Photographing a poker tournament..please help

[Laetitya]

I have been asked to photograph a poker tournament which will have around 120 players in what I can imagine to be quite a dark room. I have decided not to take any shots with flash as the players will hate me distracting them. I will therefore have to up my ISO. Should I be using a tripod as well?
I have only been photographing for one month, this isn't a paid job (luckily!) but I would like to know how to do it properly and get some good shots.
Also, if any of you have some good ideas for what to photograph, i.e. some nice mood shots, please let me know! Thank you!

[LeeR]

Interesting challenge. A tripod might be hard to manuver if the room is crowded so you might be better off with a monpod. You should be able to get a lot of shots this way since poker players don't more a great deal. I would be looking for anything that looks like a 'tell,' that is an involutary signal that someone gives that lets you know what they are really thinking. Plan ahead, too; try to get some of the obligatory shots like 'going all in' and 'gathering the money.' You may find that once you are down to the last table you can get these shots with a flash as these are times when people are not trying to concentrate. Finally, look for interesting angles; can you bring a ladder for a few shots? can you sit at the table when there is an opening? can you shoot from the dealers perspective? can you get close to the money pile to get a shot of the players behind it?
Mostly, just have fun. There's no money involved so you can't miss. Its a great first assignment.

[CRider]

That's awesome (coming from someone who enjoys poker)! The above advice is good. A monopod would almost definitely be more useful and less cumbersome in this situation. Bring the flash along just in case...you may find that it's not that bad and could even ask the players if they would mind if you use it. As to tips...I'm pretty new myself...but I think opening up the aperture will help as well...plus, if you have a lens with a wide aperture, you could get some nice pics focused on a single player while blurring out the rest of the tournament behind him/her. I'd definitely be interested in seeing what you come up with.

[zona5101]

tripod or monopod will be good but expect to get some motor blur in the shots, so take LOTS to increase your chances of having some without blur. Moving around with a tripod will probably be unweildy and possible as equally distracting as flash. With a tripod your mobility and fluidness will be hampered. In either case , it will be the people moving that will be the cause for blur more than you.
Reconsider using flash and bounce it off the ceiling for your shots. It will soften the the light and also make it more omidirectional so it won't be as distracting as a direct blast. Additionally it will illuminate not only the player in focus but others at the table and allow a better balance with the ambient light...sounds fun. good luck!

[Laetitya]

Originally Posted by zona5101

tripod or monopod will be good but expect to get some motor blur in the shots, so take LOTS to increase your chances of having some without blur. Moving around with a tripod will probably be unweildy and possible as equally distracting as flash. With a tripod your mobility and fluidness will be hampered. In either case , it will be the people moving that will be the cause for blur more than you.
Reconsider using flash and bounce it off the ceiling for your shots. It will soften the the light and also make it more omidirectional so it won't be as distracting as a direct blast. Additionally it will illuminate not only the player in focus but others at the table and allow a better balance with the ambient light...sounds fun. good luck!

I only have the inbuilt flash on my D90, so not much I can do to bounce it off the ceiling, right? Thank you so much for all your advice...I am excited but at the same time rather scared, but at least I have at least 5 hours to get a couple of good shots!

[zona5101]

Originally Posted by Laetitya

I only have the inbuilt flash on my D90, so not much I can do to bounce it off the ceiling, right? Thank you so much for all your advice...I am excited but at the same time rather scared, but at least I have at least 5 hours to get a couple of good shots!

do you have a relatively fast lens???

[Laetitya]

It was a very difficult assignment especially as I had only begun photography a month ago or so. Here are a few of my shots:

[zona5101]

You did fantastic!

[autofocus]

A trick you could use (or could have used) to bounce the on-camera flash. Take a white card like a index card or business card, cut two slits in the card that line up with the lifting mechanism of your on-camera flash, insert the card on a 45 degree angle to bounce your flash upward. Not necessarily elegant, but an inexpensive solution.

Vince

[CRider]

Love the 1st & 3rd ones! I'm wondering if the 4th would work better in color? Regardless, looks like you did a lot better than you were expecting, congrats!