In continuation with the last article, Part Two will go over how you can make your fish pictures look great when taking shots and doing basic editing. These are basic tips that anyone with a phone camera can use. As I said before, everyone has their own opinions on what makes a fish picture look great. I am simply explaining my experiences with picture taking.
Lighting
One thing that I am very particular about is lighting. Shadows on the subject are difficult to edit out later so it’s best to avoid them. Any unevenness of lighting on a subject is detrimental to the photo.
If possible, I always want the subject to be facing the sun. This ensures that the fish and the angler’s face are bright and highly visible. However be aware that your subject is also getting blinded by the sun. I don’t like how my eyes look when facing the sun so I always wear shades when having my picture taken. That is why overcast days are my favorite days to get my picture taken. Positioning is not so critical when the sun isn’t so bright out.
Something to be aware about is the shadow cast by the photographer. As the photographer, angle yourself in a way that you do not cast a shadow onto the subject. Sometimes I lean backwards or move to the side to get the right lighting.
When ice fishing in a shack, sometimes open windows or doors can cast a beam of light which can be difficult to edit and looks very distracting. In this scenario, I leave all windows open except for the one behind the subject. That way the lighting is always favorable.
A Note About Backgrounds
Another controversial subject is selecting your background carefully. As anglers, we all want to keep our spots a secret. This is something to keep in mind when taking a picture. Though some anglers cover up their backgrounds in the picture afterwards.
Honestly this is a topic for another article. There is much to talk about this subject.
Taking the Shot
I personally always use portrait mode. By blurring the background slightly, it creates greater focus on the subject. Also it has the added bonus of somewhat concealing your fishing spot. Though usually that’s not a major concern for me. Always check to make sure the focus is on the subject before snapping a shot.
From experience, always leave room in the background for cropping purposes. When editing photos later, I like to have a lot of room in the background so that I can position the subject in the photo accordingly. I find it a little annoying when editing the photos only to find that the fish’s tail will be cropped out because I wanted to align the horizon properly. Then I have to make the decision between cutting out parts of the fish or having a straight horizon. Always leave space for the editor to work with.
Generally I prefer to do horizontal oriented pictures as usually my fish are held horizontally. Typically for most Facebook and Instagram posts, I use horizontal shots. However there are some circumstances where a vertical shot may be useful. Profile pictures and Tinder pictures are better suited with vertical shots (though whether people like fish pictures on Tinder is up for debate).
Make sure you snap lots of pictures quickly. Fish thrash and anglers blink. By snapping many shots, at least a few will be guaranteed to look good.
Before releasing the fish, if there’s time, verify together that the pictures turned out well. If possible, dip the fish in the water before trying to do a retake. However handling the fish for long periods of time will cause them to be stressed. Personally if I have a clearly stressed out fish, I put my faith in my partner and trust that the shots will be editable. Then I try to get the fish back into the water as soon as possible.
Photo Editing
Using basic photo editors, you can easily touch up a photo. I always crop my photos to eliminate excess background. My goal is to put emphasis on the fish so having as few distractions as possible helps. I then ensure that the horizon is straight using the tilt feature.
As for other touch ups, I find there isn’t really any specific guidelines to follow. Depending on the situation, there may be changes to brightness or color saturation. Though my personal rule is to never overdo any special edits to the point that the picture looks unnatural. For this reason, I also avoid filters. Again I just try to make the fish and subject as presentable as possible with minimal changes.
Final Words
In the end, as long as you’re happy with your photo, that’s all that matters. Any picture with a monstrous fish is never bad. Though it’s important to always work on improving your photography and photo editing. My first pictures were definitely bad but over time things got better. It took me a lot of trial and error before I came upon a consistent formula. I’m not a professional but hopefully these basic tips will help you improve your fish photography.
Let us know in the comments if there are any other tips we should know about!
