# Photographer at International Poker game



## andrewaaa5 (Sep 15, 2004)

Hi,
I am going to take photos at a major Internatinoal poker tournament.

The low light levels would normally require a flash to be used, or a tripod.

High ISO settings on my digital camera (G3) will not be sufficient to take the pictures at fast shutter speeds. to take longer exposures I would need a tripod. I do not want to use tripod.

Has anyone had any experience at such an event?

I want to use a flash (EX420) but I do not want to destract the players.

Any advise greatly appreciated.

Andrew


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## santino (Sep 15, 2004)

hmmm.... you may try to bounce the flash of the ceiling or a wall, hope that helps


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## andrewaaa5 (Sep 15, 2004)

the ceilings are very high and the room very big.
i was going to use that good old trick of pointing the flash head straight up to the ceiling and putting a piece of white paper behind the flash, but still this omits a lot of light and may be distracting to the players.

I guess I should really post this question in a poker/casino forum.

Andrew


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## Walt (Sep 15, 2004)

Switch to a film camera with high speed film for the event. If possible with an IS lens.


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## markc (Sep 15, 2004)

And use a fast prime lens (or two), like f1.8.


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## Evan55T (Dec 16, 2016)

*BUMP* (This 12 year old dusty thread)

Yeah basically i'm doing the same thing that OP is doing, atm have myself *only* a 50mm nikon prime f/1.8 lens not sure if i should go out and try to get another lens like a wide angle lens of some sort?

Anyways what i'm trying to go for is something like this (link's below)...

Dmitri Yurasov
Phil Galfond
https://scontent.cdninstagram.com/t...871_291250284602852_6834059426324807680_n.jpg


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## JonA_CT (Dec 17, 2016)

The great thing about flicker is it posts EXIF data. The first two pictures were taken at 68 and 50mm on FF (and without flash).

I'm going to guess that 50mm will probably be okay, and you'll have to hope the high ISO performance of your camera is good.


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## Evan55T (Dec 17, 2016)

JonA_CT said:


> The great thing about flicker is it posts EXIF data. The first two pictures were taken at 68 and 50mm on FF (and without flash).
> 
> I'm going to guess that 50mm will probably be okay, and you'll have to hope the high ISO performance of your camera is good.



I'm currently using a *used* d7000 nikon and yeah i really wanna try to get the cleanest/clearest shots possible without any noise/grain in them


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## Drive-By-Shooter (Dec 18, 2016)

right; he does not want a wider lens. 
50mm should suffice,
but a _longer lens _like a 85mm or even a 135 will get better portraits with the subject "_popping out_" from the background like his 1st and 3rd examples.



JonA_CT said:


> The great thing about flicker is it posts EXIF data. The first two pictures were taken at 68 and 50mm on FF (and without flash).
> 
> I'm going to guess that 50mm will probably be okay, and you'll have to hope the high ISO performance of your camera is good.


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## Evan55T (Dec 18, 2016)

Drive-By-Shooter said:


> right; he does not want a wider lens.
> 50mm should suffice,
> but a _longer lens _like a 85mm or even a 135 will get better portraits with the subject "_popping out_" from the background like his 1st and 3rd examples.
> 
> ...



Yeah man thank you for the reply and response! 

Well i actually asked this poker photographer and he said a wide angle lens is a must altogether as well as just a reg prime lens like a 85mm or 50mm. For the most part you are taking portrait shots of the players mostly though some shots work really well with a wide angle lens that u wudn't be able to get with a prime


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## freddy21 (Dec 22, 2016)

I would just watch carefully if using a 50mm or less as they tend toward pretty large apertures.  Although they are good for low light they will also give you a really shallow DOF when wide open.

I might think about an LED panel light rather than a flash.  Steady light won't disturb as much as a flash.


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## Evan55T (Dec 23, 2016)

I have another question in regarding sensors...

What's the diff between a Full-frame sensor vs. APS-C?

Reason i'm asking is i currently have a d7000 that is an APS-C and i was wondering if full-frame sensors (like a d700 or other dslr camera) would be better for poker/portrait photography in low light conditions?

(full-frame)
D70_1034
(APS-C)
Haykel Vidal


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## Evan55T (Jan 9, 2017)

^Bump 

Read the thread at the top and i think full-frame is generally better for portrait photography but i was just wondering what other people's opinions are on the differences in iso, DOF, bokeh etc.


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