Nightlife/Event Critique :)

[LuckyDimples]

Hello all,

I have only been taking photos seriously for about four years or so, and finally getting my own DSLR in 2011. When I first started, it was just for fun things…like a ridiculous amount of macro shots of flowers and bugs. However, once it occurred to me that I had an eye, I pursued the medium. Within the next two years I won 7 awards in various categories of photography, most of them by shooting for my college paper. The “award winning photos” were only shot with a point and shoot and my mother’s 60D+kit lens.

My last year of college I spent a lot of time learning about and capturing (as best I could) the local EDM scene with my new 7D. I shot photos at concerts and raves and used them towards my thesis paper and project. During this time, I was also looking at the photos being taken by my favorite local photographer and tried my best to imitate and learn from his work. Later that year, I started shooting for him…and I have learned so much and yet have so much more to learn.

So, now I shoot for a nightlife photography company he co-owns. It is a lot of fun to shoot at clubs, as there are a lot of variables to watch out for (like the constantly changing lighting, and low light). I have always followed my gut with what to shoot, but sometimes I don’t think as much as I should. Any and all critique is welcomed and wanted, as I always want need to get better. Ones that have the PDXlastnight watermark were shot by me and edited by my boss. The others are shot and edited by me. These are favorites/examples of work from mostly the last 2 years or so.

For more examples: http://s25.photobucket.com/user/DragonKat/library/Event%20and%20Nightlife%20examples%20for%20critique?page=1 (or go to pdxlastnight.com and search for “Megan”) I now shoot in the clubs with a 7D, 16-35mm F/2.8L II, and a speedlight 580EX ii flash (and bounce card). Most of the time when I shoot in the clubs, I am using 1/4″, f/5.6, and 1600 iso. Some of them I obviously have a slower or faster shutter set, and I try to get ones without a flash when the lighting isn’t too dark.

/end ramble. Thank you in advance for your time! 🙂

[cameraclicker]

Once you are winning contests/awards, you have reached a point of positive feedback.  Someone likes your photography!

The top one is good in terms of skin tone and exposure, the hair is in pretty good focus as are the earphones, but it would be a much stronger photo if his eyes were showing.

When the second one is opened, the red blob at the top becomes someone’s hand and his face seems to get a little wider which helps his appearance.  Quite the expression!  If it were zoomed out just a little, we would be able to see what he was doing.

The third is a party shot.  Good for the people in the photo, not that interesting to me because I don’t know them, it’s just a bunch of faces.  But, exposure is good thanks to the flash.  I don’t know if dragging the shutter helped, there are some funky lights at the top third.   A straight flash photo lit to the back might have been better, it would have eliminated the blue dagger in that guy’s head.

I really like the one in the white glasses pointing at you!  She must be waitress or bar tender, and you are caught!  Exposure is good and she is cute.  What more can you ask for?

The snow scene is curious.  Is that from a sparkle ball?  All the little white dots are a bit distracting but exposure is pretty good and it has ambiance so, good work.

Three guys and a girl seems to have the girl not totally sharp.  A problem with dragging the shutter, but overall an interesting shot with good colour.

The final one looks like a product shot, more staged than the others.  You can read the label, the lighting is good but it looks high ISO, lots of grain.  Looks like mostly if not completely ambient lighting.  It could easily work as an ad for that drink, although a little more light on the label might be needed for that.

 

Good photos, good editing.  Keep going.  Look at your shots critically and you will continue to improve, but you are further up the curve and the farther you are along it, the slower is the progress because there is less to improve.

 

[LuckyDimples]

Thank you so much for your advice. I had a hunch that light trails and such were going to be where I should develop next (for a while it was my framing, I tried to crop with the lens to often and was promptly told to give more headroom and that they can always be cropped later), and you sealed the deal on where to focus more attention.

I didn’t want to explain the photos so I could get a straight critique (I find the stories behind photos can change opinions)…but I suppose I can a little bit now.

 

The first two photos were from when I “shot for free” at local raves/concerts. I was very much a noob, armed with a kit lens. Actually, now that I think about it, I think I used the pop up flash on them as I didn’t have an external yet. Hahah 🙂

The third photo is from NYE 2012. I put it up to show a general idea of what kind of “crowd” shots I try to get. They are a big challenge for me as I am only 5’5″.

The fourth…oh man, the bar tenders(or Dixie Dolls as they are called there) at this place are so much fun. They are all VERY nice and always have fun with themed outfits (they even do dances on the bar every hour or so…I still struggle with those photo)

The fifth one, the snow is champagne 🙂 As I was taking the photo, a birthday boy did this: http://pdxlastnight.com/wp-content/gallery/03-23-13%20couture/032313couture-081.jpg So, the DJ was a bit reactive to his gear getting sticky champagne rained on.

The sixth one I chose to be an example of the group/friend photos that I take (some people are far more photogenic than others, but everyone loves their photos…probably because they’ve been drinking)

The last one is an example of the kind of shots I try to get of the club, in a way where they would likely use them for promotional material. If a place has something unique looking (one club has bras and baseball caps covering the ceiling), or if I think something looks ‘cool’ I take a shot. (these photos also help if the club is a bit dead that night)

I will be keeping a sharper eye on my slower shutter (used to get some of the ambient lighting…which varies greatly). I know I have been told to be careful about the lights, and I will do so even more. Heck, I’ve heard people call my boss a lighting genius before, so I definitely have a great person to learn from.

Again, thank you for your reply. It is so nice to get another opinion. I was kinda nervous posting after reading some of your other critiques, hahah 😀

[Author]

Posts