# How to - fish pics



## bobberboy (Jan 29, 2011)

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?)


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## Jim (Jan 29, 2011)

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.


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## arkansasnative (Jan 29, 2011)

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.


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## fender66 (Jan 29, 2011)

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.


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## schlifawitz (Jan 30, 2011)

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:


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## BaitCaster (Jan 31, 2011)

I hold my arm straight out in front of me if possible:


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## russ010 (Jan 31, 2011)

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




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


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## wasilvers (Jan 31, 2011)

I only catch big fish, so they all look like monsters in the pictures. 8) 
:---) :---) :---)


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## wasilvers (Jan 31, 2011)

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...






:LOL2: :LOL2: :LOL2:


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## BaitCaster (Jan 31, 2011)

If I lived and fished in Georgia I wouldn't have to put my arm out straight! :LOL2:


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## bobberboy (Jan 31, 2011)

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...
> 
> ...



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.


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## SkagBass (Jan 31, 2011)

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.


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## fish devil (Jan 31, 2011)

:twisted: A quality fish deserves a close up shot.


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## lbursell (Jan 31, 2011)

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...
> 
> ...




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


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## wasilvers (Jan 31, 2011)

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.
> ...



I'm from Texas, everything's bigger in Texas.
8)


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## Henry Hefner (Feb 1, 2011)

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.


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## Captain Ahab (Feb 2, 2011)

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!
> ...




You got it! 


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

Same fish:









Holding it out:


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## russ010 (Feb 2, 2011)

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




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




And this one is 6lbs


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## zerofivenismo (Feb 2, 2011)

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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## wasilvers (Feb 2, 2011)

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:


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## devilmutt (Feb 3, 2011)

I try to keep my arm bent at the elbow and get a good picture. When I look at other's pictures the first thing I do is compare the person's fist to their head, a lot of times the fist is bigger.

This link was post today on another forum that I visit. Its a short article about taking fish pictures.

Secrets of Bruce Condello Photo Technique Revealed


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## bearsphan3.14 (Feb 3, 2011)

devilmutt said:


>


That picture looks like a bad photoshop. The proportions are all jacked up


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## devilmutt (Feb 3, 2011)

I agree, the photo is from the article. While the fish are real nice, the picture takes away from them IMO.


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## slabdaddy (Feb 3, 2011)

Drug a lot over the side, but never caught Bream that big; bout ya'll? :shock:


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## russ010 (Feb 3, 2011)

slabdaddy said:


> Drug a lot over the side, but never caught Bream that big; bout ya'll? :shock:



those bream aren't really that big - they are closer to the camera.... but I have caught bigger on night crawlers and on topwater pop-r's


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