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How Do You Take Good Photos For Your Reports?


Old Scaley

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Following on from the post about what makes a good report, I need some tips on taking good photos to add to my reports.  I often fish solo and usually forget to take the happy snaps. I used to take a waterproof camera out but then the process of loading the photos to a hard drive and adding them just seemed a bit tedious so now I just take my phone but I struggle a bit with that as well. I see some great photos in other people’s reports so looking for any advice on the following:

Eliminating shadows when snapping fish on the brag mat.

Using a camera phone with wet hands.

Any advice about taking photos when you are fishing solo.

Managing glare on the phone screen (often I am guessing what is in shot)

whatever else you can think of.

Thanks team AFO.  

Steve.:)

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Pictures are a big one for me as I just like looking back at good shots.

I think for reports first of all do not be afraid of scenery, sunrise shots. I know there is a lot of jokes pertaining to scenery shots meaning the trip was a did but it does help tell a story either way.

The other thing I always think about is presenting the fish well. This is personal I am not saying I do not like other pictures (my dad is a classic for a sink full of fish shots that he texts me haha). But I like the actual fish, I am interested in how they look and all the species. Thus I try and present them well.

Now one can get a lot of flack for "holding fish forward" to make them look better but it is more than that. First of all holding fish forward can look stupid especially with big fingers overlapping the fish etc. It is more about bringing the camera to the fish than the fish to the camera so the fish becomes the subject of the shot. Fingers off the front of the fish does help. You would be surprised (or not) what a difference this can make between size of blokes etc as well. For example on the weekend my mate Joel got a similar size fish but is a lot taller and broader than me and it just looked so much smaller. For a solid fish to me, the picture just did not do it justice.

Ultimately it is not about trying to make the fish look bigger, just trying to make the fish look as good as it was! Bream are classic for this as a poorly presented bream @ 30cm can look 20. Flathead are challenging as well and require a different technique all together. After heaps of playing around with this I think head forward with body angling up towards shoulder works best. It makes sense the "larger" part of the fish becomes the subject.

I also love lure in mouth shots (when genuine) and the above technique helps you ficus in on this. 

Be mindful of where the sun is and if you want the best show adjust position.

Some of your other points:

Eliminating shadows when snapping fish on the brag mat: Adjust for sun. Literally just need to make sure it is not behind you.

Using a camera phone with wet hands: Hmm tough. But this is why I have a water resistant phone :) 

Any advice about taking photos when you are fishing solo: Solo shots are hard. You can try selfie mode but can be hard with some fish. This is a good op to lay a fish down with lure and rod and try and achieve something cool this way.

Managing glare on the phone screen (often I am guessing what is in shot): If I really cannot see even once I get the sun behind me I use the old "fire off a lot" moto. If you end up firing off 10 shots for 1 good one so be it. Digital phones ensure it is easy to delete.

Angus

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I agree with Robbie and expect when he answers that there will be very good tips for everyone. Some people have an eye for interesting photo's like Robbie, however it has never come easy to me and takes a lot of thought to get a decent photo and still only one in 20 is what I would consider a good photo.

The golden rule of photography if you think you are to close, go closer! Many photo's that don't follow this rule have lots of background distracting from the focus of the picture. 

Here are some of what I do when taking a photograph. Not everything each time just depends on how important the fish capture is and the circumstances in which it was caught.

Plan A. Best to remove hats and sunglasses and have the subject naturally lite by the sun. However when facing intense sun you don't always get a natural look on your face because of glare and squinting required.

Another option is to leave your hat on shading your eyes, but use the flash even on the brightest of days. This will light up the fish and your face taking away the shadow thrown by the hat.

Turn the boat to get the light you want.

Another one is to be ready for the photo and just before we take one, we dip the fish back in the water and then pull it out so it's clean and glistening from the water with the fresh look. 

Wash the fish down so there is no blood on it.

Centre the fish in front of you no to side to give symmetry. 

Hold the fish up right so you get the full depth of it and the contrast of colors. Just the smallest of twist can make a big difference to the photo.

Remove rods and lines behind you to as not to clutter the photo.

Shot up so most of the background is removed and have a nice blue sky as the back ground.

It is very hard to take selfies with fish when flying solo. When I've been by myself and taking photos of Murray cod.  I would take tripod out and place an object where I wanted to stand for the photo and focus on that point. Using a DSLR camera you can switch it to manual focus so it does not move. Once set up I take the Murray cod from the live bait tank and stand in the predetermined focus point. Set the camera to self timer taking shots every 3 seconds, hold the fish on different angles to get different perspectives and select the photo you like the best later. The fish can released in top condition because it has spent minimal time out of the water.

It's a lot easier in the kayak if you have a Gopro to take selfies.

