First Photo Assignment

DigiEyE

I recently received my first job as a photographer for a promotion company in NYC. I have never done anything professional before this, only for hobby.
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My job entails going out to events and clubs, photographing patrons, the events, and the surroundings. The main focus however will really be portrait shots. All of this is done at night usually in dimly light surroundings (think clubs etc). I have to say even though I'm doing what I really enjoy, I am still very nervous about my first assignment. For some reason I have this fear I will mess up horribly. The other problem is the lighting. I have never really used a separate flash before, I have 2 of them that where given to me (Sakar 29 MD, and a Nikon Speedlight SB-50DX). The problem is they came with no instructions and I have no clue where to start with them?
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Do you guys have any stories, lessons, information that I could learn from? Is it normal to be so nervous like this?
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Sorry to ask so many questions I just felt this was the best place to ask. :scratch<o:p></o:p>

JimM

You might get a better response to this in the Accessories forum???

Anyway, what kind of camera do you have and does it have TTL?

If it does, put it on Program and use the TTL, you will be very pleased. A diffuser for the flash would be a good idea too. You can even just use a white notebook card pointed up or a cut off water bottle.

DigiEyE

Im using a Rebel XT, I belive the camera does have TTL. If I use a diffuser or make a home made one, do you think it will be enough to light up the subjects in a dark spot?

I posted it here becuase my question was based more on the actual job with the flash being secondary, but maybe Im wrong?

ian408

I dropped this in MYOB so that like minded shooters would see it and
hopefully help you out.

Good luck with your assignment!

athos

i bought a 430 ex flash a few months ago, and my friends DJ so i've gone a few times to shoot them spin at clubs. from my reading i learned that each flash is a bit different. some you need to dial in some +FEC some not.

if you shoot in P mode, you will get your subjects lit up, but at the expense of all the ambient light and the club environment - really losing most of the mood of the shot. i suppose in this setting you could use negative FEC and maybe alleviate some of that. P mode meters the flash as the primary source of light, whereas in Av, Tv & M modes it meters the background, and uses the flash as fill. so some +FEC is good there. having a flash that you can dial in FEC on directly is a big plus (like the 430ex or 580ex).

most of the best club shots i saw in threads like this:

http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1019&message=15010969

are more artistic, which is the other end of the spectrum. this is more tricky, involving 2nd curtain flash and Tv or Av mode.

a lot of the club photography i have seen posted on club websites though seems to be the P mode stuff. most of them just isolated subjects with some shots showing the club atmosphere. i go for the artistic stuff, but i am trying to learn to create more of the moody club shots. if you are shooting all night at a club for a hundred bucks, this may not be feasible.

i guess find out what they want, look around at club shots and see what you want to do, and maybe mix it up.

even when i do use a longer shutter time, and 2nd curtain flash, when i dial in everything right i can get in cool light effects, see the whole club, and still get the subjects in the front pronounced and sharp. but it is a learning process and a bit tricky - im still tryin to nail it - ive gone twice to clubs so far to shoot for fun. the third time was outdoors so it was a whole different animal.

scooterjonz

Everything you need to know about your strobes:
You'll get great information here:

http://strobist.blogspot.com/