I'm surprised that you've never seen this behavior. Just go to the nearest nightclub on the weekends and find a group that's doing a bachelorette party or birthday party or something. I see it ALL the time.
I've lived in many major cities around the world (and have done enough partying to confidently say) I haven't seen one nightclub that forbids taking photos. That would be stupid.
I've seen a couple of bars where they ban it, but not in nightclubs, especially high end ones. It's too hectic to "ban" something there, and the more exclusive the place is, the more likely the visitors want to instagram their visits, the better marketing it is for the club, therefore they allow it.
a techno club in berlin is a very different experience than a top 40 club in a major north american city and i think a fair part of this conversation is people talking over each other because the word "club" isn't specific enough.
I'm sorry, but it just means you've never been to a good nightclub. A good nightclub is a place about the music, the DJ and the dancefloor; posing for selfies is just killing the vibe for everyone around you, and thankfully, there's a lot of places where it would get you thrown out of the club.
I've literally been to every single top night club in NY, including the exclusive pretentious ones like 1OAK, Avenue, and the likes, and more music focused ones like Electric Room and Output. I know what I'm talking about.
People go to night club to party. And most people take photos when they're partying. I don't see anything wrong with that.
Sure it's annoying (I know it's annoying because I actually experience it first hand) but saying that should be banned just means you're out of touch. Even some of the most hipster nightclubs in Williamsburg would never throw you out just because you took a photo.
People will hate you if you take a selfie in the middle of a dancefloor, and some may even complain about it to the bouncers (most don't), and the bouncer may ask you not to do so, but NOBODY throws you out because you took a photo. In the nightclub nobody cares that you're taking a photo in the corner.
Lastly, it's kind of ridiculous how this thread turned out. This was not at all the point of my comment.