We know you're lying. And you've got the pictures to prove it.
For as long as there have been cameras, fake pictures have been the sportsman's best friend. Caught a fish that isn't exactly a trophy? Bring out the camera. Got a buck whose antlers aren't big enough? Just point and shoot. The obvious trick, of course, is to put the camera lens very close to the little trophy while you remain in the distant background, smiling proudly. The object in the foreground will always look huge. And everybody will believe you.
OK, nobody believes you. And those staged photos look, well, completely staged. But honesty would not appear to be the goal in this age of increasingly modified photos. As leaders in the field, outdoorsmen originated the art of exaggeration, and staged photos likely will remain the sportsman's best friend for as long as there are cameras.
But for the tiny fraction of hunters and fishermen who actually prefer an honestly good photograph worth framing, here are a few tips that can help you create better photos of you and your legitimate prize.
1. THINK BACKGROUND SCENERY
Imagine the photo you're about to take without the subject: Would you take a picture of an empty garage or a grimy bed of a pickup? Know that a fisherman holding a fish out at the lake looks much better than a fisherman holding a fish in a messy kitchen. A hunter with a deer in the woods always looks better than a hunter with a deer in the bed of a pickup. As a habit, bring your camera along with you and take pictures while you're still out in nature.
2. RESIST THE DEPTH-PERCEPTION GIMMICK
Do not position the deer, fish, turkey or whatever it is you're photographing too close to the lens. The fact is, meaningless distortion of scale actually creates a pointless image in which the size of the "trophy" remains completely unknown. For honest "trophy" pictures that are truly memorable, focus on taking a well-composed photo. If you demand proof that your 15-inch crappie really was 15 inches, go ahead and lay a ruler next to the fish. It'll be just another one of those boring ruler pictures-so also take a better shot while holding the fish.
3. GET CLOSER
True, shoving a fish right in front of the camera looks about as realistic as a fun-house mirror. But, when taking people pictures, don't forget to get close enough to show the details you want to see. When photographing people holding a limit of ducks or a stringer of crappie, as a rule, take one or two steps closer to the subjects. Otherwise, the people and their trophies might look like distant strangers in a field.
4. THINK ABOUT LIGHTING, AND WHETHER USING A FLASH WILL HELP-EVEN IN DAYLIGHT
"Lighting is everything" is the photographer's golden rule. Bad lighting can be the ruin of otherwise well-composed shots (as an example, hold a flashlight under your chin to see how lighting changes everything.) Don't assume daylight is always your friend. Harsh shadows and severe contrast in sunlight can turn a smiling face beneath a baseball cap into an opaque shadow nobody will recognize. Using what's known as a "fill flash" can balance the exposure in daylight.
5. CLEAN UP
Take a moment to make your trophy look nice and fresh. A smooth, glistening walleye looks better than a walleye covered in grass and dirt. A deer with a closed mouth looks better than a deer that has its tongue dangling over the edge of the tailgate.
6. TAKE A FEW SHOTS FROM DIFFERENT ANGLES
Why rush through your photo session if the goal is to produce a nice photograph you can send to your envious hunting and fishing pals? Many sportsmen point and shoot a camera as if they were swinging a shotgun at rockt-fast doves. Click. They're done. Although great shots sometimes happen through sheer luck, investing a couple of minutes extra to compose a better show will increase the odds of producing a good photo that honestly shows off your trophy.
7. FINALLY, KNOW ANY CAMERA CAN TAKE GOOD PHOTOGRAPHS
The old expression goes: "It's a poor musician who blames his instrument." Likewise, buying an expensive camera thinking you're going to take better pictures is like buying an expensive car because you think it will make you drive better. The best photos are made by photographers, not cameras.
By Joe McFarland reprinted from Midwest Outdoors
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