Top Tips for the perfect Trophy Shot

[Julian Grattidge]

OK, you’ve just bagged the venue record and you want to make sure your mate takes a good picture for posterity – what would your main tips be for getting a good shot?

[coffindodger]

Take didgi pic's as well as 35mm and atleast on the didgi you can see what you have imediatly and if nessesary take some more, its also just easyer and any fool can use one a bit of cropping if the pic's are a little too far away can make all the differance to the finished artical with a decent editing program.

phone a friend !

[Blue]

Check the background, no people or cars etc,
Make sure the fish has no grass, bits on it. A quick cup of water over it freshens it up for the shot to.
Make sure the suns not casting shadows everywhere (if it's out obviously),
I prefer the camera in portrait position,
Get the photographer quite low down,
Try and fill the shot as much as possible with captor and fish,
Move around, side shots, head on, etc.
Also, i like shots of the fish being returned to the lake, especially if it was a kipper or lake record.

[Julian Grattidge]

Some great tips so far,

Digi’s are great, as has been said as you can use the large viewfinder to frame the shot, and I think that’s a key point – filling the frame, there’s nothing worse than the fish being a little blob in the middle of the image. I always tend to use my digital on the highest setting so that you can easily crop later without losing quality. As you say Blue, getting the photographer at the same level or lower really makes a difference.

Background is also key, especially at night, I don’t like those shots where behind the angler is completely black, and the flash just burns out the angler and fish. Much better to position the angler (with the fish) right in front of a bush or hedge so that there’s something behind the angler for the flash to pick up on. With cameras that have severe flash, I’ve also found it can help to stick a rizzla paper over the flash itself to calm it down, and quite often if I do one with, and one without, the one with the paper turns out best.

[Bet]

Don't let my hubby take the pic It wasn't his fault really,you'd get the camera all set and the chuffin thing wud zoom in more as you clicked to take.I'd get the pics back with missing heads and tail fins .Thats why we upgraded to a digi! Check for shadows,try to fill the frame but leave a little over for cropping,and get down as low as poss to take the pic oh n don't forget to smile

[whogotmelighter]

buy a good camera and tri pod, and take it with you!!! even if you go for a few hours, i lernt this valuable lesson when i finnaly cracked booths.
i went on for a few hours after work one sunny afternoon with one rod and some mixers, and a bit of tackle, i wasn't expecting much because my moral was low after enduring 6 months of now't!

after watching the water for a bit i decided to creep around the small island near peg 1. i crept to the waters edge keeping low and threw out my controler and a pouch full of mixers. with the bait runner engauged i sat back in the afternoon sun and wandered off into my own little world(as you do??), about 20 mins later the tip bent round and my line was peeling off the reel, 'get in' i thought as visons of carp ran through my head.

after a short tussle in the shallow water an absolute lump slipped over the net.... bigscale!!!! only the biggest bloody fish in there and my first!!! and over 30lb !!!! i say over 30 because my old (and now binned) scales only went to 30 so i coulndn't accuratly weigh her.

there was one other angler on with his wife so i began to shout and wave my arms 'i've got the 30' and gestured for him to come over, but he didn't.. ###t. i didn't have my camera, but luckily had my camera phone with delay timer. phew. i managed to get a dogey snap, but hey, i have the evidence thank god!!!

lesson lernt there on my behalf, ever since i have had a camera and tri pod with me where ever i go fishing just in case, and a new set of scales, cause you never know whats coming next!!!! and with practice you can take some good pics yourself, if your water allows you to sack fish then i advise you do so whilst getting prepared for the shot, also take a few dummy shots to make sure you get all you want in the shot.