How to get EPIC Dance Floor Photos - Wedding Photography, Nightclub Photography, Dragging shutter.

Today im going through one of the awesome ways to get great shots on the dance floor with one cheap flash by "dragging the shutter"
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[@emilygrace1960]

Hey Chris!! ...nobody teaches this and it's soooo frustrating to me. I know my way around a camera pretty well, but some of these more technical types of tricks and effects are things I still have yet to conquer and really figure out. THANK YOU soooo much for doing this for us!! I would sure give the world for you to also do a couple of videos teaching us how to photograph sparkler exits, light trails with wedding reception dance photos, how to photograph those cigar smoke photos of the guys on wedding day, and how to get that hair spray shot when the bride is getting ready. I'd also love to learn how to do some of those trick photos that so many of you do on wedding days - the reflection, shooting through things, bokeh lights, ring shots with an extra fun flair, etc. A super fun photographer that does a lot of this stuff is Jason Martin with Concept Photography. This guy has some super cool photography tricks and effects and I still have yet to figure out how he does a lot of them.

[@PadaINbelgium]

It actually makes more sense to put the flash into Fill flash on your camera so the flash fires in the beginning of the shutter. That way you can snap the pic and wave the camera about until the shutter closes again. Doing it the other way around introduces complexity by having you have to time your pictures.

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

You are correct. Thanks

[@MaverickChristian]

Well, it depends on what you're going for. A rear sync flash will create a path of light behind the moving subject, and that can look pretty cool.

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

No that’s no true. I thought it was also but it’s incorrect

[@colinml2]

You’re both right. In this context, where the ambient light is not effecting the subject, then the camera motion only blurs the background, and, so, it’s easier to use front curtain so you don’t have to estimate the timing of where you want the subject when the flash goes off. Since the motions are random, there isn’t a behind or in front. However, if the background was, say, the lights of a car passing behind your subject, then front curtain would look weird because the headlights would appear to be behind the car, so rear curtain would look right. Additionally, if you were aiming for a third thing, which would be the subject partially illuminated by constant (ambient) light, and then frozen, this is what Maverick is describing. In that case, rear curtain makes sense because you want the motion trailing behind the subject, followed by the flash at the end to freeze the subject. If you used front curtain, you would have the motion blur overlaid on top on the frozen subject, thus ruining the frozen part. Clear as mud?

[@JoshuaMcTackett]

I did something similar to this at a wedding last night. I shoot twin R6 bodies and just used one camera for this - used a mini softbox on godox v1 pointed forward at like 1/32 , Samyang ef 14mm 2.8 at F8-F11, prefocused to 1.5m, ISO 1000 and shutter of 1/6s. Then I deliberately jerked the camera forward or tilted every shot to motion blur the fairy lights and background while the flash froze the dancers expressions 😄 I didn't worry about rear curtain sync but I think it worked just fine on regular sync to get a similar effect ☺️ It's so much fun interacting with everyone dancing with the party and singing along with the music. Honestly everyone commented how they've never seen this at a wedding before and I can't wait to edit and deliver the images now.

[@luiscalow2094]

Great vid, Chris. Exactly the method I use but it feels like you have to stumble upon this method by chance - rarely have I seen anyone use the high aperture, manual focus approach, but it’s really the best way!

[@Kiestaff85]

Watching again 😬. DJing tonight so taking my camera along, I bought a godox flash months ago and never really used it!! Lights, camera, lasers, music & dancing! I’ll let you know how it goes 👍🏻

[@HesselFolkertsma]

Love doing this, especially in black & white.

[@amybailey5998]

Oh this is awesome, I gave up on these, but looking forward to trying it out again now!

[@KoelAnderson]

Thanks for the tips. Just starting to get into lowlight flash photography… I’m used to capturing the atmosphere and exposing for the highlights without flash… totally different world moving into flash photography

[@lightsdownbassup2381]

5:25 overview of settings, but I encourage everyone that is interested in club event photography or low light/ambient effects lighting settings watch the entire video. Very beneficial information

[@kevanhayes4777]

Wow this will help me immensely on my 1st paid shoot for a club many thanks I will practice 1st I also have a constant light on borrow for my probably drunk assistant 🤣

[@gyulaco]

One thing to add is I zoom my flash to about 70-85mm like that you get a vignetting and you can use even lower flash power.

