Party Photos In Low Light

courtneylippiatt

Hi Guys,
I am new to photography and have been asked to photograph a 21st birthday party at a nightclub. I have only just started using my Nikon D3100 on manual mode and I'm still figuring out a lot of the settings. I have the 18-55mm lens and the 55-200mm lens.
Does anyone have any tips for photographing in such low light conditions?
What settings should I use?
Any other tips would also be helpful.
Thanks,
Courtney

Riddelske

Courtney,

A few pointers that may help you or not.

1. Low light situations are a pain. I would suggest you inherit a 50mm prime lens or a nice f/2.8 fast zoom lens at some point because they are amazing in low light conditions.
2. Direct flash can always blow your shots out so avoid at all costs. If this is your first gig and you have no choice the it has to be. If you're thinking of taking your photography to the next level I would get an external flash, either SB-400 for starters or the SB-700 for a little more creativity.
3. Turn your ISO up. Start at 400 and see if that helps. Don't go to high though. If you're in auto mode it will select this automatically.
4. Dont shoot in P,A,S settings. Really and truthfully you need to be in the M (Manual) mode.
5. Use all the focusing points (set camera to AF-A focus mode dynamic) and the metering I would use matrix.
6. If you feel brave enough try the manual mode select 1/250 at f/4 and ISO 400 and add point 5 settings too.

Hope these help. I can give a more in depth explanation if need be, but I don't want to go over your head and totally confuse you.

Regards.

bez27

I have got a wedding in December and tried these settings out. They work really well. I have kept a note of them and will let you know how it goes. I just bought the sb800 flash which will be another fun manual to get my head round.

Ash

Hi Riddelske, I enjoyed the answer you gave Courtney and I'm in exact same boat he's in.
SB-700 flash, should that also be on a specific setting as well ? I would love to know.