How to do Nightlife Event Photography

How to do Nightlife Event Photography

I consider myself a videographer first and photography is something I’ve done a lot because I use the same gear to do both. However, I’ve found that there still is strong demand for photography. People love photos. I’m a regular event photography for an expat organization called Internations.org in Taipei, Taiwan. I thought I would share how I do this so other people produce great photos for night-time events.

Gear

Canon 6d SLR – This is a great full-frame SLR camera to use especially when you pair it with a good lens. It excels at taking photos in low light and the auto-focus points allows me to take sharp photos of faces. The photos are high resolution and it features wifi and even comes with an app for the iphone. This gives you the capability to download the photos from the SLR to your phone and upload it to the Internet super quickly. I like shoot photos on auto. At an event I don’t have time to fiddle around with iso and apeture when people are waiting for me to capture the moment.

Canon 6d SLR is a good full-frame camera for photos

CanonEF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM Lens – This lens is versatile and provides high quality photos. It allows me to get in close or go wide enough to get group photos. I like to set the lens on auto-focus. When it is dark it is difficult to focus on people’s faces through the viewfinder. The auto-focus greatly helps out here. When paired with the Canon 6d you’ve got a great set-up for taking photos.

CanonEF 50mm f/1.4 USM Lens – This lens has a low apeture (low f number), which allows me to get even more light onto the camera sensor than the 24-105. It also produces awesome bokeh or shallow depth of field. I set it in auto. With the Canon 6d you’ve got an awesome set-up for 1-2 portrait photos. It’s not wide enough for group photos.

Canon Speedlite 580EX II – If I’m shooting indoors and the ceiling is flat and not to high I like to put the speedlite flash at the ceiling and bounce the light off of it. It creates nice lighting for clubs or bars. However, I prefer using the lite-panel. The speedlite gives you the look of a legit photographer with an intimidating set-up.

Lite-panel – I love this tool. I purchased it for video, but find I’m using this more and more for photos. This panel attaches on top of the SLR hotshoe. It allows me to adjust the level of lighting as well as the angle that is points. With just a bit of light I can capture a great group photo with minimal light.

Light-tripod – This tripod is super-light yet strong enough for me to hold my Canon 6d with the 24-105mm lens. I’ve got a carrying case for it. To be honest for photo’s I don’t really need this. It’s good if you want to be in the photo and don’t trust someone at the event to take the photo

 Here are some recent photo shoots I have done for Internations.org. Sign up if you want to hear about more photography tips