[@gustavomsas]

Chris, thank you for the video. I have used your technique but I have questions. 1- when using your settings my highlights are a bit blownout. What should be the first solution for this? 2- How can I freeze more the action of my subjects without overexposure. 3- if I want a more intemporal look, without crazy light drags, what should I use? Thank you so much. I have been struggling a lot with this and I even put your settings on my notes to use at night

[@mshea5906]

2 years later and no one's gonna answer this mans question? LOL. 1. Turn the power of your flash down start with 1/4 and go down from there until exposure is good. 2. Play with your shutter speed. .5 of a second is really slow. I find good results at 1/15 sec. 3. Adjust your shutter speed. Hope this helps someone out there!

[@okidoke4822]

@@mshea5906 hopefully he learned how to use his camera by the time you offered those answers

[@IWTBFOY]

Most underrated channel ever !

[@thomaslavery5168]

Thanks Chris another great video

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Thanks guys

[@allend6137]

One word... Wow 🤩!!!!!!!!

[@mr_budo]

It would be great if you have showed us how to take it. theory is good but practicals are best

[@marclabro]

nice tuto. But these sttings seem intended for effects. sharp photography require 1/125sec to reduce the blur effect of people moving in low light because there is enough light from DJ to get motion that 1/2sec delay. what do you think using magmod magbounce 2 to enlarge the size of the barebul and allow the rotation of camera ?

[@nivisionbat]

Thanks Chris

[@dawgyv72]

I actually love using this technique but at a f1.4-f.28 aperture and really working hard to nail the focus in manual. The shots are so diverse in lights and the flash doesn't flatten out the entire image but instead allows a ton of bokeh and interesting streaks. It doesn't work will for group photos but definitely great to isolate action.

[@eduardocortes-dv4lo]

Love. You mate , Thanks from Norway

[@danielmcneil8165]

I love your channel so much! You’re my favourite photography KZbinr. Please keep doing your thing, it’s a blessing to this community 😊 Do you have any of your presets for sale at the moment too? I’d be interested in purchasing a few if you do.

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Thanks! And yep I do kzbin.info/www/bejne/qIXIaYSgobijpKs

[@danielmcneil8165]

Chris Turner Thank you! $79 yikes haha! Will have to consider but I do love your tones 😊 Is the discount code still available? Might help!

[@nagelc27]

Can you do a flash tutorial for sony. Please you explain things so mush easier then anyone else. Ty

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Anything specific about flash?

[@nagelc27]

What flash to use that works with live view and how to use or when to use TTL & manual. Thanks ur channel is amazing. The way you explain things they seem easier to understand the other channels.

[@haleyadelephotography6651]

Loving these videos!

[@Dustinrhoades]

Thank you Chris

[@seane.c7207]

How do I stay in focus when doing dragging effects to keep the person or people in focus ?

[@JeffBourke]

That is sooo cool!!!

[@wwfera00]

Does the flash have to be in High Speed Sync? (HSS) or what would you recommend? And so sweet 9k subscribers! I'll still be here when you hit the big 1 million!

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Haha thanks man. No you don’t need high speed sync, that’s for when your over 1/250th

[@jamesvdm]

Best video on the topic.

[@heartweddingsphotography2490]

Hey, Chris what a gem of a tip, I have always relied on the infrared beam for the 1st dance ( similar settings) but never considered manual focus. just tried it in the house at f9 1/8th power... boom its works so well. Just one point, do you zoom your speed light? I tried 105m using a 24m I also like to gel using a 1/2 CTO just to add a tad of warmth. Great Video :-) ( Recently moved from Nikon which we have used for over 10 years! and now completed the transition to 100% Sony

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Hey no I’ve never tried zooming the flash. I’ll give it a go

[@hubertus75]

Hi Chris. Should I turn off stabilization in the camera body during dragging shutter? For the safety of the camera sensor. Greetings from Poland

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Nah doesn’t matter as far as I’m aware

[@hubertus75]

@@ChrisTurnerPhotographer Thanks

[@Kiestaff85]

So helpful buddy thank you

[@vergesslich82]

What is your take on using a colored gel and a small diffusor softbox?

