Photos of Your Special “Once in a Lifetime” Fish.

By LucyLu • April 11th, 2009

Photo of special fish, Fishing Florida, Cannon Marina, Longboat Key

Rusty Chinnis with his once-in-a-lifetime special fish

Photos of a special fish, magic light on the natural world, or an outing
with a friend hold the promise of years of enjoyment. Digital cameras make
capturing a moment in time easy, fun and allow you to develop your vision
in the digital darkroom. The best part is that you can enjoy this amazing
technology no matter what your level of expertise. Most digital cameras come
with software that let you enhance the image, crop the size, and share the
final product in a number of ways. You can send the images via e-mail, or
print them out to frame and display. There are a few basic rules that will
help you capture the best possible digital image:
Before you leave the dock, make sure you have fresh batteries, memory
cards (digital film), and a clean lens.

There is almost always a certain amount of chaos associated with a
catching a memorable fish, so get an idea in advance of where you might take
your shot. Check the background through the view finder carefully for
distractions like a rod appearing to stick out of someone’s head. If you
are prepared, you’ll get photographs that aren’t posed with the vibrant
colors of a fish fresh out of the water. First and foremost, fill the frame
with the subject, eliminating anything that doesn’t add to the composition.
Since you’re filming on the water, check that the horizon is straight. I
check the exposure every few minutes and shoot aperture priority unless I’m
trying to “catch” jumping fish. When stopping the action is more important
than the depth of field, shoot shutter priority.
Many photographs taken on the water are exposed in bright light. A
camera’s light meter averages light over the scene, so an angler’s face
(especially if shaded by a cap) will often be dark and lack detail. Make
sure you expose your shots with fill flash. Modern digital cameras (even the
less expensive ones) can automatically determine the correct amount of light
to fill in the shadows. Take a number of shots from different positions and
get the angler excited and talking to you. One of the really great
advantages of digital is that you can take lots of pictures and edit them as
you go to make sure you have the shot you want.
More advanced digital cameras and flashes allow you more control over the
final image. Since the lighting is almost always challenging, shoot and
then review important shots. If you have a more advanced camera, always
bracket important shots in difficult lighting situations. Expose at least
three images: one slightly underexposed, one slightly overexposed, and one
at the setting suggested by the light meter. If the light is bright and the
subject dark, try spot metering on the fish and then the angler’s face. If
spot metering isn’t available, come in close to establish the proper
exposure. Photographers shooting with a digital SLR camera and independent
flash units must remember (check the camera’s menu) to bracket with the
flash.
There are a lot of excellent digital cameras on the market. Most come
with a trial version of an image editing software like Adobe Elements. I
would suggest buying at least an 8 Megapixel camera that has a zoom lens.
Most point and shoot cameras will not accept polarizing filters, but you can
buy a polarizing filter and hold it in front of the lens. There are many
models on the market from $160.00 to $600.00 dollars. Taking the time to
capture the “moments of life” pays dividends when you can continue to
relive, and share them through your images.
For more information on the right camera for you, check with a
professional at your local camera shop or go to www.bhphoto.com. Software
demos (Check out Lightroom 2.0) can be downloaded at www.adobe.com .