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Capturing the MomentHow hold a fish for the cameraBy James Anderson
There are a lot of photos that people bring back with them from their fly fishing vacation. Upon reaching home, a typical download may include a variety of different photos including aerial photos the city you flew into, the spread of good food for your stream-side-lunch, the lodges or fly shops you stopped at, any wildlife you were lucky enough to encounter, bug shots, the last fly you had that was working, and scenic shots of the rivers you fished. While these shots are awesome and essential in telling your slide show story, it is often the "grip and grin" shot that become the most revered and cherished. Such shots are undeniable proof that you not only made it to your fishing destination, but that you kicked some ass once you got there. But shots like these are far from a guarantee. First, you have to be in the right place at the right time. Luck has a lot to do with this. So does having a great guide. Next you have to be able to put the fly in the right place. This could be dumb luck or it could be years of obsessed practice. Next up, you have to be lucky enough to hook the fish. Luck really does play a big role with this key element, as fish will often nip your fly, strike but miss your fly, refuse your fly, or cartwheel in the air spitting your fly out in a manner that can only be translated as %^&* you buddy! Next you, your fishing buddy, or your guide has to skillfully plan the landing and somehow get the fish in the net. But the game isn't over yet. You and the photographer need to act as a team to create a photo which you will remember for years to come. "There are no rules for good photographs, there are only good photographs." -Ansel Adams Great point. For everything I have written below there is always an exception to the rule. And they aren't even rules, they are just a few things that I have noticed make (in my opinion) a good fish photo. You should experiment on your own and come up with different techniques and results. Keep it evolving, fresh, and funky. Maybe taking a shot right into the sun produces a cool silhouette or lens flare. Maybe having the fish out of focus gives it a sense of motion and liveliness. Never erase a shot on your camera unless you are out of memory. You never know, you might just dig your seemingly crummy images once you've download them on the big screen. With time, taking good fishing photos will become as second nature as stopping your rod at 12:00. In the beginning however, there are a few simple guidelines that will help you capture the moment. And lord knows you need to capture it. You'll want to enjoy that image on your screen saver once you're back at the office dreaming of the last time you were fishing...
KEEP THE FLY IN THEIR MOUTHI know it sounds stupid, but this one has saved me time and time again. Joe Brooks turned my Dad on to this one years ago while fishing the spring creeks. Instinctively, most everyone's first reaction is to take the fly out of the fish's mouth to relieve it from pain. But anyone who's been hooked knows that the hook doesn't really hurt when it's sitting still - taking it out is the part that hurts. The only thing that hurts worse is watching the fish of your trip swim away after flopping out of your hands. If you're concerned that others might see your secret fly, you can always get a set of shots after words, but to insure the shot, leave it in at first. Just a quick note on barbs - if you choose to fish with them, you can still push the hook through and depress the barb instead of ripping it out. Seeing fish with messed up jaws is sad, especially when you know what caused it. Also, if the fish took the fly deep in its gills, its agreed the best thing to do is cut your leader and let the hook rust out over time...
HOW TO HOLD THE FISHThere is a fine line when it comes to holding up your trophy trout. Hold it too far and you'll be accused of being a poser with straight elbows and crooked fish tales. Hold it too close to your body however, and your legitimate 21 inch brown looks more like a scrawny 16 incher. Getting the right perspective is key to making your fish look big. The head of the trout should be closer to the camera than the tail. This means if you're holding the trout, extend your hand that is beneath the head one - two feet away from your body while leaving the hand gripping the tail 8 - 12 inches from your body. If you have a monster in your hands, you can increase these numbers for a hero shot, but for fish 16 - 20 inches this formula is about right. The effect creates an optical illusion where your eye focuses on the large head and shoulders of the fish, while your mind makes the assumption that the tail must be equally as impressive, even if it looks smaller or is hidden by your grip. Something else you'll want to keep in mind is holding your fish square to the camera. By that I mean make sure the fish is not tilted towards your body, with it's side facing the sky. Make sure it is perpendicular to the camera. You'll get a lot less reflection off the fish for one thing, but more importantly the girth of the fish will look thicker when it is squared up.
