Taking cracking photos

There is nothing better than catching a good fish. There is nothing better than recording the fact for yourself or for later publishing online or in a magazine. The “trophy shot” can be a super shot but there’s some things to be considered in order to get that perfect shot:

Firstly, forget about the superstitions regarding having a camera in you bag or tacklebox. Carry your camera on all occasions

We’ll assume that people are using a compact digital camera.
Mobile phone cameras are really not up to taking good pictures.
A 3 million megapixel camera is more than adequate.
Select the highest resolution available.

Always take the picture in the context of where it is caught. Boat caught fish should be taken on board. Shore caught fish should be pictured on the shoreline. Pictures taken in the pub or backyard do not work!
If you are worried that your secret mark will be revealed then it is often better to get above the subject and take the picture into the boat with the sea behind. From the shore, select an angle that does not include landmarks.

If you can’t take a picture of the live fish then be careful how the fish is stored. Pictures of a fish bent and discoloured from a fishbox or bag do not work!

In this respect, ideally the fish should be pictured when alive/fresh.

Watch for lighting. Have the sun behind the person taking the picture. If it is dark or gloomy then use the flash. Even in good light conditions it is often advisable to use a flash anyway, it can show off the fish to great effect. You will have to set the camera to “forced flash”. Experiment with your flash, you may have a “fill in” flash setting that will make many pictures look brilliant. On my little Sony camera that I use for all pictures the fill in is the “SL” setting.

Watch your focus. On my camera (normally on an “auto” setting) it is best to half press the button first, the camera will focus properly and then when the button is pressed you’ll get a good result.

Take a few shots at a time. You’d be surprised how sick you’ll be if you notice that you have chopped the head off your subject when you check out the pics at home!

Finally, don’t be afraid to fill the screen with the fish. In most cases you want the fish to be the main object of the photo.

If putting the picture on-line then it is best to size down the picture. (a simple way to do this is to use your email programme).

Happy snapping.

I’m no expert on photos so feel free to add any other helpful hints.

Nice one Jim, just one other thing, if shooting with the the horizon in the pic try and keep it level, it can be altered after but better to get it right in the first place.
Sean,

When taking photos at night make sure the person holding the fish has their headlamp switched off or there'll be a big blob of light.

If anyone has any other tip of taking photos at night I'd love to hear them as mine tend to be poor. It takes an age for my camera to take a photo. I press the botton for about a minute ( I presume trying to focuse) before it flashes. I leave my own headlamp on so as not to startle the person I'm taking the photo of with the flash. I have beaut of al picture at home of me with a huss with my eyes closed when we switched all lights off.

Donagh

And move rods out of the way before taking the pic. Nothing worse that a pic of some guy looking like he's sprouting antennae!

Try framing the subject really tight. What you want is a pic of angler and fish, so get them big in the frame.

All good advice.Thanks lads. :D 8)

most digital cameras have a half 'way mark' that if you push it starts to auto focus. so press half way to auto focus. then when you do press release the wating time should not be so long.

Try to have an idea what you want the photo to look like before you take the pic

It also helps if the person you are fishing with knows how to work your camera so you will get good quality photos.They should also know where abouts in your tackle box you keep it,that way you can get a photo and return the fish as quickly as possible.Digital cameras allow you to get great photos everytime because you can look at it straight away,if its no good simply take another.But you can only keep a fish out of the water for so long before you have to return it,so when im fishing on my own i bring a mini tripod for my camera and attach it before i start fishing then find a suitable place to set it up,i`ll sometimes even take a few practise shots to get it in the right position.It looks daft when you are crouched down pretending to hold a fish while taking photos of yourself but once you`ve put the fish back you cant take another photo so its worth looking stupid for a couple minutes.

if taking a photo at night of a fish on the beach or rocks dont shine your headlight directly at the fish focus it a few inches away this stops the camera chip taking forever to make up its mind on apropriate settings
dont know why but it works and cuts down on the bass flash effect

Thanks Rodger,

I'll try that next time.

Donagh

good advice. thanks

cuts down on the bass flash effect

"Bass Flash", like "red eye", the bain of night time bass anglers :D

Stopping the flash off a fish at night is difficult..... If possible try to reduce the flash power on your camera.

Kev

Wintertime update:

When you arrive to the beach or out on the boat make sure to let your camera acclimatise. If you pull a camera out of your pocket on a cold day/night there’s a good chance the lens will fog up and take a while to clear.

Best to take the camera out and let the lens get accustomed to the cold (obviously making sure the camera is kept dry).

For night time pictures: In addition to the many useful comments above it worth trying the “night” or “dark” setting on your camera. Ideally you would be better off using a rest or tripod as the camera will be prone to “shake”. Experiment with this setting while using your normal setting as well.

Happy snapping.
:)

great advice lads,now all i need is to catch some fish

Definitely worth a read again!

I read the advices given by you people it is nice and quite interesting thing i came to know.Keep sharing.

It is not so much easy to taking pieces of fishes by camera. Great information shared.
Good advice on taking cracking photos.
Thanks for sharing this useful post.

Keep it.

the eye closed at nite is a common thing donagh.i struggle durin the day never mind at nite

When taking photos at night make sure the person holding the fish has their headlamp switched off or there'll be a big blob of light.

If anyone has any other tip of taking photos at night I'd love to hear them as mine tend to be poor. It takes an age for my camera to take a photo. I press the botton for about a minute ( I presume trying to focuse) before it flashes. I leave my own headlamp on so as not to startle the person I'm taking the photo of with the flash. I have beaut of al picture at home of me with a huss with my eyes closed when we switched all lights off.

Donagh

A little piece of tissue paper over the flash will diffuse the light so that the fish won't act as a mirror when photographing a fish with the flash on

try using night mode/night portrait. make sure you've had a good mess with the camera before setting off so you know all its tricks! there are also filters available for some of the digital SLR types out there.