Advice for low light/raves/clubs etc

[winstonator]

Hi all

Been a while since I have been on here but as usual life gets in the way!

I acknowledge my lack of ability to take even half decent low light shots. Purchased the Nikon SB-900 on a desperate day when I was asked to take photos for an album cover at the Sage Gateshead. Needless to say that flash lasted about 6 months before I sold it as i just didn't have the time to learn how to use it.

I prefer not to use a flash, I prefer long exposures or high ISO (albeit not too high as most of my images are used at least at A3 and most at wide format).

I have camera shake, a dodgy tripod that I have to weigh down with a sock full of sand, but a decent kit for an entry level enthusiast and a good knowledge of Photoshop. Albeit an absolute amateur - I'm not foiling myself there.

Kit = Nikon D5000 (yes..I will upgrade eventually), Nikon AF-S 18-105, Nikon AF-S 10-24 super wide angle (lush!), Nikon AF-S 70-300, no filters, flashes etc.

My question to the power of knowledge is that I am booking tickets to upcoming festivals, raves, night clubs etc so that I can finally overcome my lack of ability to take low light photos. The first shoot - this weekend!

I would appreciate knowing where to start with what settings you all use for low light/night club settings, particularly:

White Balance - guessing Auto?
ISO - guessing not above 1600?
Focus mode - guessing AF-A?
AF-Area mode - guessing single point for 'person in crowd' or dynamic for large area?
Metering - guessing Matrix?
Active D-Lighting - i usually have this to off and make up for the rest in Photoshop - any comments?
Bracketing - ditto to metering - any comments?
Flash compensation - i dont use this considering i have a wide angle and telephoto - just causes black concave rings on photos
Exposure compensation - guessing probably up 1 point?

Aside that, I'm pretty confident I have the aperture and shutter speed sorted.

Any comments or input would be gratefully appreciated.

Check out my (lack of) photography skills at Blipfoto/Winstonator.

Oh - and please don't suggest upgrading or lessons - just cannot afford it and don't have the spare time to dedicate to it.

Many thanks to all.

 

[D.P.]

You will need a flash to get anywhere really, or buy a very fast prime.

Otherwise:
White balance on auto- too many color changes to do manually.
ISO on auto and let it go as high as it can, ISO6400 to have a good shot.
focus: single shot (AF-S)
AF-area: manual select the focus point.
Metering matrix, or spot metering.
Active D: off (pointless shooting in RAw and will only slow things down)
Bracketing off
Don't shift exposure compensation unless you have to,mit will just bump the ISO which you can do in post anyway. You are fighting the light so don't lush the camera harder than need be.
Flash compensation, negative compensation if you want to illuminate more background and use Asa filler, otherwise positive compensation when bouncing off ceilings and walls.

 

[Razor-BladE]

For clubs especially, you'll need a flash.
Auto exposure on the flash, manual settings on camera.
Bounce the flash off ceilings and walls if you can, but if you can't you'll have to shoot directly.
Set the aperture to the widest on the 10-24mm (for big groups you might need to stop down).
Set the ISO to the highest that you can without noise becoming an issue.
Depending on lighting conditions, set the shutter speed long enough so that enough ambient light comes through (so that the photo isn't just the subject and black around them). I've shot a lot of photos as long as 1/3 seconds before.
However the problem you have with longer shutters is that if a strong light flashes across at the time, the photo could be too far over exposed to be useful.
You'll just have to see when you get there and adjust as you go.