How to take the perfect profile picture with your fish
There’s a cloud nine feeling that lingers after landing that trophy fish you’ve been itching to bag. To do justice to this special moment, and enjoy the appropriate bragging rights, it’s important to capture the perfect photo of your catch.
These images are the proof of accomplishment that you can laud in front of your jealous friends and family. With increase in the catch-and-release movement among recreational fishers, capturing a photo of a trophy fish needs to be efficient to optimise the survival of the fish. These six easy steps will ensure your photos come out looking worthy of the front cover of a fishing magazine.
STEP 1: PLAY GENTLE
Make sure the fish is alive by treating it with compassion. It is out of its natural environment, so your hands or the ground is likely to feel stressful so be tender. What’s more, a dead fish will often loose its colours and its fins will tend to slump and look unnatural, often making for a poor photo.
STEP 2: CLEAN UP YOUR CATCH
Make sure there’s no blood on the fish when the photo is taken. If the fish does have a small amount of blood from the hook point it is worth photographing it from the opposite side as it makes them more presentable.
STEP 3: CHECK THE SUN’S POSITION
When possible, ensure the fish is well lit by positioning yourself facing towards the sunlight or artificial light source. This will make it look more impressive.
STEP 4: GO FOR THE SIDE PROFILE
Be sure to support the weight of the fish and hold it horizontally rather than vertically. If you are planning to release the fish it is important that it is supported properly as this will ensure it is not harmed and can be released safely.
STEP 5: HIDE YOUR HANDS
Reduce the visibility of hands and fingers by tucking them under or behind the fish when holding it. This will ensure the fish and its colours are highly visible, while also making it look a little bigger. It never hurts to push the fish forward toward the camera to add a little more size.
STEP 6: GET A FRIEND TO TAKE IT
Selfies seldom do a fish justice. Ideally, take a friend fishing with you so you can capture great photos of your catches. Fishing is quite often most enjoyed when shared with close friends anyway, and these have the bonus of getting behind the camera when you catch a quality fish.
Gone are the days when anglers would have photos of their momentous fish kills on the front lawn which would then be distributed to feed the entire neighbourhood. The next generation of anglers have adopted a high rate of catch and release fishing.
This has meant that great photos are the memories they can share of their amazing captures. This is super important as it promotes sustainable practice and habits to ensure our waterways stay rich and diverse for future generations.
We now understand that most trophy fish should be released back into a system after a quick photo, rather than killed and photographed in the family kitchen. This way everyone, including the fish, gets what they want out of a good day on the water, which can be repeated the following day without negatively impacting fish stocks or habitats.