How To Take Better Photos

[Xplorer]

Hey Guys,

 

I always seem to have the worst photos of fish. I can never get them to sit still, they are usually pretty active in the net (in the water of course), if I take them out and put them in the river, they are way to strong to hang on to, they are ready to go. Underwater shots are really tough, especially when you fish alone with no one to take pictures.

 

I see all these great shots of the fish lying in the shallows beside the rod, nobody holding the fish, no net and the fish just sits there. The closest i have come is the photo I am using as my Avatar, and I had to hold on to that fish.

 

What am I doing wrong? I always try to get the fish in quickly, keep the net in the water, a quick photo or two, fish is only out of the water a second or two. The fish all are very energetic, I rarely have to revive a fish, I hold them in the current for a couple of seconds and they take off strongly, I don't think I could hold on if I wanted to.

 

So is there some hidden trick? Am I not playing the fish enough so they are tired and don't thrash around so much(I don't really want to tire them out just for a photo), or I am I just unlucky when taking photos.

 

Thanks

Lance

[Guest JayVee]

Lance, there are a lot of people here that are going to LOVE what you're doing and are going to tell you to not change a thing

 

Hey Guys,

 

I always seem to have the worst photos of fish. I can never get them to sit still, they are usually pretty active in the net (in the water of course), if I take them out and put them in the river, they are way to strong to hang on to, they are ready to go. Underwater shots are really tough, especially when you fish alone with no one to take pictures.

 

I see all these great shots of the fish lying in the shallows beside the rod, nobody holding the fish, no net and the fish just sits there. The closest i have come is the photo I am using as my Avatar, and I had to hold on to that fish.

 

What am I doing wrong? I always try to get the fish in quickly, keep the net in the water, a quick photo or two, fish is only out of the water a second or two. The fish all are very energetic, I rarely have to revive a fish, I hold them in the current for a couple of seconds and they take off strongly, I don't think I could hold on if I wanted to.

 

So is there some hidden trick? Am I not playing the fish enough so they are tired and don't thrash around so much(I don't really want to tire them out just for a photo), or I am I just unlucky when taking photos.

 

Thanks

Lance

 

[brownonbow]

Lance, try bonking them over the head with a stick, if that doesn't work look for a substantial rock.

[maxwell]

ur doing great dude! it just takes practice I hardly handle my fish or move when I'm around them! try not to touch them move your feet have and rapid movement etc they see us as a preditor and will freak out if grabbed, feel vibration etc... mostly all fish I land are in and around a minute fight. te more hey thrash and the harder they swim away the more it shows they are scared or freaked out! it takes time to get the hang of it but icons most people try to grab a fish rather than cradle a fish and try keeping them in a few inches of water(wich u do going by ur pics) hope that helps

[mvdaog]

I have had the same problem as you in the past, it is near impossible to take pictures of fish when you're by yourself and the fish isnt tired, unless you've had a ton of experience like max and others. But after many years of wanting to show off fish pictures, I've completely lost the motivation to get pictures of fish, unless its an exceptional fish for whatever reason, or a new river or lake somewhere that I want to remember down the road. And even then, there's something neat about knowing you caught it all alone, and only you know how nice the fish was, and trying to keep that image stored inside your head instead of a computer. I'm not a guide so I don't have any reason to show people how many fish I catch or how big they are, and I don't even bring my camera anymore usually.

[ÜberFly]

x2!

 

I have had the same problem as you in the past, it is near impossible to take pictures of fish when you're by yourself and the fish isnt tired, unless you've had a ton of experience like max and others. But after many years of wanting to show off fish pictures, I've completely lost the motivation to get pictures of fish, unless its an exceptional fish for whatever reason, or a new river or lake somewhere that I want to remember down the road. And even then, there's something neat about knowing you caught it all alone, and only you know how nice the fish was, and trying to keep that image stored inside your head instead of a computer. I'm not a guide so I don't have any reason to show people how many fish I catch or how big they are, and I don't even bring my camera anymore usually.

 

[Harps]

Hey Lance,

 

There is great advice here!

Try holding the fish upside down underwater. Don't squeeze and use slow movements like Max said. Holding it upside downin the water seems to stop it from struggling and gives you a chance to get your camera ready. Once the fish has calmed down under water, you can slowly release it (sometimes) and it will stay there for a little bit of time.

 

I know some guys will leave a fish in the water in a net while they put their camera on a rock and take a picture with the timer. They minimize the time the fish is out of the water and only try it once so minimize handling (if you absoutely need a picture). Takes some practice, but you get a hero shot out of it. I think you're better off attempting an underwater picture and getting the fish swimming away.

 

If the fish is full of energy and you aren't doing anything to hold it, you are doing great!

 

Harps

[duanec]

unless there's something exceptional, i rarely grab for the camera anymore when i'm solo. a variety of reasons, many listed above.

when i'm with someone i'm trying to focus on taking better photos now [lighting, composition, underwater, etc] when the opportunity presents/is appropriate as opposed to taking a pic of every fish.

i'm still envious of many here who post some dem sweet money shot pix. but i'm i also out to enjoy the fishing more than the photography.

[Teck71]

"burst mode" take three shots thats what i do, usually one i find is useable

[Din]

"burst mode" take three shots thats what i do, usually one i find is useable

 

Using burst mode results in decreasing your megapixels for most point and shoot cameras. Although you may get a good angle of the fish, the results may not be desirable.

[maxwell]

harps made a good point! I use me self timer a ton! main reason I went with the pentax was it's intervol shooting mode! I can have it set up to take 20-30 pictures oneevery 10 seconds so once I have the fish after it's first run I have the camera on a rock already taking pictures! ie memorized the intervol so once I see the flash I know the rythem to count inmyhead before I get he next shot! u luck out n get some sick bent rod pics and fightig shots aswell and once I have the fish close I land landed lift thrush out of the water once I have a second or two left before the next shot, I remove he hook maybe get another one with he fish if I'm lucky then off she goes! dopest camera function ever in my opinion!

[troutlover]

Max that is brilliant i have that camera have used that mode for other things but never came up with that i cant wait to give that a try! thanks. I gave up taking pictures for the simple reason that it is a pain in the rear and usually it's the fish that pays for the art, probably in most cases not with it's life but stress weighs heavily on fish.

[Bandi]

Good question and looking at the answers people are interested to get better at shooting fish photos!

 

Here is how I do:

Once I landed the fish, I remove the hook and keep the fish in the net in slowly flowing or standing water. I have quick setting for shooting closeups, so I switch that on. If necessary I turn on the flash (low light or fill in situation, I usually choose "soft flash"). For the photo I gently lift the fish head or the whole body and take quick shots. Be slow when touching the fish (not grabbing). Be careful not to touch the lateral line, which is really sensitive. I take max two photos and put back the fish into the water.

 

For self portraits, I follow the same settings as Max (maybe it was him who wrote earlier about it)... interval shooting, place the camera on a rock or ground, try to position to be front-or side-lit, ensure wide enough zooming.

 

For underwater shots, I do use continuous and burst modes. I often add flash too, which could create awesome effects, as well. Be sure you position the fish, so that it is well lit in the water! This makes or breaks the clarity of an UW photo. I wish Pentax would have designed this camera with a swing LCD, so you could see the photo from above. I rarely put my head under the water to take a shot. There seem to be some additions (mirrors) that do this trick.

 

BTW, I setup the "green button" (on Pentax), so that the most important settings are easy to reach. You may find this programmable buttons on other cameras, as well.

 

Keep shooting and posting!