HIDE THOSE FINGERS!Once you've put your "head hand" towards the camera, your fingers are obviously going to look much bigger. We've all seen those shots where the person's hands looks bigger than their head. The fish looks big, but it doesn't look legit. The first impression of these types of shots almost discredits the angler and the fish, which is not the immediate effect we are looking for. As with most things, balance is the key. A few tricks: Try to hide your fingers behind the trout's pectoral fin. Bending your fingers a bit, rather than holding them straight to help keep the focus on the fish rather than your fingers. I think hiding your fingers behind the pec fins also gives you a slightly better grip. As any one who has held a trout knows, they especially hate to sit still. You have about 4-5 seconds before a trout inevitably has to squirm. When start to move, put them back in the water and give them a drink. Another technique you can use is holding your head hand flat. Doug Mcknight has this down pat. It helps if you twist your wrist so that your fingers are towards the trout's mouth and the heel of your hand is below the pectoral fins. This is not only a stable method of holding fish, but it also keeps the focus on the fish and allows you to see the fish's side without fingers in the way. PICK THE BEST BACKGROUNDMy favorite shots not only have a cool looking fish, but they also include a cool looking background. You can almost get a feel for the river and what it must have been like to be there with a good scenic background. They capture the fish, the angler, and the scenery all in one shot. You won't get much room to include the scenery, which is why you have to plan it quickly in your head and position the angler where you want them. To some degree, your options will be limited by light. If you take a photo directly into the sun, your subject will be too dark or washed out. Try to get the sun at your back, and hopefully some mountains and a little river in the shot. If you're shooting the fish of a lifetime, try a couple different backgrounds before releasing it.
There is also something to be said about the stealthy background. Eric Paulson taught me the value of this one years ago, whether he meant to or not. If you've stumbled upon a stretch of river that is consistently holding big fish, why on earth would you want to include a landmark hint in the background? True, fish are always on the move, but what guide hasn't caught the same exact fish they caught just a day or two before in the same general area? For stealthy shots, try to keep the horizon out of the frame. You can still pick a pleasing background; fall leaves, evergreens trees, or grassy banks all look cool to name a few. Another technique that makes fish look big is taking the shot from a down low angle. This limits your background for sure. Usually you are stuck with the sky and perhaps a little bit of the horizon. Play with this and see if you can tell a difference with the way the fish looks.
USE A FILL IN FLASHRarely is the sun in the perfect position so that you don't need a fill in flash. Equally as rare is getting the angler to take off their hat for the photo. You can use photoshop's dodge tool to help lighten the shadow under their hat, but it is better not to have the shadow in the first place. Only on very cloudy days does the flash seem to be too much light. The down side of using a fill in flash is that sometimes fish reflects too much light. This typically occurs during low light conditions when you almost have no choice but to use a flash, otherwise you risk the photo being out of focus. On bright days you usually can't go wrong with the fill in. Still, I usually try to take a couple shots with and without the flash just in case...
MAKE THE ANGLER LAUGH!One of the key elements to a sweet grip and grin is getting the angler to smile or laugh naturally. You know how it feels when you have to take a family portrait. It's not funny at all, and if you have to fake a smile, it turn out looking lame. Genuine smiles and laughter on the river are priceless things to capture. If you notice your friend is not smiling naturally, you might prompt them by saying something funny. Try to watch your profanity unless you know your friend won't be offended. If you're in the photo, and no one is saying something funny, just remember that you're living the dream!
