What can I use to get clear photos under black lights?

Question

A co-worker of mine is getting into professional photography and one of his friends is throwing a black light party this weekend. He has a Nikon D50 digital camera and wants the pictures to come out clear, as most photographers do. Obviously he can't use the flash on his camera or it will defeat the purpose. I can't seem to find anything online about flash filters. He is worried that if he just turns off the flash that the lens will stay open longer and the pictures will then come out blurry. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what he can use to cover his flash but still effectively capture the party. These photos are motion photos, not pose photos. One camera shop suggested that he set up a tripod and just take still photos but his friend wants it live action. Any help is appreciated! Thank you all in advance for your suggestions! My email is [e-mail]

Answer 1

You could try fitting a black light filter over your flash.

http://wolfstone.halloweenhost.com/Light...

Also make sure they have lots of black lights there already.  Take a fast lens (one with a very wide aperture, like a 50mm 1.4 or 1.8) to allow more light in.  Wide to normal angle prime lenses will be better than zoom or telephoto lenses.

Answer 2

Black lights put out light almost exclusively in the soft near ultraviolet range and the  longwave UVA region. It causes some materials to glow in the visible light range (http://chemistry.about.com/cs/howthingsw... ) Because of that if I were going to shoot it I would first make sure the UV filter was off. Second I would use a tripod and a remote shutter release or the camera timer. third I would use the camera light meter on spot meter or incident light meter to measure the glowing item I wanted to be the main focal point of the picture using the largest apeture that will get the depth of field I wanted. Fourth I would bracket my shots and take alot of them. If you have to get a flash shot of moving persons then you can try slow sync flash or rear curtain flash and this time bracket the flash power up and down to find the desired effects. You may be able to paint the moving  subject with light using a lower powered flashlight Instead of using a flash. Use as powerful a blacklight as you can or alot of them, as said above if depth of field is not an issue a large apeture will help.

I hope this helps come back and post your results

Answer 3

I have never tried to take photos under black light, but if I was in his shoes, I'd buy a black bulb or two, lock myself into a dark room with them and start experimenting.