Luckily client was very pleased and I have now done a second shoot. In order to step it up a bit and add some variety, I tried some different techniques like dragging the shutter and zoom blur (and both together !)
Would be interested to see if you guys think these are good / bad / better than last time etc and also any other techniques or tips to take it to the next level ...
link
many thanks in advance

I like to differentiate between exposure blending and HDR. I have found bracketing to be usefull sometimes, especially before I bought some grads but tended to simply merge the exposures rather than go over the top with the tone mapping. I have seen some great images using HDR but as I get more experience, the initial wow factor soon fades. I am especially getting fed up with the amount of HDR being used in broadcast TV at the moment, last series of Top Gear (for example) was rife with HDR, used to only be Top of the pops that the cameramen were allowed to play around ...

Again, thanks for comments. As mentioned, I have been looking at the new 35mmF2.4 but to be honest in most cases in this club it is a bit long. Many of the group shots were at 18mm with back against the wall.
M50 not an option in this environment, auto focus was terrible and slow but now wonder as half the time it was pitch black through the viewfinder !
Next time I will also take the 100mm F2.8 macro (now I know we can store kit safely) and try some closer up portrait shots wide open so I can show client the difference. I will then judge lens based on what he likes and how much other use I can get from it.

Thank you John, I think you are being kind but I do appreciate it

We passed on all images to client for him to post on his facebook gallery. Should have realised that this means you need to be signed in to facebook to see them ... sorry

Here is the link, be gentle !!!

link

... got some results in the end but bl**dy difficult would pretty much sum it up ! Was very dark in the club and small rooms with low roof (about 7 foot). Roof and all walls black, lighting completely random and coming from all walls meant whe trying something a bit arty and dragging the shutter, the light fell in front of the subject as well as behind. Luckily, the client wanted mainly posed shots so we got by. Focusing was also horrendous, at some points it was pitch black and could see nothing through the viewfinder at all. It was also an african night (great night) making exposure even harder, especially when wearing white tops !
All of that plus people constantly tapping you on the shoulder or pulling you somewhere to get a shot and wanting it instantly and wanting to see the results ("better be good!"). Once the confidence get up we were taking more control and moving people to areas of the club where light was better. At the end of the day, we have sent over 200 decent shots to the client and he is happy with them so job done. Despite all the above we did love it ! Will post a link to the pics once client has posted them. Thanks for the help on here, it made a difference.

I hit the limits of teh K20 today. Fastest lens wide open (F2) shooting football in a stadium but floodlights only half on, full ISO (6400) ended up giving 1/80 when I was needing 1/500 or more
Luckily not a paid job ...

LOL, nah Ken, its next friday night !

Again thanks for help. Stefan, the images in your links are superb, I would love to get some like this.