Basically if you want to take photos have as much as you can ready before you pull the fish out of the water.

 

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15 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

Following on from the post about what makes a good report, I need some tips on taking good photos to add to my reports.  I often fish solo and usually forget to take the happy snaps. I used to take a waterproof camera out but then the process of loading the photos to a hard drive and adding them just seemed a bit tedious so now I just take my phone but I struggle a bit with that as well. I see some great photos in other people’s reports so looking for any advice on the following:

Eliminating shadows when snapping fish on the brag mat.

Using a camera phone with wet hands.

Any advice about taking photos when you are fishing solo.

Managing glare on the phone screen (often I am guessing what is in shot)

whatever else you can think of.

Thanks team AFO.  

Steve.:)

Its a really good question. There are so many little things that change it up. I will try and only put a few things in that I like. I suppose this is more of a fish photo thing so will focus on this.

The good thing about digital photography v's old school film is that you can take a stack of photos and see how they go, change it up and take another. But there are a few thing/rules I like to keep in mind. 

If you are looking for a beautiful shot and don't mind that some of the detail is not present, put the sun behind the subject. AKA Back lit. 

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So this is very heavily back lit to the point it is nearly a silhouette. Thanks @christophagus

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Same as this. As you can see when it is this heavily back lit you loos some detail but can be more beautiful. I was lucky enough to have a beautiful model for this shot thanks @rayke1938

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You can even get the sun in the photo if you like.

20180103_054651.thumb.jpg.0992fdb2aeb54d5da50cc62c25e45f0e.jpgThis is the same time of day as the last 2 photos but it is much more back lit. As you can see you see much more detail but it is flatter and less interesting. 

Next thing is framing. Try and only have the things you want to show in the photo. 

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In this photo its pretty much all action. Sure its not a perfect shot, the fish is not sideways, the engine takes up too much of the frame, there is an annoying rod in the left, the light if very flat and uninteresting, strap across face etc. but generally your eye goes to the subject's smiling face and the fish is in the foreground. Looking at the fish works sometimes too. I love to have some context in the photo if you can, so by off centering the photo we can see the beautiful mangroves in the background and not see my messy boat that would be on the right if we centered the photo. 

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As apposed to this photo. Way too wide (should have got closer). We are so distracted from the fish and the person. the background is lame (could have moved up to the front of the boat) There is way too much "stuff" in the shot and it is distracting to see. 

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This photo again only shows the stuff you want to see.

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This one is has a great background and is still quite a nice shot but less about the subject (model thanks @Luvit). That's up to you and what you want to say with your photo.

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This is the same photo that I have cropped in on. I have also changed the Vibrancy and a few things in photo shop in a vain attempt in the low light to bring out the colours. 

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I prefer having people holding fish to a brag mat shots but brag mat shots have a purpose for nice fish so I like them too.

One of the best fish photographers I know is Troy Neilson and I stole some of his shots from Face book.

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These 3 shots are very well set up and look fantastic but it is not by luck. The first 2 are in full sun the third the subject is shaded by something. The sun is behind him but quite high. This would normally make it fully shadowed and dark. Just like @Luvit pointed out he has used a flash to "fill in" the shadows (you can see the flash in the sunglasses and reflected in the face of the fish). Also note how clean the shots are with nothing distracting in them at all. Sitting on the front of the boat takes more effort but can make for great shots. Framing is perfect, lure in wet fish, smiling faces, stunning background, boga grips hid behind fish. There other great ways to do this but with what they had (IMHO) as good as it gets for showing beautiful fish. The thing is it takes a fair bit to set up shots like this. Portraiture is another thing and I wont go there.  

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This shot is well set up, rod and fly look great background awesome. The flash has filled in the light. Could do with a crop but pretty nice.

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This shot I don't like as much. Framing is loose with too much junk in the shot, the fish looks beaten up, sunglasses on. Still a bloody good fish and good shot haha. 

But really the main thing is get closer and only have what you want in the frame. 

Now selfies... I dont know really the best way to do this. I have put the fish in a nice spot and take a photo but it's nice to have a person in the shot if you can manage it. 

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4 minutes ago, Drop Bear said:

haha you old salt. :) you are showing off now. One day I hope to have caught so many that I feel that way. But I do agree I like the landscape shots too. 

The way I see it Robbie, how many Snapper, Marlin, Bar Cod or what ever fish pictures do you want to look at over a life time of fishing., a Snapper is still just another Snapper.

A butcher doesn't take a picture of every cow he cuts up or one of every batch of sausages that he makes and I see fish the same way.

Don't get me wrong, I do take some pictures occasionally but it is very rare.

Saturday we got a box load of big cod and I didn't take one picture for the entire day yet someone else would have probably filled an sd card full of pics

I too hope some day you can catch fish and let them go or chuck them in the ice box without any fuss because you have caught tons of them already.

