How To Take Party Photos

v2.3

Bronques
This book is for sale at http://leanpub.com/howtotakepartyphotos

This version was published on 2017-10-22

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© 2015 LastNightsParty
Contents

SO YOU WANNA BE A PARTY PHOTOGRAPHER? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

PRE-GAME . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Do You Even Have Talent? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
SO YOU WANNA BE A PARTY
PHOTOGRAPHER?
If most of your pictures look like this:

“American Gothic”, Grant Wood. 1930

You need to read this book.

SO YOU WANNA BE A PARTY PHOTOGRAPHER? 2

Introduction
”Party photography is only a concept to you right now. It’s not yet a taste. It
becomes a taste when you do it every day for a very long time. And then it becomes
nourishment. Life is a party. You should always be taking pictures.” Osho

(missing image)

THIS BOOK IS NOT A TECHNICAL GUIDE TO PHOTOGRAPHY. THESE PAGES DON’T

CONTAIN ANY INFO ABOUT ISO, F-STOPS, SHUTTER SPEED, DEPTH OF FIELD ETC…. THAT
STUFF IS BORING. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT PARTY PHOTOGRAPHY. TAKING PARTY PHOTOS
IS A STREET ART. THIS BOOK WILL TEACH YOU ‘STREET SMARTS’. LIKE HOW TO DEAL
WITH IRRITABLE DOORMEN THAT ARE ALLERGIC TO CAMERAS. LIKE HOW TO APPROACH
A CELEBRITY WHEN THERE’S A “PHOTOGRAPHER BLACK OUT” IN A CLUB. OR HOW TO
TAKE A PHOTO OF A GIRL IN A BAR BATHROOM WHEN PEOPLE (INCLUDING HER
BOYFRIEND) ARE BANGING ON THE DOOR. YES, THE IMPORTANT STUFF. GO TELL YOUR
FRIENDS ABOUT IT.
PRE-GAME
Do You Even Have Talent?
“Your job as a party photographer is not to be nice, it’s to be dangerous. You
have to make us not want to look away. Most people take boring photos. Boring
photos are photos that have no point of view. A photo gallery of boring photos is
lackadaisical, pointless, and masturbatory. Looking at one of these photo galleries
is angering in it’s self indulgence (unless you’re in it). Taking party pictures
is not about hanging out, being nice and cozy with your friends. It’s about
creating something beautiful from scratch. Maybe even making a few enemies
in the process. Achieving anything less and you’ll just be letting yourself down.”
(Anonymous)

My First Camera
PRE-GAME 4

THE FIRST THING YOU SHOULD FIGURE OUT IS IF YOU TRULY HAVE A TALENT FOR
TAKING PICTURES. IF PEOPLE REGULARLY UNTAG THEMSELVES IN PHOTOS YOU TAKE,
THAT’S A BAD SIGN. IF PEOPLE ARE ALWAYS EMAILING YOU TO ASK FOR HIGHER REZ,
THAT’S A GOOD SIGN. IF YOUR PHOTOS AREN’T BETTER THAN SOMEONE THAT’S
HOLDING A SELFIE STICK, YOU MIGHT WANT TO LOOK FOR ANOTHER LINE OF WORK.
FIND AN ANGLE TO PHOTOGRAPHY THAT FEELS UNIQUE. ANYONE WHO SEES YOUR
PICTURES SHOULD KNOW THAT YOU TOOK THEM. IT’S NOT IMPORTANT TO KNOW ALL
THE TECHNICAL STUFF. SO MANY SCHOLARS TAKE PICTURES WITH GOOD LIGHTING.
BUT IT’S THE INNER-LIGHT THAT A PARTY PHOTOGRAPHER NEEDS. YES, I’M TALKING
ABOUT PASSION. PASSION IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN TALENT. THERE ARE TWO WAYS
TO AQUIRE TALENT. THE FIRST WAY IS TO BE BORN WITH IT. THE SECOND WAY IS TO
COMBINE SHEER HARD WORK AND PASSION. THAT’S WHAT MY FATHER WOULD
ALWAYS TELL ME, AND I CAME TO BELIEVE IT. TAKE PICTURES EVERY DAY. THE BEST
TIME YOU COULD HAVE “STARTED TAKING PHOTOS EVERY DAY” WAS 5 YEARS AGO. THE
SECOND BEST TIME YOU COULD “START TAKING PHOTOS EVERY DAY” IS TODAY. DO IT.
LIKE, NOW. YOU SHOULD HAVE A PASSION TO CREATE THINGS DAILY. LIVING LIFE
WITHOUT CREATING THINGS DAILY ISN’T A LIFE WORTH LIVING. IMPROVE YOUR RATIO.
THE MORE PHOTOS YOU TAKE THAT ARE USABLE, THE BETTER A PHOTOGRAPHER YOU
ARE. IF YOU TAKE A LOT OF PHOTOS EVERY DAY, YOU GET BETTER. NO MATTER WHO
YOU ARE. THAT’S THE ADVANTAGE WITH DIGITAL: DOING IT DOESN’T COST YOU MONEY.
NO ONE EVER SAYS: “I DON’T LIKE THAT PHOTO BECAUSE IT TOOK THE PHOTOGRAPHER
100 PICTURES BEFORE HE GOT THIS SHOT”. SO JUST KEEP TAKING PICTURES UNTIL YOU
GET THE PHOTOS TO LOOK LIKE YOU WANT THEM TO LOOK LIKE. SOMETIMES HALF THE
TALENT OF PHOTOGRAPHY IS BEING THE PERSON WHO BROUGHT THE CAMERA TO THE
PARTY IN THE FIRST PLACE. SOMETIMES THE OTHER HALF OF THE TALENT IS THAT YOU
DECIDED TO TAKE IT OUT OF YOUR BAG. SOMETIMES TALENT IS BEING AT THE WRONG
PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME WITH A CAMERA IN YOUR HAND- SET TO AUTO-FOCUS. TAKE
PICTURES A LOT AND YOU WILL BECOME AT MINIMUM A SEMI-TALENTED
PHOTOGRAPHER. YOU MIGHT EVEN END UP WITH A FEW CLASSIC PHOTOS THAT
FRIENDS AND FAMILY (AND MAYBE EVEN A MAGAZINE EDITOR) WILL LOVE FOREVER.