Hands full. Practice shooting and changing settings with one hand.

Click here to view parts 1-3 in this series on handling of catch & release fish.

Simple “point & shoot” digital cameras today are so good it’s amazing. From picture quality and incredibly versatile and capable auto lenses, to vast creative pre-settings, functions and features. The performance and capabilities of todays mid-priced ($500 and less) cameras is flat impressive. Here are a few tips for getting the most out of your opportunities to photograph your catch.

First off, take time in advance to play around with your camera and it’s various settings and creative functions. Take a series of test photos of any given subject, and make changes to your settings for each image. Take note of the conditions, such as direct light or back-lit, natural or indoor light, flash and no flash, manual or auto focus, etc. Don’t be afraid to take a bunch of lousy photos in the process, this is going to happen, and the important thing is to try to gain understanding of what settings you are using and producing various results.

Building blocks for the exposure (brightness) of an image come down to only a few simple settings. The size of the opening, measured in numbers beginning with “f”, the amount of time of the exposure usually shown as a fraction “1/32″ for example, and ISO which is the sensitivity of the camera sensor (usually a number bwtween 80-3200). Now various “auto” settings (A, Av, TV, etc) of most cameras will give you flexibility of one of those elements, while making the needed adjustments to the other components depending on what you are asking the camera to do and what the camera sees as necessary to compose the shot. This conversation can go on for pages, but point being, just try and get a grip on how those three things work together for your net results. Take notes along with your test photos, and write down the settings and results you see in each resulting image.

Formula: Macro setting, ISO 100, f/2.7, 1/640

Here are a few things I like to do for creative and interesting shots of fish.

First, get very close to the fish. Note how close the camera is to the fish in the top photo, and see the results in the photo above. Most cameras have a Macro setting, usually indicated by a flower icon. This is a terrific setting for fish, as it allows a maxium wide angle field of view, and adjusts the  focus to work inside very close quarters. Try it out, you will be amazed!

Settings are key and vary greatly, but here are some that work well for me:

First, go for the largest lens opening possible. This will actually be the lowest “f” number, likely 2.something. This will allow for max light and a tight focus range. Adjust your ISO to the lowest number you have. This will create a low-noise darker image, somewhat off-setting the brightness of the large lens (f) opening. Now with two of the three settings covered, adjust the time of exposure to get the brightness dialed-in with the amount of light in the scene you are shooting. As exposure gets longer, you’ll need to be ultra careful to keep the camera still. Some shots that appear out of focus, may actually be in focus, but movement during the exposure caused a blurred image.

Beyond the “proper” settings of photography, don’t be afraid to get creative! Play around with under exposing a shot, then add in flash to get a whole new look and feel. Play with white balance to get ultra accurate colors, and try long exposures for motion blur or low light capture on a tripod. Affordable cameras are out there waiting, and you may be the next person to pick one up and discover a whole new passion you never knew you had. Thats exactly what happened to me!

Bryan Huskey heads media and marketing here at Silver Creek Outfitters. If you’d like to see more of his photography, visit his site here.

Let’s be honest, everyone loves to hoist a big fish for the “grip n’ grin” photos. It’s easy to spot awkward hands fumbling a fish, and it’s no fun for the fish either to be dropped, rolled on the bank then choked half to death. In order to have a great looking pose for your photos and keep the fish happy and healthy there are a few things to keep in mind.

This fish is cool with the "A-OK grip & lift".

First off, really try to keep the fish in the water every moment possible. This is one of many advantages to using a net, as it’s east to keep the fish breathing in the “bucket” while you remove the fly and prepare for a photo. Next, be aware that any contact the fish has with a dry surface is going to harm the protective mucus layer (slime). This means wet your hands before handling a fish, and don’t land fish by “skipping” the poor fella up onto the bank for it to flail in dry grass, dirt, leaves, rocks, etc.  Once the camera is ready, lift the fish for a quick shot then return it to the water asap. Imagine you were just running for your life then captured and drug under water. How long would you like to hold your breath? Keep that in mind as you pose with your catch.

Shots in the water offer reflections and textures that add to a photo.

Be aware of how much of your hands the camera can see, and try to keep as much of the fish showing and your hands and fingers hidden. A great way to hold the fish is by making the “A-OK” symbol, using only your thumb and second finger to create a ring around the “wrist” of the fish’s tail. Don’t use a full hand to squeeze the tail, the narrow grip of 2 digits keeps the tail fanned out and thus a better hold. Then with the other hand, simply lift the front of the fish beneath the peck fins.  Tail hand controls the fish, front hand simply lifts and supports. If you squeeze a fish it will be more prone to struggle, and often ends up dropped or gets the “bear hug” into dry clothing making a slimly mess on you and a very poor chance of survival for the fish with a large area of slime now on your clothes rather than on the fish. Always stay positioned directly over and close to the water, that way if the fish struggles it’s easy to put it down in the water and re-group. Turning a fish on its side will often disorient and calm a fish down to get a quick grip. Also don’t be afraid to be creative and  keep in mind that photographing the fish IN the water makes for much more unique and interesting shots anyways. Slightly lifting a fish barely out of the water helps keep better control and just makes for a classier shot.