a new job soon as a nightclub photographer have previously done some work for bars/cafe's but now its starting to get more serious. I have had a read through bass_junkie83's thread about this particular topic and there is some great info there which will benefit me.

Been looking around for a new lens and flash that would suit this sort of environment its all new to me so i am a true beginner i have a fairly old Sony A200 which i intend to use for a few months until i become more experienced and upgrade.

Been looking around and found this:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/77918/show.html

Would this be ok?

Have also been looking at this flash i have a manual one without TTL at the minute:

http://www.jessops.com/online.store/products/75165/show.html

Thanks guys any help will be much appreciated!

Ricky (y)
 
The equipment you have identified will do the job, the most important thing will be to learn to use it reliably and creatively. Your personality and the way you interact with the punters is going to be most important.
 
ricky23432 said:
ok cheers btw any ideas what sort of settings where used in these:

<snip>

cheers!
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If those are not your images, you should not embed them - change to link.

Kit zoom and a decent flash is all you need. Both shots are slow-sync flash - first one the camera is rotated during the exposure, second one the lens has been zoomed.

Edit: actually, it's hard to tell. Could have been someone waving lights around, but slow-sync flash and movement of bright lights created in some way.
 
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I've not done club stuff so can't comment on that but I do shoot live music.

I would encourage you to buy some earplugs if you are going to be doing this on a regular basis. You can get decent musicians plugs for under 20 quid that will do the job nicely and look pretty discreet/professional
 
RichardtheSane said:
You can get decent musicians plugs for under 20 quid that will do the job nicely and look pretty discreet/professional
Click to expand...

do not under any circumstances use blu tack - I rather stupidly did that while working as nightclub security (one ear only - i had my radio earpiece in my other ear) - I looked a right muppet at the doctors having it taken out :bonk:
 
ricky23432 said:
ok cheers btw any ideas what sort of settings where used in these:

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg21...ename=32065223728179936897107.jpg&res=landing

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg50...ename=31310523728855553782123.jpg&res=landing


cheers!
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Slightly longer than normal shutter speed and zoom out :)thinking: or in, depends if 1st or 2nd curtain sync) while the shutter is still open. Maybe 1/2 to 2 seconds?

The 2nd picture you can see multiple green outlines on the chap on the right so the sequence is
  • Shutter Open
  • Flash pops
  • Start to zoom out
  • Club strobes are flashing to the beat of the music
  • Shutter closes

In the first shot the camera is being rotated while the shutter is open but you see the guys white shirt has ended up covering the girl on the right, hope it wasn't her birthday! Probably a good % of these shots will turn out garbage but those that make it can be quite striking.
 
RichardtheSane said:
I've not done club stuff so can't comment on that but I do shoot live music.

I would encourage you to buy some earplugs if you are going to be doing this on a regular basis. You can get decent musicians plugs for under 20 quid that will do the job nicely and look pretty discreet/professional
Click to expand...

If you're doing it a lot look at custom earplugs, I had a set of these made when I was an international rifle shooter, they're fantastic, very comfortable and still in use today, roughly 15 years on.

http://www.ultimateear.com/products/squidgy.php
 
I used to have the Jessops flash and as a low cost flash it's fine. It takes quite a while to recycle and occasionally it just dumped its power and fired full despite what was needed. So randomly I'd get a totally overexposed photo. Maybe it was just my flash. No idea.

I've since bought a Metz 50-AF1 which was much better. Recharges quicker and doesn't do the same thing. The Metz also supports HSS and wireless flash unlike the Jessops so from that point of view I think it's better value. You can pick them up on ebay for around £130.

Lastly as for the lens, in your situation I'd be tempted to go with a kit lens for now. Cheap, cheerful and you are not going to cry if you get a beer on top of it.
 
Ricky - if this is going to be your profession I'd seriously weigh up investing in kit that is A) going to give you as much creative headroom as possible (by that I means good AF, good high ISO ability, good control system for use in the dark), and B) will take the knocks of being in a crowded space with the possibility of drinks flying round and just general high-quality build. Doing this from the start (or as near to the start as possible) might seem like a big investment but it will offset itself very quickly. I know you've said you'll upgrade at some point in the future but that would be my route...

Some of the pro-sumer bodies (60D, D7000 etc) will be good for this, although there are bargains like the Nikon D700 or even a used D3 that will be more than up to the task.

As for a flash system, if it's going to be used all the time, buy a flash that is tough, recycles quickly, has an easy-as-pie control interface and could possible accept an external power pack to avoid battery changes in the middle of the club.

BTW, those linked images look to have been shot on a fisheye or a very wide lens like a 10mm. That kind of focal length will give you more options in tight spaces :)
 
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Thanks for all the feedback much appreciated are there any decent sony bodies? Would be easier sticking with sony as it would save the time and effort selling everything such as lenses etc!
 
If you want to stick with Sony, then probably your best bet is to pick up a used A700 - it's not going to break the bank, will be a significant step up from the A200 but will feel very similar in basic operation. It's also weather sealed, so should cope with the 'environment'.
If you have a bigger budget, the A77 is a great camera, assuming you are happy with the (excellent) EVF (There's one in the Classifieds for £730)

Lens wise, if you do decide to upgrade, I'd go for a constant f/2.8 rather than the f/2.8-4 of the Sigma.

If you can find the cash, the new Sony 16-50 f/2.8 is supposed to be excellent, and again has weather sealing (one of very few Sony lenses which do) - there is one for £370 in the Classifieds

An alternative would be a Tamron 17-50 f/2.8 - fairly cheap, reasonable quality.
 
big soft moose said:
do not under any circumstances use blu tack - I rather stupidly did that while working as nightclub security (one ear only - i had my radio earpiece in my other ear) - I looked a right muppet at the doctors having it taken out :bonk:
Click to expand...

I know I shouldn't have laughed, so I'm a little bit sorry that I did :LOL:

markmullen said:
If you're doing it a lot look at custom earplugs, I had a set of these made when I was an international rifle shooter, they're fantastic, very comfortable and still in use today, roughly 15 years on.

http://www.ultimateear.com/products/squidgy.php
Click to expand...

I've already been looking at a set of these, certainly as I up the number of live shows I'm doing over the coming months!
 
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