Hunting & Fishing Photos - Take Just an Extra Minute

Hunting & Fishing Photos; Take Just an Extra Minute

By: Tim Herald

I just returned from a fishing trip in Mexico with 14 friends. After the first day, I asked everyone to text me a few good photos so I could keep them in an album. Collectively we had caught a lot of mahi-mahi and yellowfin tuna which would make from some great photos as they are both gorgeous species with lots of striking colors.

The 25 or so photos I got back were unbelievable, as in unbelievably bad! Not one single photo was even decent. There were fish upside down on a gaff, tails cut off, fisherman and fish 100% in shadow, fingers over lenses, other people blocking half the subject, etc., etc. I don’t know why I was surprised as I see this all the time from both hunters and fishermen, and with today’s cell phones and digital cameras, there truly is no reason to take bad photos if you will take just an extra minute or two and think about what you are doing.
 

First, we are trying to preserve a memory, and we want to do that in a respectful way, so an animal with excessive blood, tongue hanging out, someone sitting on an animal, etc. does not work. Take a bit of time and clean up your animal, it deserves that much respect.

Secondly, if the sun is out, have the subject facing the sun, and watch for the photographer’s shadow. I don’t know how many times I see a decent photo, and then there is a shadow of an arm, hand and cell phone right across the middle of the animal. Again, just look at what you are doing and think about it.

If you can get an interesting background or one that shows the uniqueness of where you are, it’s a real bonus. Likewise, if you have a dramatic vista as a background, that always makes for a great photo. At a minimum, try not to have other people, objects like vehicles, shooting sticks, etc. in the background.

If you are photographing an animal with antlers or tall horns, getting those antlers and horns skylined usually is the optimum view. Having a tangle of branches or brush behind can sometimes obscure antlers and horns and take away from the photo.py

Speaking of angles, it’s best to try some different angles to find what makes your animal look best, but don’t sit 10 feet behind an animal trying to make it look bigger. It’s painfully obviously when people try to use this trick, or now many are using super wide-angle lenses that make horns and antlers look ridiculously large if they are close to the camera.

Placing objects like rifles and bows in front of an animal will make the weapon look large and the animal smaller, so these poses aren’t optimum.

Many hunters refuse to do it, but I think a subject smiling with a trophy if it is a “grip and grin” type photo really looks best. It appears that the hunter or fisherman is happy with their animal and enjoyed the hunt, whereas the tough guy, dead pan stare leaves us wondering if the hunter is disappointed, or does he just think he is that cool?

If you hunted an animal with someone, having photos with them and you is always great if there is someone around to take the photo. You will remember the time spent and camaraderie enjoyed with that person every time you look at the picture.

These are just a few basic tips for taking trophy photos. There are many, many more, but just these few will make a huge difference in quality. The main thing is to not be in a rush, think things through, look at the photos you have taken, and if they are not right, retake them and get them right. Once the animal is processed to be eaten, you can’t get the photo opportunity back, so make the most of it the first time around. It is absolutely worth the small amount of extra effort to get quality photos that preserve in the field memories for years to come.