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How to Take Better Fishing Photos: Ten More Tips

This is the second installment in a two-part series. Read part one here.

Cameras have gotten faster, cheaper and a whole lot more powerful. Almost everyone owns a camera, or has a powerful one in their phone, and, therefore, everyone can be a photographer.

While “happy snaps” can do a fine job of documenting a trip, why not up your game a little and take better photographs? Creatively composed shots are not as complicated as you might think. By following and practicing the first 10 suggestions, as well as these new tips, you can tell the whole story of your trip, not just part of one.

1. Take more than one shot: Take three times as many photos as you normally would. Many cameras have a setting to take more than one shot at a time. This is especially important when shooting fish, as they like to flop around (a lot), making hero shots challenging. The more shots you can rip off in a couple of seconds the better. Take more than you need, and if you’re short on card space, just erase the ones you don’t like after you’ve released the fish. (Make sure the fish spend as little time out of the water as possible, only a few seconds at a time.)

2. Learn how to hold a fish (properly) for better grip-and-grin photos: Remember that heroic fight, the run down the bank, the last-ditch effort by your fishing partner to net the fish of a lifetime? After all that, don’t waste the shot by holding the fish awkwardly. Here’s a foolproof method for getting the best shot of your fish. Drop your arms to your sides, face your palms out. Now, think about the fish resting on just the very tips of your fingers and letting your thumbs slide behind the fish, partially obscuring them from view. Be aware of damaging, or covering up, the gill cover, pectoral, pelvic and anal fins. Position your hands behind the head and in front of the tail. If the fish is larger and you need a little bit of elbow grease to hold it, simply switch the position of your tail hand to the front of the fish, grasping with your entire hand around the front of the tail. Again, only hold the fish out of the water for a few seconds.

3. Try something different: Instead of the same old (boring) holding-a-big-fish picture, try something different. Take a picture of the smallest fish you caught that day. Hold the fish as far away from your body as possible, with the fish safely over and low to the water. Focus just on the fish. This tends to make them look quite a bit larger. Try taking a photo of the fish resting in the net, in just a couple inches of water. Take your first shot just as the fish is slowly being raised out of the water. Sometimes this freezes the water dripping off the fish, making for a nice effect. Rest your fish in some slack water and take a couple of shots as it makes his dash for the current, kicking up a wave in the process. The options are endless, so get creative…

4. Be nice to the fish: Speaking of fish out of water, my friend Marshall Cutchin might have the best yardstick for how long a fish should be out of water. Out fishing one day, his friend was trying to take pictures of a fish he’d caught. When he asked how long he could hold the fish out of the water, Marshall replied that he should start holding his breath as soon as the fish left the water. When you run out of breath, it’s time to let the fish go. Basically, don’t abuse the fish just for a photograph. Make it short and sweet.

5. Get closer to your subject: Look at most of your photos of fish, or fishing friends, or the boat. I’ll bet most of them are taken from about 10-feet back. Don’t worry, most fish don’t bite (too hard). Get up in its grill and take some interesting shots. Fill the frame with the angler and fish. Here’s a good rule of thumb: Whenever you take your next image of a friend, fish, camp, whatever, get twice as close as you normally would and take a couple of shots. In fact take a bunch. You can always erase them.

6. Think “focus:” Most cameras autofocus using a best guess technique. This can be difficult if the subject is partially obscured by vegetation, or you want to frame off-center. One trick is to put the subject dead center, press the shutter halfway down to set exposure and focus, then while still holding down the shutter (to maintain that exposure and focus) reframe the photo and shoot. If it’s a really tough autofocus shot (obscured by vegetation), switch to manual focus if you can.

7. Stop and look around: Anglers get to see some amazing sights when out in nature. Colorful sunsets, sunrises, gatherings of migratory birds, strange animal behavior, incredible landscapes, friends doing silly things…shoot this stuff. In fact, shoot this more than just your standard trophy, or grip-and-grin. It can be far more interesting when looking back at your trip. Tell a story, not just a piece of one.

8. Try different angles: 90-percent of pictures I see are taken at eye level. Stop being lazy. Get on your knees, or your stomach. If you can, get above the situation, like on the roof of you car, or the bed of your truck, and shoot down. Take a picture of that fish at the level of the water, with just its eye above the water line.

9. Track the sun: “Keep the sun at your back” is still true with digital photography. Colors are typically much better if the fish is in sunlight, rather than shadows. Shooting into the sun will render anything, other than the background, as silhouette. This can work in your favor if the landscape is your main focus. A well-placed silhouette can really make a photograph.

10. Mind the light: Keep in mind the “magic hour,” which is just after sunrise and just before sunset, when the sun is low on the horizon. The sunlight is traveling through more atmosphere and this provides a warmer, richer light.

Coming Clean About Carp

They stink. They’re ugly. They’re slimy. They’re absolutely gross fish. But no fish, in fresh or saltwater, will bring out the “next level” in a fly angler like the common carp.

I almost cannot comprehend the fact that they were introduced in this country around the same time that brown trout were brought to American rivers–and the carp were the prized fish, guarded under arms as a food source, while the browns were considered merely play things. Fast-forward a century or more, and there’s a “Trout Unlimited” because trout are a fragile fish, the piscine “canary in the coal mine,” whose higher purpose is to telltale the health of cold, clean water in America. 

Carp, on the other hand, have proven to be the supreme adaptors. We can’t kill them if we try, and we do. And yes, they’re a nuisance species in many places, often out-competing others (like trout) and can ruin a good thing.

But the angler in me adores and respects carp. Because they can sense, smell, feel and hear you–like no other fish on the planet. And in certain situations, they are the absolute toughest fish to master with a fly rod. They eat off the surface, but they don’t. They grub for crayfish, when they feel like it. You spook one, and it tells all the other fish around it.

