Journal of a Minnesota Angler

With the Minnesota Fishing Opener just hours away, we all hope to catch that lunker that will make our season. And when we do, we’ll want to get a picture of it. Making sure you get a good picture is a lot easier these days than in the days of film, but there are some basic tips that can make sure the shot is a good one.

I came across a cool article that gives tips on how to take great photos of fish from a kayak. A lot of the tips were great for taking fish photos in general. I’ll summarize the more useful ones here. Read the original article if you want to read all of them.

• The sun should be at the photographer’s back. That way the face of the subject will be lit by natural light.
• ALWAYS use a fill flash to eliminate shadows that may be cast by face features or items like hats, even on sunny days.
• Subjects should take off their sunglasses.
• If you plan to release the fish, keep it in the water as long as possible and take it out only to take the pictures. This will also make the fish glimmer in the sunlight and show off its color.
• Hold larger fish horizontal. Gravity could damage internal organs if held vertically. Hold the head a little higher than the tail.
• Take 5 or more pictures in sequence a few seconds apart. This will prevent closed eyes or sleepy looking eyes. Delete those you don’t want. Use the camera’s auto shutter feature if it has one.
• Keep an eye on the background so you don’t have poles sticking out of the subjects’s head or other such problems.
• Make sure you have enough memory in your camera before you leave. Empty your card when you get home so you’re ready for your next trip.
• Hold the fish as close to the camera as possible to make it look as big as possible.

Ok, that last bullet was a joke, but a lot of fisherman like to do it. The others are good guidelines to keep in mind to get the best picture possible of your lunker. Good luck on opening day, and happy picture taking!