Fashion Shoot in a club

[Fern]

I'm so worried! I've been asked to do a 6 page fashion spread for a magazine! It will take place in a club which I assume is going to be dark so I will need lighting. The problem is that I'm going to need to hire and don't know exactly what I'll need. The other problem is that I assume (until I meet with them on Friday) that they'll want gels for funky colours... how do I use these???
A bit out of my league, but I want to really give it a good bash and any advice would be hugely appreciated..... gulp

[gpw]

Take somebody with with enough knowledge. If it's the first time you are going to have a horrible experience and your name down the drain. Subcontract somebody like Elsa to do the job and you assist.

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

Wow... how did you get the job? I assume they looked at your portfolio and feel you are competent to give the results they need, so I am pretty sure you can stick it out.

I agree that you should probably, at the very least, take a good lighting assistant with you, somebody that knows how to create what you see in your mind's eye.

As for the Gells, they are pretty easy - More light, less colour, Less light, more colour (Less really is more in this case) ... watch out for shifts and try to keep at least a normalish tone to your models.

Practice your ideas before you go out on the shoot... seriously!

[elsahoffmann]

Fern - if you dont know how to work with Studio lights you are going to have more headaches than joys. Make sure you understand exactly what the brief is before you take the job. No one has ever lost respect for someone being honest. Quite the opposite. Good luck with your shoot.

[anco85]

I'm not sure what your skill level is, but here's some pointers. I've done 1 or 2 similar shoots, but I'm no expert. Maybe it'll help though.

First things first, do not make use of the in club coloured lighting, it's just going to mess your metering out of whack.

Meter for the backdrop and underexpose by 1 or 2 stops, clubs can get look fairly cluttered in photographs. If you've got that exposure locked down, light your model with a minimum of 3 lights. Rim light, key light and fill light. I'd suggest using something like a red or blue gel on the rim light, but make sure you blast that puppy to separate your model from the scene.
You can then use some gelled strobes (red and blue work best in clubs) to bring some interest to your scene.

Make sure you use a nice long tele for creamy bokeh, again to show less of the club clutter.

If it's a female model, make sure you get some shots of her on the bar, that's always a winner

Most importantly, have fun

[Fern]

Hey guys! Thanks for all the help.
I'll let you know exactly what is expected by tomorrow..

[Fern]

It was the most stressful thing I've ever had to do... just being honest. It went well! I've done another 3 shots for them since.
Here are a few images

[Forgiss - Sean Nel]

looks great!