Boot one fish, and you boot them all.

I have many friends who chase carp as a primary passion. For the most part, they are kind, fun-loving, interesting and wonderful people. But they’re also pretty damn twisted and weird. They’re going to love the fact that I just wrote that, because they also have well-earned confidence. Put it this way: The really good fly-fishing-for-carp anglers consider species like steelhead, trout and permit “easy” fish. And I am not just stating that for effect, because I can tell you that I’ve watched carp gurus absolutely own many bonefish flats and trout runs.

Here’s the bottom line. Hold your nose and go try to catch carp on a fly. It’s not a fad, and it’s not a marketing trick that revolves around the (very true) fact that carp are everywhere, and accessible to any fly angler anywhere in the United States. As you read this, for 90-percent of you, the closest fish that will eat a fly if you know how to show it to them, right now, is a carp. And they’ll demand A-game angling by way of casting, presentation, fly selection and so forth, like no other fish can. If you want to elevate your fly-fishing game to an elite level, you must at least dabble with carp now and then.

My Favorite Carp Flies Are Bonefish Flies

Carp are famous for adapting to a specific food source: They eat berries that fall off bushes in the creeks and canals around Washington, D.C.; they zero in on small fish like gobies at places like Beaver Island, Lake Michigan; and pretty much anywhere there are crayfish, you can’t go wrong with a great Jay Zimmerman fly pattern. 

But I’ve found that some of my most effective carp flies are bonefish flies like Gotchas, Pink Puffs and Crazy Charlies. I think, like on the saltwater flats, it’s really more a matter of presentation and not spooking the fish you are targeting than it is matching the forage. As I’ve often said, the weight of the fly (the splash factor) is as important a consideration as any. Having those different patterns with various weighted eyes–from heavy barbells, to bead chains, to nothing at all–is as important to me when I’m on the carp flat as anything. That is unless, of course, I know they’re on one of those specific food sources, like berries or gobies.

Except When My Favorite Carp Fly Is a Trout Fly

Then again, if you asked me what fly I have probably landed the most carp on overall, it would be a Size 12 or 14 Beadhead Hare’s Ear with rubber legs. Small, slow micro strips with that bug will fool even the smartest old carp.

How to Take Better Fishing Photos: Ten Tips

Cameras have gotten faster, cheaper and a whole lot more powerful. Almost everyone owns a camera, or has one on their phone, and, therefore, everyone can be a photographer.

While “happy snaps” can do a fine job of documenting a trip, why not up your game and take better photographs? Creatively composed shots are not as complicated as you might think. By following and practicing these ten suggestions, you can tell the whole story of your trip, not just part of one.

1. Learn what camera buttons do: Sit down with your user manual and read. You don’t have to learn everything, but knowing the basics is important. Modern point-and-shoot cameras, as well as your phone, are powerful machines that combine a ton of features that are easy to use and can vastly improve your photos. Most people never take their camera off “auto,” which is a shame.

2. Check to make sure your camera’s working before you head out: Are the batteries fresh? Is everything working properly? Are your memory cards erased? Check to make sure the camera is not still switched to the “indoor light” settings from your little sister’s birthday party the night before. There have been numerous occasions where my first great shot of a trip is ruined because my settings were wrong for the occasion.

3. Have your camera accessible: I can’t tell you how many times I would’ve had a great shot if my camera wasn’t buried under pounds of fishing gear, lunch or my rain jacket. Have the camera at the top of your bag or dry box. If you’re worried about it getting wet, buy a small dry bag that can be slipped into a vest pocket. Dry bags have gotten slimmer and less expensive. They are easily worth the money for protecting your camera.

4. Be aware of condensation: Much like bringing a cold beverage out of the freezer, your camera will “sweat” and fog up if brought from an air-conditioned environment into a humid or hot environment. Some cameras will malfunction, even shut off, if the condensation becomes too much for the internal circuitry. The same goes for shooting in the winter–if it’s hot inside and you march right into the cold, the same thing will happen. Let your camera get accustomed to its environment for a full hour before first use.

5. Use your macro setting: Most point-and-shoots have amazing macro capabilities that are never utilized. On most cameras, the icon for this setting is a little flower. This will allow you to fill the frame of your picture with a fish’s eye, the fly you tied, or the streamer sticking out of the fish’s mouth.

6. Centered images can be boring: While this isn’t always the case, try and use the “rule of thirds”–divide your frame into thirds, both horizontally and vertically. Place the center of attention on one of those “third lines.”

7. Make the fish, or gorgeous wooden boat, image “pop”: Use the camera’s longest zoom setting (without using digital zoom). Without going into the technical details, this “stacks” the image compressing space. Typically, this will throw your background into a soft focus, drawing the viewer’s eyes to the subject.

8. Always look for distractions in the photo: This is harder to execute than you might think. It’s a practiced skill, but will vastly improve your images. For example, don’t let cousin Joe’s backpack, or your buddy’s fishing rod, hover into your shot from out of nowhere. Isolating your subject matter, without distractions, will improve the overall composition of the shot.

9. Be steady: Take a breath, and hold, while you shoot. The reason most wildlife shots don’t turn out is that the camera moved during the photo, producing a bit of blurring or fuzziness. Many people blame this on the camera, but it’s almost always the photographer. Be especially aware during low-light situations.

10. Be stealthy and slow down: This not only helps your fishing, but your photography. Putting your rod down and walking slowly will allow you to see some amazing things while out on the river, lake or ocean. Fish won’t dart away; birds won’t flush and spook everything in their path. Some of the hardest shots are fish eating flies, and a quiet approach can greatly increase your odds of blending in and capturing these moments.