 

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1 minute ago, aussie123 said:

Saturday we got a box load of big cod and I didn't take one picture for the entire day yet someone else would have probably filled an sd card full of pics

I too hope some day you can catch fish and let them go or chuck them in the ice box without any fuss because you have caught tons of them already.

haha yep that would be me filling the sd cards. :) Saturday was mint. I'm glad you had a great trip. 

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Up until my PNG trip, I was absolute hopeless at taking photos of fish and would usually rush, panic and just be content with however it ended up. I'm still not great, and have a long way to go, but have picked up plenty of tricks over the last couple of years. Most has already been mentioned, but I'll just add a few more things that I now consider good practice.

  • The focus of the picture should be on they eye of the fish (note the photos above).
  • Try your hardest to hide your hands, and especially grips.
  • Get your camera settings right before you catch the fish eg. don't be playing with the flash settings while the fish is in the net.
  • Fish look better with fins up(a little coaxing can do this), and their mouth slightly ajar(not gaping).
  • (My biggest downfall) Learn to smile well. 
  • Take someone who is keen and better at photography than you. If not, then educate your deckhand on what you want in the photos.
  • Snap away! Take 50 shots if you have to, the film days are gone, you can always choose the best and delete the rest!
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7 minutes ago, aussie123 said:

The way I see it Robbie, how many Snapper, Marlin, Bar Cod or what ever fish pictures do you want to look at over a life time of fishing., a Snapper is still just another Snapper.

A butcher doesn't take a picture of every cow he cuts up or one of every batch of sausages that he makes and I see fish the same way.

Don't get me wrong, I do take some pictures occasionally but it is very rare.

 

 

I love this response, I know so many people up north that are exactly the same. "Bagged out on reds the other day." "Oh wow! Got any photos?" " Nope. Want some fillets though?"

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7 minutes ago, Tybo said:

Up until my PNG trip, I was absolute hopeless at taking photos of fish and would usually rush, panic and just be content with however it ended up. I'm still not great, and have a long way to go, but have picked up plenty of tricks over the last couple of years. Most has already been mentioned, but I'll just add a few more things that I now consider good practice.

  • The focus of the picture should be on they eye of the fish (note the photos above).
  • Try your hardest to hide your hands, and especially grips.
  • Get your camera settings right before you catch the fish eg. don't be playing with the flash settings while the fish is in the net.
  • Fish look better with fins up(a little coaxing can do this), and their mouth slightly ajar(not gaping).
  • (My biggest downfall) Learn to smile well. 
  • Take someone who is keen and better at photography than you. If not, then educate your deckhand on what you want in the photos.
  • Snap away! Take 50 shots if you have to, the film days are gone, you can always choose the best and delete the rest!

You smile some times :)

ty.thumb.jpg.7ae1d1c2fead8a6938097443b40f7291.jpg

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18 minutes ago, Tybo said:

Up until my PNG trip, I was absolute hopeless at taking photos of fish and would usually rush, panic and just be content with however it ended up. I'm still not great, and have a long way to go, but have picked up plenty of tricks over the last couple of years. Most has already been mentioned, but I'll just add a few more things that I now consider good practice.

  • The focus of the picture should be on they eye of the fish (note the photos above).
  • Try your hardest to hide your hands, and especially grips.
  • Get your camera settings right before you catch the fish eg. don't be playing with the flash settings while the fish is in the net.
  • Fish look better with fins up(a little coaxing can do this), and their mouth slightly ajar(not gaping).
  • (My biggest downfall) Learn to smile well. 
  • Take someone who is keen and better at photography than you. If not, then educate your deckhand on what you want in the photos.
  • Snap away! Take 50 shots if you have to, the film days are gone, you can always choose the best and delete the rest!

Or someone who can photoshop better than me hahaha

5a83b8efd7ccd_typhotoshop.thumb.jpg.35ea39677de71943b58da537b6c6aaa1.jpg5a83b8f92e142_TySmile.thumb.jpg.bda7d9e130d767147e68e325fdfb5639.jpg

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3 hours ago, Old Scaley said:

Great tip @ellicat. Happy now? :frantics:

I found it confusing as I wasn't sure he was 'on topic' ......... :frantics:

I think @aussie123 gave us our most important advice Steve - that we should focus on scenery shots. I can see that being a fruitful way to approach our boating fishing sessions .......... :no:

On a serious note, great tips everyone.

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I cop it a lot from mates because with a bit of "forced perspective", you can also make the fish look a fair bit more impressive than it would otherwise. Case in point: If you reaaaaally look at the photos below, the fingers/grips will show their realistic size. But if you take the photos at face value, they're all stonkers. As @Angus said, hide the grips, hide the fingers, and get a big grin on your mug. I'm still land and tinny based so I do the best with the fish we get :D

You can see all of our photos and fishing trips at https://www.instagram.com/fishframes_/  

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1 hour ago, Luvit said:

 

Is Tika holding the Trev by the gill plate to hide her fingers, or have you edited them out?

