How to - fish pics

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bobberboy

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I've been wanting to ask this question for a while but haven't had the courage - I guess I didn't want to risk getting kicked out of the family. Anyway, it's winter and it's Saturday and I'm bored, so what the hell... When you get photographed with your most recent best catch, how far in front of you do you hold the fish to make it look bigger?

I'll be the first to confess...I always hold the fish as close to me as I can. That way the fish covers up my gut and the viewer's attention is on the fish and not that unsightly thing bulging behind my t-shirt (hey, wait, am I knocked up?)
 
i think people look awkward when people try to hold it straight out in front of them to make it look like a monster... i usually hold it with my arm bent at like a ~90 degree angle in front of me with the fish a little to the side.
 
Jim said:
To be honest I do not even think about it. I try to hold it close to me and a little to the side. I also try to get one picture with the weight scale.

+1. To be honest, I'm always thinking about the placement of the fish so it makes a good "framed" photo if I decide to go that route. Being a photographer....I never take a picture without thinking about the framing and how it will fit certain formats. It's a curse in some sense, (because everyone always says, " take the picture already") but pays off in the long run I guess.
 
Little trick I learned this year, have the photographer "hide" your elbow behind the fish when taking the picture. dont understand it but it defiantly works. :wink:
 
I hold mine as close to me as possible... the one below is 2.45lbs caught this past Saturday in our tourney. If you look, my elbow is actually back near my back

russ12911.JPG

this one is 7.5lbs - and I'm holding it out to my side

7-49lb - 10-10-10 Lake Horton -3.jpg
 
In reality, I usuall take a picture with the fish angled or horizontal, not vertical. But then my hands are all in the picture and I must have big hands because the fish look so small. Have to try the elbow trick.

Normally I just compare them to something big, like a house...
pike.JPG


:LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2:
 
wasilvers said:
In reality, I usuall take a picture with the fish angled or horizontal, not vertical. But then my hands are all in the picture and I must have big hands because the fish look so small. Have to try the elbow trick.

Normally I just compare them to something big, like a house...
pike.JPG


:LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2:

See, that's what I talking about. Perspective and scale. I should have my granddaughter hold my fish when I take pics. And Baitcaster, you're right. If we lived in warmer climes maybe our fish would be more photogenic.
 
I am a straight out kind of guy when someone else take the picture. The viewers of my photos are usually non-anglers so I like to get that wow factor.
 
wasilvers said:
In reality, I usuall take a picture with the fish angled or horizontal, not vertical. But then my hands are all in the picture and I must have big hands because the fish look so small. Have to try the elbow trick.

Normally I just compare them to something big, like a house...
pike.JPG


:LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2:


But how do you throw a crankbait as big as a Volkswagon? :wink:
 
lbursell said:
wasilvers said:
In reality, I usuall take a picture with the fish angled or horizontal, not vertical. But then my hands are all in the picture and I must have big hands because the fish look so small. Have to try the elbow trick.

Normally I just compare them to something big, like a house...
pike.JPG


:LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2:


But how do you throw a crankbait as big as a Volkswagon? :wink:

I'm from Texas, everything's bigger in Texas.
8)
 
If you really want your fish to look bigger....
BaitCaster's photo with the arm straight out does make the fish look larger, but it is obvious that he is trying to make it look larger, so people automatically figure the fish isn't that big. The secret is perspective, right? You want the fish closer to the camera than you are, right? And your arms are only so long, right? The best way to get this done without seeming so obvious about it isn't FISH placement as much as CAMERA placement. Do the math. If you are 10 feet from the camera, and hold the fish 2 feet in front of you, the fish is 80% of the distance from the camera that you are. If you are 4 feet from the camera, and hold the fish the same 2 feet in front of you, the distance is 50%. You are twice as far from the camera as the fish!
I am going to guess that Fish Devil's fish, while large, did not weigh as much as Russ010's 7-1/2 pounder, but it LOOKS larger to the untrained eye, even though they both obviously have their elbows bent. I would also guess that the camera was about 10 feet from Russ010's fish, but only 2 or 3 feet from Fish Devil's.
BTW, both are nice catches, congrats guys!

Bobberboy, if you want to hide behind your fish, you either have to stand closer to the camera, or catch HUGE fish.
 
Henry Hefner said:
If you really want your fish to look bigger....
BaitCaster's photo with the arm straight out does make the fish look larger, but it is obvious that he is trying to make it look larger, so people automatically figure the fish isn't that big. The secret is perspective, right? You want the fish closer to the camera than you are, right? And your arms are only so long, right? The best way to get this done without seeming so obvious about it isn't FISH placement as much as CAMERA placement. Do the math. If you are 10 feet from the camera, and hold the fish 2 feet in front of you, the fish is 80% of the distance from the camera that you are. If you are 4 feet from the camera, and hold the fish the same 2 feet in front of you, the distance is 50%. You are twice as far from the camera as the fish!
I am going to guess that Fish Devil's fish, while large, did not weigh as much as Russ010's 7-1/2 pounder, but it LOOKS larger to the untrained eye, even though they both obviously have their elbows bent. I would also guess that the camera was about 10 feet from Russ010's fish, but only 2 or 3 feet from Fish Devil's.
BTW, both are nice catches, congrats guys!

Bobberboy, if you want to hide behind your fish, you either have to stand closer to the camera, or catch HUGE fish.


You got it!


Also, if you want all that stuff to work - hide your fingers and hands!

Same fish:
DennyB002.jpg

DennyB003.jpg


Holding it out:

TwBass.jpg
 
Here's a few more... I actually hold nearly every fish the same way, and that's with my elbows bent (and I try to get them behind my back if I can remember) and my hands high, so I'm actually holding the fish a lot closer to my body..

Here is one... the fish on the left is 3.5lbs, the one on the right is 7.5lbs

russ611full.JPG

And this one is 7lbs - Brine took this picture one day out when he took me to some of his lakes

Russ Edwards 7lb.jpg

And this one is 6lbs

acwort6lb31410.jpg
 
Man, Russ010 got it down pat. When I start catching giants, I'll start bending the elbow. :LOL2: I hold my fish close to the body like the OP. In the end, we all know what's a big fish and what's not. BTW, I wear 4XL gloves, so all my fish looks small. :lol:
 

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No matter how close the camera was or how much I bent my elbow behind me, this fish just does not look like a giant!

:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

2011-02-02_smallbasspic.jpg
 

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