[@Michaelb1975]

Another excellent video Chris. In the face 😁

[@atomikmaster1]

Awesome info thanks 🙏📸👍

[@Adityavarmaphotography]

Did you use first curtain or second curtain shutter ?

[@discob61350]

Any suggestions on concert photography? I'll be shooting at an upcoming show and I do not want to blind the band with flashes.

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Real high iso haha. I’m not expert in that but that’s what I’d do

[@johnnygrenda8365]

Hi, I'm trying to do this with my Sony A1 but when I switch to manual focus it doesn't bring up the focus distance chart you show in the video. Any idea how I get that. Thanks

[@lauriewahlig2819]

Any other settings I need to think about when setting this up on my a9......if it’s manual focus are you on af-c or af-s? I can’t think of what else to ask but I’d like to set this up on my camera as a custom setting so I don’t have to try to remember everything in the moment. Thanks!!!

[@gm010379]

THANKYOU...

[@mattiaslinhart8624]

Love this video and your content! One question though, can you still shake the camera once the flash goes off and the camera snaps the photo? Or do you need to hold it still to make sure the people in the photo aren’t getting blurry in the image?

[@AkakyAkakyevich]

Pop the flash directly into the subject's face? Even with the power down, how do you avoid blown-out highlights and redeye doing that?

[@mathewshoyt1763]

i would put the flash pointing up and pull out the card to bounce the light forward

[@okidoke4822]

@@mathewshoyt1763 card is too hard. Get a diffuser.

[@thekback]

Love love love this!!!

[@desertbornproductions]

Wow this is a great tip for dance floor pics. I've just been doing a test in low light with my a7iii. Dancing and jumping around as if a dance floor at a wedding. Sony 35mm at 1.4, 1/250 shutter with iso 1600-3200, paired with godox VS1. Nearly all my pics were super soft in the face. Is there any way to get them sharp. What would be the best focus mode with these settings? I am definitely going to try this technique though also. But wanting to know how to get it right without the light leaks etc. Thanks for any advice!

[@Daguigoz]

I really have a hard time focusing in a semi dark reception room... I can see the focus going green on face, or chest but when shot, it focuses at infinity and the wall far behind them is focused

[@jennysbirthingstory2975]

Is your flash set at HSS with rear curtain sync?

[@isabellethomas2108]

What do you mean by manual focus??

[@dwmspace]

Hey Chris, great content! Need your urgent help ⚠️😅 I have my first nightclub gig (with social distancing) this weekend 😬 Do you think I could achieve this with a small basic flash like the HVL-F20M? 😅 Do you also think this flash would be enough for taking waist up pics of people in low light in groups of 2 to 6 people from say about 0.5-1.5m? Or can you recommend another compact flash for low light scenes? AF assist beam important? Looking to keep kit as small and affordable as possible. Lens set up will probably be the Sony 20mm 1.8 G or Samyang 24mm f2.8 😅 Appreciate any help I can get.

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Depends if you have slow ceiling to bounce off for group shots, dance floor will be fine.

[@dwmspace]

Chris Turner Photographer thanks for the quick reply! unfortunately it’s a tall black ceiling :( But ok good to know it should work for dance floor. If you have any additional little tips for me I’d be grateful, otherwise thanks already for all the great content and your answer! 😊

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Try find a wall to bounce flash off that always looks good. If you have a wall behind you bounce the flash back, the darker the room is the less flash power you'll need

[@dwmspace]

Chris Turner Photographer thanks a lot Chris. Truly appreciated!

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Good luck mate, if you get stuck just think through this logically, I find that really helped me out at the start. It's too easy to get flustered

[@stilistigt]

Hi! great video :) After you set focus in manual mode, do you just snap a photo? Or do I have to focus on a person and then snap the photo? Do you get what I mean? :D

[@stilistigt]

(I have a canon)

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Once you’ve set focus you can just leave it alone

[@stilistigt]

@@ChrisTurnerPhotographer I just tried that and if I leave it at manual focus The subject doesn’t get in focus :( the whole photo is blurry then…

[@okidoke4822]

@@stilistigt learn about back button focus, which will allow you easier continuous focus.