I find it hard to support big fish without having fingers in the shot.

You are building a nice portfolio of your catches and adventures.:drooling:

Just a bit of a blur on her fingers. 

Getting there! New boat is next. 

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5 hours ago, timtam_ said:

Getting there! New boat is next. 

Great photos mate, like Rob I especially love the flathead one. What sort/style/size of boat are you looking for? I'm officially on the hunt too - need to go to some boatyards to confirm the size I want but will be a plate centre console and I think around 5.2-5.5m.

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1 hour ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Great photos mate, like Rob I especially love the flathead one. What sort/style/size of boat are you looking for? I'm officially on the hunt too - need to go to some boatyards to confirm the size I want but will be a plate centre console and I think around 5.2-5.5m.

I've all but decided on a 4.5 polycraft centre console. The soft ride is my weakness! I'm happy to compromise fuel consumption and weight for comfort :P  

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22 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Great photos mate, like Rob I especially love the flathead one. What sort/style/size of boat are you looking for? I'm officially on the hunt too - need to go to some boatyards to confirm the size I want but will be a plate centre console and I think around 5.2-5.5m.

I am bagging a deckie spot on that beast right now Kelvin :worship:

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Wish this one was closer than Gladstone to take  a look at - https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/gladstone/motorboats-powerboats/5-50-extreme-plate-centre-console/1174610131

Ideally I think I'd like to keep the motor to 100-115hp for fuel economy but time will tell, especially if I end up with 5.5m. Another very hectic week of work and one more to come before things settle slightly but would like to go look at an Extreme CC (will probably only find the newer ones but seem same basic hull) - they seem not as deep as boats like the Formosa's etc. Also want to look at the Formosa range to work out how big I want and also how deep, then I know which ones to consider when they pop up for sale (Formosa's are the most common probably). Ideally I'd like a more genuine/better quality hull but I'm getting itchy feet!!!! 

There is also this one at the moment - probably a bit more than I'd like to be spending but in saying that you never know how low you could get them for, comes down to how keen/desperate the buyer is to sell.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/birkdale/motorboats-powerboats/formosa-offshore-tomahawk-550-centre-console/1173898503

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Another point I find useful is lowering the camera to ground level if you are taking pictures of fish solo.

Take @Drop Bear flathead shot.

If the picture had been taken looking straight down there would have been limited colours. But lowering the camera picks up horizon etc.

Same goes for any subject...

Take Alastair on the beach yesterday...

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Vs

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And this one

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Vs

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The first and last pictures are fine. But the 2nd and 3rd take the same moments from a lower angle bringing in sky etc. I also feel it tells a story better, from his perspective anyway. 

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10 hours ago, kmcrosby78 said:

Wish this one was closer than Gladstone to take  a look at - https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/gladstone/motorboats-powerboats/5-50-extreme-plate-centre-console/1174610131

Ideally I think I'd like to keep the motor to 100-115hp for fuel economy but time will tell, especially if I end up with 5.5m. Another very hectic week of work and one more to come before things settle slightly but would like to go look at an Extreme CC (will probably only find the newer ones but seem same basic hull) - they seem not as deep as boats like the Formosa's etc. Also want to look at the Formosa range to work out how big I want and also how deep, then I know which ones to consider when they pop up for sale (Formosa's are the most common probably). Ideally I'd like a more genuine/better quality hull but I'm getting itchy feet!!!! 

There is also this one at the moment - probably a bit more than I'd like to be spending but in saying that you never know how low you could get them for, comes down to how keen/desperate the buyer is to sell.

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/birkdale/motorboats-powerboats/formosa-offshore-tomahawk-550-centre-console/1173898503

I was seriously considering a customized tinny before buying what I have now. I was looking for high quality workmanship & best layout.  The three centre consoles I was considering we’re the AMM, Extreme and Barcrusher. I was impressed with Extreme and IMO it was easily a class above the Formosa. 

In the end a new AMM boat 5.5m customized boat was going to be $70k

You can get a lot of boat for that money hence why I bought  Grady White and had change. 

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Good tip there Angus.

Yeah the AMM's are top notch - there's actually one on Gumtree now, but unfortunately it's in Cairns ......  Others I'm keeping an eye out for are the Pacific Sportfish (older now but great hull apparently), TABS and then possibly Origin & Noble, but I need to research them more.

I think basically the first one that comes along at the right price and ticks the boxes I'll go for - would like the front casting deck raised a bit more than in the standard Formosa set ups.

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