a good lens for clubbing photography for D40?

[photo_dark]

I find the 300 f2.8 to be of sufficient weight and size to club the crap out of almost anyone.

 

oh you meant photographing clubs ;)

 

But seriously, the sigma 30 1.4 would probably be about the best option in my opinion.

[eric_arnold]

dan--i like shot #3. nice.

 

david -- i find a monopod works better than a telephoto lens in terms of clubbing people upside the head.

 

thomas-- here's an example of using backlit stage lighting to frame the main image (shot incidentally with sigma 30, no flash -- this venue doesnt allow flash so i had no choice). you have to 'line it up' correctly to time it when the artist steps directly in front of the lights while moving around onstage. in a club this can be easier since you can position your subjects where you need them to be (just ask them), or just angle yourself in the best possible position to take advantage of available light, which is as important a compositional element as the people you're shooting.<div></div>

[eric_arnold]

now here's a more typical DJ shot w/flash, which didnt need rear-curtain<div></div>

[eric_arnold]

...and a rear-curtain shot which emphasizes movement by using intentional blur.

in general, compositional elements are what make shots good, and it's nice to have an array of tricks up one's sleeve to vary things a bit. sometimes nightlife websites want a certain 'look,' but i get bored if every shot looks exactly the same.<div></div>

[eric_arnold]

one last pic--this one was shot during a carnaval after-party inside a club. ambient light and low shutter speed allowed me to capture all the movement with no flash.

 

ps thomas -- save your tips and get at least an sb-600 so you can use Nikon CLS. down the line, a fast, low-light lens like the sigma 30 should be on your want list.<div></div>

[eric_arnold]

pps meant to say i like shot #4, dan. i'll have whatever she's having!

[dan_vidal1]

Thanks!

 

In my experience, the nightlife sites that are looking for a certain "look", it's not worth bringing out expensive gear for, per se. If they just want 75 grin-n-grip girl portraits, you can accomplish that with a bog-standard kit zoom and a flash on a bracket. Don't kill yourself for what is probably crap money too. I've had a lot of experience with those sites, and it's not pretty dealing with their methods. I'll leave that for another thread though!

 

Now, if you have the freedom, I'd definitely go with mine and some of the other recommendations on here for gear.

 

To distill it down:

 

- wider the better. 16 to whatever you can get.

 

- fast. 2.8 or better.

 

- flash? Get it off the camera. You Nikonians have it easy in that respect.

 

From there, the sky's the limit.

 

Have fun!

[Brad Cloven]

If you're going to club someone with a lens, I recommend at least a 500mm for total throw-weight.

 

< / humor break>

[andrew_gale]

Brad, i agree and think that the D40 is inadequate due to its cheap plastic and weightless qualities. Get a D3 for heft, or for more power, switch to the F4e.

[shotbyjamie]

Tom, shooting nightlife is way more about technique than gear. You don't need a top of the line lens. Learn to use what you have. You will need a good flash. Nightlife exposure is all about balancing flash with ambient. Look at my gallery and my website www.shotbyjamie.com. A buddy of mine at first refused to use flash until he saw my shots. You need to be able to bounce and swivel your flash. Learn how to cut the output with compensation, bouncing, or diffusing. I'm not a huge fan of the current trend of blasting people with light. You don't need a $1000 lens. Shooting at 2.8 all the time isn't as great as you might think. With that shallow of depth of field, you focus has to be spot on and chances are it won't be. Most of the time mine is at 4-5.6. Put you camera in manual, pick an aperture, and adjust your shutter speed to balance how much ambient light you want. Remember you're gonna be shooting at REAL slow speeds so you need to work on your holding technique. Try shooting a 2 second exposure handheld and you get an idea of what I'm talking about. Feel free to contct me outside of PN.

 

Good luck, and have fun above all else.

[thomasbooth]

" Get a D3"

 

because a barman on £5.70 an hour can afford £3,000 lol

[Spearhead]

It's probably the worst piece of advice on this thread. And there are few other doozies, so it's pretty bad.

[kckong]

I would go with a wide angle zoom like a 12-24 or 10-20 or 11-16 or just a 17-50 kit lens + rear-curtained on-camera

flash. I think one of these lenses should fit your d40

<p>

In a club setting, I'll expect there to be lots of flashing/swinging lights & that's where the beauty is. Set your aperture

small to get a sufficiently long shutter speed to capture the ambient & some motion blur in the bg. At the end of the

exposure the flash will illuminate your subject nicely ... oh I set my flash to manual power & use the GN formula to

estimate the power needed. You could just chimp :)

<p>

In the beginning, I was "advised" to get the fastest lens I could afford. Looking back, I think I was ill-advised. I burnt

a hole in my pocket & still got blur/noisy pictures with no "club" feel.

<p>

Oh the other thing is a short focal length / wide angle lens will come in very useful to give your images a wacky in-

your-face kinda look, which I think is most appropriate for clubbing imagery. Not to mention the usually cramped

quarters of a clubbing environment

<p>

HTH<br>

kc

<p>

<img src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2259/2349597498_a758e2dc0d.jpg">

[dan_vidal1]

You can get along well with a bargain lens. But be prepared to replace it. A lot. I went through 3 or 4 bargain kit lenses before I saw the light, spent the extra money, and got an L. With L, you're not just paying for the quality, but the robustness.

 

Depending on how you shoot, you stand a good chance of screwing something up.

 

So yeah, a $1,000 lens might be necessary. You just don't get the build quality at a lower price point.

 

As far as flash usage? Depends on what you're looking to do. I personally avoid it unless it's for a grin-n-grip shot, since most clubs are disgusting with the 'harsh light of reality' turned on. Yeah, even your $10,000/table joints on South Beach look and smell like you-know-what with the house lights turned on.

 

But again, it's always your choice.

[eclecticbuzzard]

Spend some money and get the Nikkor 17-55mm f2.8 ED lens, and an SB-800 flash, and a monopod, and shoot some

slow-sync/rear-shutter shots. You’ll love the results:<p>

 

<center><img src=" http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2002-6/26820/RecordParty1.jpg" width=525 height=351></center>

[eclecticbuzzard]

Let me see if I can make that shot look a little better. It really makes a difference which image host you use:<p>

 

<center><img src=" http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3195/2824890697_1be14719be_o.jpg" width=700 height=467></center>

[aaron l]

You're going to have to purchase an expensive zoom or upgrade your body. Your D40 won't focus with primes. Try the 35mm f1.4. If you want to fire up the harsh speedlight, then you can use anything, but unless you take the flash off the camera, use rear synch, you'll have a tougher time getting shots you want.

[edwin_mendoza]

Sigma 30mm f/1.4

[dan_vidal1]

John:

 

You manage to carry a monopod with you in a nightclub environment?

 

(golf clap)

 

My "stabilizer" is leaning against something and hoping for the best.

 

Oh, and Nikonians, does your wireless flash system permit rear-sync?