[@SiRizky_]

Thank U!

[@scottydmonbot01]

Do you ever use any other techniques for capturing dance floor photos? I see most wedding photographers seem to default to 2nd curtain flash as their go to. I've seen a few fstoppers tutorials on using like 3 flashes and lighting the room up completely but that's about all I've seen as far as dance floor stuff goes. So yea I'd like to know if there are any other little tricks out there like multiflash ect.?

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

I used to use multi flash, 2x godox ad600, but I couldn’t be bothered carrying them around anymore haha, so I switched to 2x speedlights off camera. I’ve also used video lights in the past, 2 in opposing corners. Specially when we are doing video and photo at the same time. For me it’s more about the setup time, quite often I’ll just use 2 speedlights, 1 on camera bounced and one behind them remotely.

[@MaxLemesh]

Talk to me next time for some next level nightlife stuff )

[@1114mbr]

I’m confused as to how the flash will freeze the subject. Wouldn’t that imply that using a flash would help someone get sharper images in general (even when not trying to get light trails)?

[@okidoke4822]

The flash lights up the subject in that moment, so that's the freeze, because it's fast light. Meanwhile, the shutter is open longer than the flash is on, so the camera's sensor is collecting all the other lighted things. Because the subject (the person, usually) isn't lit up until the flash fires, no light is being collected by the sensor from them, hence they are frozen when the flash fires. A flash only supplies light. Sharpness is gained from proper focus, faster shutter (to reduce camera movement), less noise. More light can allow for better focus.

[@seane.c7207]

@@okidoke4822 so you take the photo wait for flash the move the camera ? so thats how you get the effects? sorry if this comes across stupid, im new to this so still learning everything about nightsclubs and taking standard photos

[@okidoke4822]

@@seane.c7207 Sorry, I've been away and only saw your comment today. Wow, I can't even remember what effect I was commenting about now. You won't be "waiting" for the flash as it's still faster than you can think about. What exactly did you want to know? I didn't bother watching the video again fyi.

[@stoneee1636]

Every time I turn on the flash, I can't catch lights of various colors，do you know which set is wrong?

[@saracenrush2010]

Are you using direct flash or bounce? Are the coloured lights behind the subject placed in your background?

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

The coloured lights are from the DJ and I’m using direct flash. Has to be direct or it won’t work

[@wahabalibukhari7994]

Is Flash necessary to make such photos?

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Yea

[@christopherweis3234]

Why is rear sync that important? Does it anyway impact the final result or is it just a matter of your specific habit? #canonuser And a little addition from my side that works pretty fine: In my experience it often works pretty good to manually narrow the angle of the flash compared to the lenses. Example: Shooting a 20mm lense I am tempting to set a 35mm angle within the flash. This way you'll get darker edges und a more specific focus.

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

It doesn’t matter. I was wrong and corrected myself in the comments

[@chrislittle5965]

Do you zoom your flash head?

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Depends on the effect you want, if you do it’ll be more like a spot light

[@wihyrr]

half a second for dance floor photos? Nothing will be in focus. I usually shoot at 1/50th of a second, but 1/2 of a second is almost impossible without a tripod

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

No it’s not impossible, the flash freezes the motion. It’s obviously possible your looking at the photos

[@wihyrr]

@@ChrisTurnerPhotographer Well yeah but I shoot at night clubs for a year now, I tried few times with shutter less than 1/10th but it's very hard to focus, because everyone's dancing.. iso is around 600-100 and f 3.2 or something like that

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

@@wihyrr you don’t have to focus. Set it to manual and leave it, stop down to f9, iso 200. It’s a learning curve

[@wihyrr]

@@ChrisTurnerPhotographer thanks man, I just came to the club and took some photos. They turned out perfect!

[@julioceliss6935]

Just go straight to the point too much bla bla bla

[@jointspecialist]

A little late, but congrats on 6k subs!

[@ChrisTurnerPhotographer]

Thanks Leo!