Tips for taking amazing night/dark photos?
I have my first photo shoot where I need to take pictures in a dark setting. It is a prom, and I'm very nervous. I have a Nikon D70 and I will be renting an external flash. Are there are any good settings I should set my camera to? They will be candid shots, likely of people dancing. Any suggestions are great - thank you!
Added (1). I have permission to use a flash.
I only have an f 3.5-4.5 lens, which I know isn't great but if I get hired full time or whatever I will get a better one. More tips appreciated! Should I use the M, A, S, or P setting on the camera?
Use a tripod when possible! Or a monopod which would be more portable.
Very high ISO and a fast lens.
You may have problems with a flash… Some events don't allow them…
so ISO up past 800 and a fast lens with a wide aperture (f/2.8)
Always keep your camera on M.
a wider aperture will enable you to have a faster shutter, eliminating motion blur/camera shake.
but by opening up your aperture your depth of field will be much shallower, (not necessarily a bad thing)
also you can bump up your ISO, but that's going to make your pictures really grainy.
USE A TRIPOD
When is this prom? I hope you have some time to start practising with that flash. Learning to light is not hard, but it does take some know how. If the flash is a Nikon, you'll have TTL control, on camera at least - if its an SB600 or above, you can trigger it wirelessly off camera with your D70 flash acting as a commander and still have TTL flash metering (not altogether foolproof, but if you don't know what you're doing with lighting, it might save your bacon).
If you are planning to use the flash on camera, then you're best off bouncing it off walls/ceilings to avoid that 'rabbit in the headlights' look of on camera flash. However, the downside of this is that you can only bounce off surfaces that are near enough and are neutral in colour.
Your best bet is to rent a faster lens (f1.8 or f1.4) so that if the flash shots don't work out you've got ambient light options as well (even with a fast lens, you'll need the ISO up a fair bit). The lens you have (f3.5-4.5) is nowhere near fast enough.