Simple tips to make the pics of you and your fish better

Was talking w/ ChuckE the other day about taking pics when on the water of our fish and realized that there's some simple things we can do to make our pics look that much better. And I'm not talking FishSniffer'n them!

For example:

* Shoot your photos with the sun behind you (sun in the face of your subject). This will light your subject and give clear details.

* If it's cloudy or overcast, even if there's enough light, use your flash. It will give your photo crisp lines and full color. Distance is the key to getting it lit w/o making it too bright. About 5 feet is perfect. Your flash most likely has a range of only about 10 feet.

* Check the background of your subject. The shot of you w/ killer fish is great but w/ that dinged up oil tanker behind you it just doesn't seems as cool. See if there's a background that makes it look just that much better.

There's a bunch more tips I'm sure I left out so feel free to post more. I think if we try just a little more than normal, our pics won't just be report pics, but one's that we'll treasure for many days to come.

Z

Z's given excellent info here - probably the top things to remember to do whenever you take pictures.

Some other things that help me alot:

- To add to the background thing - try to remember to have some light behind your subject.  If you're holding up a fish and you are right behind it in relation to the camera then it'll be hard to see the fish without perfect lighting.  Have your partner hold it out to the side so the blue sky or other light background makes the fish or other desired subject stand out.

- Take tons of photos - the beauty of digital is that you can trash what you don't want.  With lots to choose from you end up with more optimal views, and sometimes, just by taking a few more shots with slight angle or other adjustments, you happen to get a great combo of conditions that really pop.  You also have lots more info to look at while you're writing up your report - it helps you remember to add those little details that turn a short and boring report into a more interesting one.  If people don't want to read it they don't have to.

- Try to take in as much subject as possible - you can crop it later.

- If you see something unique be sure to get photos of it.  We're a bunch of conversationalists who like to share and live vicariously through one anther's posts.  Focus in on things like partially-healed gashes in fish, starfish that you pull up from the bottom, the octopus that a ling pukes up in your lap, or an ab shell in the tidepool where you're launching.  Later those little details become part of a great tale of the day's adventures.

- Remember the beauty of your surroundings - don't take it for granted by just showing fish in your lap.  Show the launch, some birds, your buddies on the water and off, a vanity shot is good too once in a while - we want a face for the name, OK Jeffrm20?!     (JK - there are dozens of regular posters here who don't show their faces much or at all...   )

- Get photos of your entire adventure if possible.  I know that I'm most entertained by a report that shows the trip to and from the day's fishing hole, including seemingly odd details such as food and family obligations, but especially road and trail details, access points, and other knowledge that you can share about points of interest along your path.

Be a story teller with your pics and your words.  There is much fulfillment to be had through this grown-up show & tell that we have here.

 

I have the optio waterproof camera.  When I try to take pictures on a bright day, I have a lot of trouble seeing the image on the camera before taking the shot.  It doesn't help when you have shaky hands from just fighting a fish.  Any tips would be appreciated.

I have the optio waterproof camera.  When I try to take pictures on a bright day, I have a lot of trouble seeing the image on the camera before taking the shot.  It doesn't help when you have shaky hands from just fighting a fish.  Any tips would be appreciated.

I'd say using your left hand cupped over the left corner to cover the screen would be the best way to see better. Just make sure your hand doesn't drape over the front and obscure the shot.

Z

Unless you are trying to take underwater shots I'd use the old fashion optical viewer (if it has one).

I have the optio waterproof camera.  When I try to take pictures on a bright day, I have a lot of trouble seeing the image on the camera before taking the shot.  It doesn't help when you have shaky hands from just fighting a fish.  Any tips would be appreciated.

I'd say using your left hand cupped over the left corner to cover the screen would be the best way to see better. Just make sure your hand doesn't drape over the front and obscure the shot.

Z

...and snap off like ten shots from slightly different angles.  Turn the flash on for some of them too.

* Sometimes you gotta look for the shot, predict whats gonna happen and be prepared to snap.  Some stuff you just know is gonna happen, carnage from surf landings or launches, gaffing a ling, wailing on a butt when it hits the deck....action shots are the best.

Between you and me....sometimes you can even set your "subject" up...be creative 


 

Nice article about photo taking from the boyz @ Tackle Tour.
http://www.tackletour.com/reviewtakinggoodpics.html

Z

Z... thanks for posting this.  I was going to if you didn't.

All good tips above.  Here are a few more:

- Keep the lens clean.  A grain of sand, saltwater spray, and dust can ruin a great shot.  Keep a dry lens cloth handy.

- Look for shadows.  Hat brims with the sun above make it tough to see someone's face.  Tilting the brim up can often solve the problem.

- Savor the moment after landing a nice fish, but take the time to have a fishing partner shoot some pics on the water if possible.  If not, the next best thing is from shore with your kayak and the water in the background.   If you can't find a spectator on shore to snap the pic.  Set up the self timer and do it yourself.

-  Be sure to preview the shots especially if you have some stranger take the pics.  I've had passer-bys take great pics and others take horrible ones.  Some have even said they snapped the pic only to have pressed the wrong button or no button at all.

Trust me.  No one will regret the small inconvenience.  In the end, the only thing you'll have to relive the event is your memory and photos.

PS... someone like Scwafish, Abking, and Tote ought to post some video tips.

How to look good in a kayak fishing picture ... wear red.  Why?  The color balance in your digital camera will detect it which will then boost the greens and blues in the pic, which are typical background colors for what we do (water and trees).  It will give the pic a more vibrant look. Reds also stand out to the eye.

-Allen

Was surfing on the RAM website and noticed that they are coming out with a camera mount.  Hydrospider and Zeelander have come up with their own ingenious mounts and major props to them, but for those like me who lack creativity, RAM is coming to the rescue.

Click on Accessories/Misc. Mounts and then scroll down, it is the second picture:
http://www.ram-mount.com/mount/ram_kayak_mount.htm

Here is a close-up:
http://www.ram-mount.com/index_files/rapb101225au.jpg

I know, slightly off topic but I thought some might find it useful.

Michael

someone like Scwafish, Abking, and Tote ought to post some video tips.

Thanks for the kind acknowledgement, ChuckE.  I'm such a newbie to video, but I s'pose that much of the same advice applies - takes lots of videos, think of your scene and background, lighting is important, but not so much as with stills in terms of midday sun...  I think my best advice would be to capture something that represents what we'd all like to be doing or at least to share in, and editing is your best friend - putting together a bunch of little clips of different aspects of the action creates a montage of the day's adventure.  Experiment with it.  I've been into photography for 20 years, but the digital age has allowed me to ramp up my activity level.  This board has been what has inspired me to develop new techniques and to have so much energy for documenting the madness. 

Be inspired and it will show.  Oh, and don't be afraid to look like a freak or a geek!   

Good tips, thanks.

With the warm summer approaching anyone know where I can order some red speedos??? 

Good tips all thanks, Two I can add are :since we are on the water a lot watch the reflections off the water can make or kill the shot,and the most important tip of all that I can't seem to master is catch bigger fish. John see Mooch for the speedos he is a Speedo Kayak Fishing Team Staffer but I think Yum Yum Yellow is the color of choice.

Here's an example of the "red" effect.  Look how at the depth of the green that comes out in the pic.



-Allen