When hiring a photographer for nightlife events, please make sure they have done it before! I remember the first time I was hired to photograph a nightclub. I was confident because I knew photography. I knew how to take photos, I knew how to adapt and I had photographed a whole range of events previously…. but all during the daytime.
Even having done night time street photography and astronomical photography in parts was surprisingly (to me at the time) different from what I experienced.
Nightlife is full of dark spots, lights constantly changing, people not that well lit and usually quite crowded. You need to know how to adapt according to how the lights change, how people move around, to capture clarity and movement at the same time. And lighting the people (as they make the party!) is important, but even more so to show the place they are in.
Seeing people enjoy themselves on a night out and been able to capture those moments is challenging but fun too! Some like to be in the party, some like to watch from afar, whilst others stay on the edge. In this work, it’s important to encourage people to have fun but not be in the middle of it… who would take the photo of it all then?
