Photography, How To, Tips, instruction

Shooting in a Club Environment

Recently I had the offer to take photographs in a gentlemen's club in Enid Oklahoma called Wild Child's Club. While many of my male photographer peers might think that the chance to shoot in this environment exotic dancers would be a thrill I can assure you it is a lot of work. In this environment you are dealing with:

  • Mirrors and polished floors
  • Shooting in the dark
  • Auto Exposure Considerations
  • Focus considerations

While you may never shoot in a location like this you will probably be taking pictures at a reception or in a party place. The same principals apply.

Consideration and Rules for Club or Party Pictures

Pay Attention: No matter where you are taking pictures pay attention. Look in front of your subject and behind them. Look for shiny objects that are going to reflect or otherwise detract from your subject.

Use a Stroboframe or Similar Product: A Stroboframe will allow the flash to be 8-12 inches above the lens. The end result is shadows that fall behind the subject and it reduces the chances of glass glare.

Mirrors: Mirrors are the bane of many shooting considerations. When a flash is seen in a mirror you will find that you get automatic lens flare which reduced contrast and overall sharpness. The only thing you can do is to not get the flare. In a club environment I will do several things. First of all I shoot with a STROBOFRAME which moves the flash over the lens. If I don't have one I'll shoot horizontal and plan to crop later. What I am trying to avoid is getting any reflection which will be distracting and can cause lens flare.. Another issue caused by mirrors is that the camera will see that burst of light and will stop the flash before the image is fully lit. Remember that the camera is striving for an average amount of light and that magical 18' gray. This will be discussed some later.

Shooting in the Dark This will separate the pro from the amateur real quick. Always keep in mind that the camera is trying to capture an average exposure. What this means is an approximate 18% gray. In a dark club or wedding reception environment you have a subject and then a lot of black. By default the camera will try to take the entire image to the 18% gray it wants to see. Personally, I have had very little luck with spot metering because the subjects color brightness can change quickly. Here are some quick rules of how I control this situation.

  • If my subject material is a consistent distance and color I will run the flash in Manual mode and simply adjust the flash and camera setting to create a well exposed image. As long as your subject to camera distance stays the same you will have consistent images.
  • If you are on the move it is a little tougher. My recommendation here is to set the camera or flash to underexpose by 2/3 to 1 stop.

White Balance: I am not a big fan of Auto White Balance. For shoots like this I use the setting of Electronic Flash. Yes, in this type of environment you will find some off color casts but these add to the mood as long at they are not on faces. These color casts can often add some nice mood to a setting.

Auto Focus: When your flash is mounted on top of your camera the infra-red light is perfectly aligned for the lens. When you move the flash off the lens you will need to be more creative. On most SLR digital cameras you can lock focus by holding the button down a little further when it locks focus. My approach is to find something the same distance from me to the subject, lock focus on it, and then move the viewfinder back to the subject. This takes a little practice but it allows me to work in conditions where I can not see my subject well enough to focus on them.

Terms used in this Article:
Stroboframe - The product name of a device which allows your flash to stay 8 to 12 inches above the camera regardless of the verticle or horizontal orientation of the camera.

White Balance - A setting on digital still and movie cameras that tells the camera what color of light to expect in the scene being photographed.

Submitted by Art of Art's Photography