Outdoorsmen Adventures.com

Low camera angle improved this photograph.

Also the deer was cleaned up, no blood, no wound showing.

Reprinted from the Sioux City Journal

It seems everyone is taking pictures these days.

Digital photography has taken a lot of the mystery out of photography and today’s point and shoot cameras are so simple to operate that they should not be intimidating to any one.

Although practically no one worries much about f stops or shutter speeds nowadays, getting a good photograph still depends upon who is pushing the button.

Since I’ve been running reader photos on these pages, it’s been longer than six years, believe it or not, I get to see a lot of efforts from amateur photographers.

Some of their “look at my fish” or “look at my deer” are pretty good, but others are not what they should be.

So, I’m going to offer some suggestions here for you to get better photos of your fish and game.

The first thing I would tell you is keep blood out of the photo, whether it’s a fish or a deer. Sure, hunting and fishing are blood sports, but we should have more respect for the game than to photograph blood.

I always carry some rags with me to wipe the blood off of whatever game I am photographing. You must take the time to clean up before you take the photograph.

Also, nothing detracts from a deer picture than a tongue hanging out of the animals mouth. Cut if off before taking the picture.

Your photographs will be much better if you take the time to display the fish or animal as good as possible.

Move in close to the subject. Photographs with a lot of area around the subjects are not as good as those where the subject fills the frame.

Also consider the level of the camera. Most photographs are taken from eye level. Many could be improved by shooting from a lower level, especially if the camera is pointing down at the subject.

When photographing someone holding fish or small game, have them hold them high, at least eye level. Also, especially with fish, hold them under the gill flap on the side opposite the camera and do everything you can to keep fingers out of the photograph.

When taking your picture, you should make sure the sun is at your back and shining on your subject. This will provide the best lighting for most subjects.

If your subject is wearing a cap or a hat, have them push it back so a shadow does not fall across their face.

If the subject is wearing dark glasses, ask them to take them off.

Many photographs can be improved if you use the flash, especially if the subject is wearing a cap. The flash will light up the shadow across the face. The flash on most point-and-shoot cameras is only good out to about 9 or 10 feet so you have to be close to get the best effect.

If possible get the photographs out in the field. This will be much better than making the picture in the back of pickup or on the garage floor. I know that is not possible if you are hunting alone, and few of you are going to carry a tripod into the field and use the self timer.

But, there is never an excuse not to have a camera along.

Although I shoot mostly single lens reflex (SLR) cameras with interchangeable lenses, I always carry a point-and-shoot in my shirt pocket. The SLRs are big and heavy and many times not convenient to take into the field. A lot of the photographs of turkey and deer that I take are taken with that point and shoot.

To sum up, keep blood out of the pictures, keep the sun at your back, move in close, hold the fish or small game high and use the fill-flash in bright sun. Just those few things will improve your photography.