How to be photographed for a fishing shot.
- This topic has 5 replies, 5 voices, and was last updated Jun 20, 2014 at 7:39 pm by
.
-
Posts
-
Hey guys –
Quick post here. I have been looking at some pictures from various fishing locations around the world. The Avalon operation out of Cuba has some great ones; they document Grand Slams. But in looking at these, I noticed something. See if you can tell:
“I made him an offer he could not refuse.”
“You talkin’ to ME?”
“I don’t know what he’s so excited about; it’s just another permit.”
“Oh shit, they just cause me shoplifting this tarpon.”
“I have crushed my enemies and seen them driven before me.”See what I mean? For God’s sake, guys, you just caught a grand slam. SMILE! Or at least put some expression on your face. It doesn’t hurt. You look way cooler and your pictures end up being better:
PS Jorah Mormont?
I guess the idea is either the people ‘don’t smile for pictures’ or they want to look badass. Either way they end up looking unpleasant. If you catch a trophy, live it up a little. Turn your face to the camera and pop your sunglasses up on top so they can see your eyes. Hold the fish at an angle so forced perspective works to your advantage without looking like you’re trying to shove the fish into the lens. Keep the fish wet until right before the shot, then lift, pause, and replace. That way you won’t be stressed about killing your trophy.
Oh, and as far as holding a fish goes, I’ve noticed two things about this: first, if you splay out almost any fish’s pectoral fins and support it between them, the fish will thrash less because you’ll have it essentially by its center of gravity. Second, once the fish is calm enough, if you can slide your rear hand around to *pinch*, rather than cover, the tail, your fish will end up looking much bigger. Note my grip on that rainbow above. It’s the same hold I used here:
Zach
Quick observation, a lot of the anglers in the pictures have their faces obscured by a hat or shadow from the hat. Something I have been trying to work on to improve some of my pictures recently. In low light situations, headlamps off!
And the go pro hat in a hero shot – that definitely has to get taken off!
Mike the easiest way to deal with that as a photographer is to use fill flash. You’ll note I had a flash going when I handed the camera off for the trout pic, but not for the permit shot. That permit shot was taken with the guide’s point and shoot camera. Headlamps off, yes.
If I was forced to choose between fill flash and asking the angler tip the brim of their hat upward I would take the latter every time. Not only does it reduce, if not eliminate that shadow, but you also get to see more of their face and it emphasizes their smile. That said, I’d prefer to not have to choose one or the other.
Of course, what would I know? With a hyperactive toddler around to keep me perpetually exhausted, it’s getting hard to even remember the last time I went fly fishing.
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.