Fishing Photography

There is an increase in the popularity of quickly photographing our catch and releasing it to fight another day especially for use on social media.

Whether you use a powerful DSLR or you’re a hobbyist with nothing more than a small point-and-shoot or a smartphone to record your angling memories, there’s a chance you’ve struggled to replicate those wonderful fishing mag shots with your own prized catches throughout your angling adventures.

While you may have chalked up your poor photos to the many challenging conditions that can present themselves while fishing, you could get better photos by following a few simple tricks. The following extracts will provide a guide to taking better photos specifically for your life-size trophy portraits.

Take a moment to wipe your lens, even if you’re using a point-and-shoot camera or a cell phone. Water is everywhere when you’re fishing, and it’s amazing how easily it can get onto your camera’s lens and how often we don’t notice it until we get home and review our photos. Ensure that the lens hasn’t fogged up or gotten blurry as a result of condensation or attempts to clean it. Taking 30 seconds to take care of this will work wonders for your photos

Wet your hands before touching the fish. This will help you avoid the risk of infection and damaging the fish’s slimy scale coating and it will help the fish look great for the photo shoot. “Swim” your fish between photos by dipping it in the water (with a careful grip), allowing it to revive itself and get a bit of wet, glistening goodness back for the next photo.

Treat the fish as though it’s made of glass! Be gentle; you’ll find the fish is more cooperative when you hold it confidently but gently instead of gripping your hands around it as though you’re trying to choke it. You’ll be less likely to drop it or squeeze the life out of it, which makes for a better-looking fish. In addition, hands tightly squeezing a fish never makes for much of a photo and never says anything good about the angler! It also goes without saying that an un-mashed fish makes for an easier release.

Shadows are tricky. When we’re on the water fishing, we often don’t have the luxury of choosing the time of day at which the fish will bite or selecting the best angle from which to shoot due to limited deck space. Do your best to remove shadows by using the fill flash setting on your camera to boost a burst of light into the shadows on your subject’s face (but beware of overexposure, especially if your subject is holding a silvery fish). If you can, get their face at an angle to the sun that reduces the problem to begin with. If your subject is wearing a cap and sunglasses, have him or her take them off for the photo. They will often cast shadows, and it’s not neglecting sun safety to take them off for 30 seconds.

Now that you know how to handle your fish and set up a great photo, let’s talk about composition! We will start with the rule of thirds. All serious photographers are aware of the rule of thirds, and they all utilize it to some extent. Sometimes fishing photographers forget that the same rules apply to them! The rule of thirds states that you should compose your photos based on the idea that the frame is divided into thirds horizontally and vertically, thus creating nine boxes in each photo. Place points of interest near the intersecting horizontal and vertical “thirds” lines, and watch your results improve! Many modern cameras and even phones have a feature that shows you a grid to help with the rule of thirds. Subjects like the head of the fish, the smiling face of the angler, or even an outstretched net reaching for a trout are good examples of photograph elements that should be placed along the powerful “thirds” lines and intersections. The beauty of this rule is that it is applicable to cell phone photographers and to professionals who have spent thousands of dollars on gear. It will improve your results no matter what camera you use.