Fish first, photo second
Every good catch photo follows the same order. Get the fish safe, get the camera ready, then lift the fish for a few seconds. Never the other way round. Every time. Angling Times puts it plainly: the kindest way to look after a netted fish is not to lift it out at all.
- Use an unhooking mat, and wet it. Never bare ground or a hot stone.
- Wet your hands. Never use a towel or a rag to hold a fish. Dry hands strip its protective slime.
- Kneel. Keep the fish low over the mat, so a kick ends a few inches down.
- Set the camera up first. Sort the timer and focus before the fish comes out.
- Be quick. A few frames, then the fish goes back. Keep it wet if there's any delay.
Some fisheries set their own photo rules, and some ban brace shots or certain holds, so check the rules where you fish. Carpology reckons most fishery managers would treat a brace shot as a yellow card offence.
The hold
Hold the fish flat and side on to the camera. Angling Times suggests a cupped hand under the fish, with the other hand holding the wrist of the tail. Arms in. Keep them natural. Pushing the fish out towards the lens makes it look bigger, and any angler who sees the photo will know.
Keep fingers off the flank, because on a mirror carp a hand over the big scales hides the pattern that makes it recognisable.
Background and framing
Tidy up first. Angling Times suggests clearing the clutter from round the mat and choosing a background of shrubs, grass or the lake. Keep the angler in the middle of the frame, and don't cut off the tail or the mouth.
Don't stand too far back, either. A dot won't print. Get closer. Fill the frame with the angler and the fish. A tidy swim also keeps tackle logos out of the frame, which matters if you want the photo restyled later.
Light and angle
Face the light. Soft, overcast daylight shows scales and colour best, because there are no hard shadows across the flank and no bright spots on the skin. Low sun is lovely but can throw glare off a wet flank, so tilt the fish a touch until it clears.
Get the camera level, because a shot from above shrinks the fish and shows the mat, while one from below shows the sky. Carpology notes that most catch photos are taken square on from kneeling height. Fine for a print.
Shoot it in the water
Carpology's photographer prefers shots taken in the water, where the light is more even and the backdrop is better. For the fish it's kinder too, because it never leaves the water. Ask a friend to hold the net while you set the camera, then lift the fish clear of the surface for the shot. A fish held in the margins, with the water behind, often makes the best print of all. Keep it in the net until the camera's ready.
Night shots
Plenty of big fish come at night, and a flash shot taken well can look better on a wall than a grey afternoon. Angling Times calls flash essential at night. It suggests sitting the angler near some foliage, so the light has something to bounce back off.
Head torch off. Left on, it'll leave a bright spot and darken the fish. Carpology warns that night shots often get the colours wrong. A polarising filter can help cut glare.
Self-takes with a phone
On your own, fix the phone first. Practise without a fish, so you know where to kneel and where the frame ends before the real thing comes along. Angling Times suggests a mini tripod, a spring clasp or a selfie stick fixed to a bankstick. A 15 to 20 second timer should be enough to get into position. A Bluetooth shutter release, which it says can cost under £5, lets you take the shot while holding the fish.
A still grabbed from video works in a pinch, but it's usually softer than a photo. Take a proper photo if you can.
Self-takes with a camera
A solid tripod is a must, and weighting it down helps in wind. Line the camera up using the far margin or the horizon as a guide. A flip-round screen lets you check the framing from in front of the lens. Then use a self-timer, a remote or a long cable release you can press with a knee or a foot.
Camera settings
For a camera, Angling Times suggests a 50mm lens and an aperture of F4 or F5.6 as a starting point for catch shots. Turn face detection off, because it can pull the focus away from the fish and onto the angler's face. Shoot RAW if your camera allows it, because a RAW file holds far more detail in the shadows and highlights than a JPEG. You can recover a badly exposed shot later. On a phone? Leave the defaults.
Putting it back
Photo done? The fish comes first again. Angling Times advises holding a tired fish upright in the water until its fins start to ripple and it swims off with a kick. On a river, face it into the current. Don't let go too early. A fish that rolls over needs more time, not less. Never drop a fish back from a height, and never let it go into a strong current before it's ready.
Getting a photo that prints well
- Fill the frame with the fish and the angler. Less bank, more fish.
- Shoot wide. A fish is long, so a wide frame suits it. Carpology points out that wide suits screens and prints, while tall suits social media.
- Keep the original file. Messaging apps and social media shrink photos, so ask whoever took it to send the original file straight from their phone.
- Check it's sharp. Zoom in on the eye and the scales. If they're soft on the phone, they'll be soft on the wall.
Size is the upload's job, not yours. Send the file and you'll see which print sizes it can carry before you pay. Most phone photos clear the bar for a styled print easily. The print sizes guide has the numbers.
Then put it on the wall
A sharp, well-lit photo of a fish held properly is worth more than any record. Print your catch photo as it is, or see it in a house style with a free preview. Check the scales first, then the fins. Our print sizes guide helps you pick a size for the wall, and fishing gifts helps if it's a present.
Craig Fearn runs Scale & Fin, a UK studio that prints anglers' catch photos and fish art to order. He writes the guides here, and every fact in them links to the body that published it.