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Jesse's Hunting > Hunting Articles > Hunting through the Camera Eye > Take Great Hunting Photos With Any Camera
Take Great Hunting Photos With Any Camera
Holly Heyser - JHO ProStaff
- Sacramento, CA
June 19, 2008
You don’t need a $1,000 camera or a professional photographer to capture high-quality photos of the results of your hunt. Following a few simple rules will help you capture better photos even with a cell-phone camera:
1. Get close to your subject. Unless it’s really important to capture the landscape behind the victorious hunter, you’re much better off filling the frame of the photo with your subject. This gives you lots of clear detail – and that’s the difference between an amateur snapshot and a memorable, more professional-looking photo. If you have a low-resolution camera, such as a cell-phone camera, getting close is essential for a good shot.
2. Capture your landscape and a close-up of your subject. So you really want that landscape behind the hunter? Instead of standing far away, try this: Stand a medium distance from the hunter and put him or her on the left or right side of your frame instead of in the center. That way you can still get detail while showing the scenery in the background.
Tip for folks with high-end cameras: If your camera gives you the ability to make this adjustment, set your aperture – the F-stop – to the highest number conditions will allow. This ensures that much more of the image will be in focus. Low F-stop numbers create a narrow area of focus, or “depth of field,” which means everything but the subject will likely be blurry.
3. Don’t put the sun behind your subject. People never want the sun in their eyes when they’re being photographed, so it’s tempting to put the sun behind them. But that’s terrible for your photo – it puts their face in shadow and creates lots of glare behind them. If they don’t want to stare at the sun, which is understandable, compromise: If you think of your subject and the sun as positions on the clock, instead of putting your subject at 12 o’clock and the sun at 6 o’clock, put your subject at 12 o’clock and the sun at the 4, 5, 7 or 8 position. Your subject won’t be so tempted to squint, and you’ll get interesting shadows.
Also, keep in mind that the best times for shooting pictures are the same as the best times for hunting – early morning and early evening. It gives you that golden light and interesting shadows. High noon makes for awful, washed-out photos, so avoid taking your trophy photo then if you possibly can.
4. Pay attention to sun and shade. Don’t put your subject in the shade if he is surrounded by a brightly lit landscape. You know how it is when you’re standing in bright sun and you’re trying to look at people standing in dark shade? That’s right, you can’t see them. Neither can your camera. Make sure either everything’s in the sun or everything’s in shade.
5. Get on the same level as your subject. All too often, the hunter is kneeling on the ground with his game while the photographer is taking the photo from a standing position. The result is a photo that looks like an adult’s perspective of a child – “I’m up here, you’re down there.” If the hunter is low to the ground, the photographer should get low to the ground too.
6. Ditch the hat. I know you don’t want to hear this, but suck it up: That baseball cap casts a big shadow over your eyes, and if you can’t see a person’s eyes in a photo, it’s like you can’t see him at all. I know your hair’s all messed up after spending hours on the hunt, but run your fingers or a comb through it, or splash some water on it. And remember, that messy hair is part of the hunt.
Oh, are you one of those guys who never wants anyone to see your hairline? Get over it. Chicks don’t care. (I am one – I know what I’m talking about!)
That’s it! Practice these steps around home with your pets and family and see if they don’t make a huge difference in your photos. It’ll all be second nature by the time you go out on your next hunt.
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