TAKE LOTS OF PHOTOS, BUT REST THE FISHI can't stress this one enough. It is cool to get a bunch of good photos, but it is not cool stress out the fish. As long as you give the trout a drink with consistent intervals it will be perfectly fine. I try not to have a fish out of water for more than about 5 seconds. The fish will actually let you know they are ready by beginning to squirm when they feel the need for water. The simple rule is to quit taking photos as soon as they start wiggling around. You can't get a good photo then anyway, so you might as well let the fish re-gain some strength while you change your flash settings, pick out a new background, or stop to admire the fish. In cold water, trout are relatively robust creatures, but the opposite is true in warmer water situations. This is obvious when you release nice winter brown after a photo session and he smokes away like an armed robber who has just hopped in his getaway car. Conversely, trout seem quite sensitive towards the end of summer. Despite landing and releasing a trout as quickly as you can, (without any photos) the fish might loose its equilibrium and turn belly up. If this happens, you need to face the trout into the current so that it's gills can extract the oxygen it needs. A swift riffle is a great spot to do this, but if you happen to be fishing a lake, you can create the same scenario. Tail the fish in one hand and push it forward quickly, but bring it back slowly. This simulates the same motion of water and allows the gills to do their job. When water temperatures reach 70 degrees, trout have a hard time reviving, which is why FWP closes fishing after 2:00 on hot, low water summers. Why bother taking a lot of photos? Inevitably, when you download your photos you'll have shots where your fish looks huge and shots where your fish looks significantly smaller. You'll have shots with eyes closed, stupid looks, boogers, lens cap still on, whatever. What if you only took one photo? Maybe you got lucky and took the money shot, maybe you wished you took a couple more. I've found that it helps to take a few photos to get that perfect shot.
GLASSES ON OR OFF?Your pick here. Sometimes shades make you look cool. Sometimes they hide facial expressions. Photos without glasses seem more real and give you a better chance to capture who it is your photographing. Seeing the excitement in someone's eyes tells an instant story and reveals a true feeling. Shades can hide these emotions. If you think about it at the time, you can take a few shots of each, but in the heat of the moment this factor is usually last on the list of things to remember. Having a pair of croakies is a good idea so you can hang your glasses around your neck. Putting them on your hat is a good way to loose them if you aren't careful.
THE HEAD SHOTBefore letting your trophy fish return to the river, you may wish to take a close up "head shot." Most all digital cameras these days have a close up mode, (often indicated by the small flower icon). You'll want to be sure that your camera is on this mode so your fish is in clear focus. Sometimes I like to get the horizon in the background because it gives the photograph a better depth of field and as a bonus, it captures the river scenery as well. Sometimes I like to have just the water in the background and let the trout's markings become the focus. If you choose to take a low angle shot, you might not be able to see your view finder, so be sure to take multiple exposures. For these kinds of shots, I usually will hold the camera so that my thumb hits the shutter button. Be sure to hold the camera as still as you can because on close up mode, motion can easily become blurred. Take a deep breath, exhale half of it, and hold the rest in while you take a few steady shots. Try to time the shot so that the mouth is open as this will make your fish look like the wild predator it is.
UNDERWATER SHOTSIf you are a serious fly fisherman and your camera is not water proof or does not have the ability to work with a slim waterproof housing, you need to e-bay that sucker ASAP. Unless your a pro, or you have a good home insurance plan, there is no reason your SLR should come close to the water. Prices on waterproof digital cameras have become extremely reasonable, many of which are 5 mega pixels or better. Sony, Canon, and Olympus all make good versions to name a few... Underwater shots are tricky because you can see the viewfinder. Like the head shot, I usually take these with my thumb, and usually I leave the camera in close up mode. The water magnifies your shot, so you need to get further away from the fish than you might think. In a typical head shot, your camera might be 4-6 inches away from the fish, but underwater you'll want to make it a good 10-12 inches away. Take a bunch of photos because these rarely turn out. The ones that do look awesome, but you might have one good shot for every ten you take. Current flow is good for clear water, but difficult to hold the camera still. Try to look for slower moving water for these shots. Spring creeks, lakes, and rivers with glacial flow tend to make the clearest freshwater shots, but a calm day on the flats can't be beat.
VIDEO THE RELEASEMost digital cameras have the option of taking short, low quality video. Although you won't get any high def footage, it is cool to watch your fish return to its environment. In a world where catch and release is not always the norm, I enjoy seeing and endorsing that imagery. A wild trout is too valuable to be caught only once. If I'm backpacking or camping, I have to admit I'll keep the occasional fish, but with so much accessible food on the grocery store shelves, it doesn't make sense to kill a being that intrigues me so much. That and there's something about giving a trout the "granite shampoo" that simply doesn't make me feel good. The thought of catching that fish again, or my kids being able to catch that fish's offspring makes me feel a whole lot better at the end of the day... |
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