It's about that time of year when pictures start showing up on the board of people with their trophies. Congratulations to everyone!
Guys, take some time with your pictures! Here are some tips that will help refresh that memory so much better! There's no good excuse for not having good pictures!
1. Put the tongue in the mouth and clean off any extra blood.
2. Get the camera lower and fill the bottom half-2/3 of the photo with the deer, the upper third should be the hunters. GET CLOSE! Fill the frame with the deer and hunters.
3. Turn the rack slightly to one side to show the points. If it is a doe, try to grab it by the scruff of the neck to help hold it up. Don't grab it by the ears as it blocks the lines of the deer and makes them look goofy.
4. SMILE. Especially if you are in the picture with someone else. When you are dead and gone, you dont want your kids looking at the photo of their first kill with "paw paw" and you look ticked off or bored. ( I should move this to #1 )
5. Shoot lots of photos & angles. FILM IS CHEAP! Think of what you had to go through to get this kill. Soon all that will be left is the memory and photos. Make the photos good.
6. Take a couple with flash and tilt your hat back. This will help eliminate shadows on your face.
7. Rather than zooming in, use the wide angle setting and move the camera closer to fill the frame.
8. Get everyone involved in the hunt together for a group photo. Years from now you will appreciate the shot of the gang and it will help you remember details of the hunt.
9. Did I mention SMILE?
10. For special hunts, take some detail photos of camp, from the stand... anything that might be a special detail or different from an average hunt. After a while, the details of a hunt fade from memory or mix with other memories until you loose the special flavor of the event.
11. Label the back of your photos as soon as you get them back. I have stacks of photos which bring back memories of past trips... Problem is that I cant remember which trip they were exactly and when they were taken.
12. GET THE DEER OUT OF THE TRUCK BED AND IN A NATURAL SURROUNDING! Yep... I'm yelling!
13. Learn to use the fill flash on your camera.
14. Buy a small, cheap tripod and learn to use your self timer if you are by yourself.
15. Take the extra time to make the photos great. You will never regret spending an extra 20 to 30 minutes taking some nice pictures.
Take it from someone who's taken pictures both ways! Which looks better...
