We have all seen examples in the angling press of superb catches let down badly by the standard of photography. This section is designed to help you understand basic principles which will undoubtedly see an improvement in the quality of your pictures and really do justice to your personal best captures.

The first thing to consider is the type of camera you are using, whether it be a 35mm or digital model, compact or SLR........Although you can get quality results from compact cameras (and lets face it, they are easier to accomodate in your tackle bag or pocket).
 
If you are serious about your photography and want the best picture quality possible, then an SLR is the way to go. Even if you are using a compact camera, following these simple guidelines will improve your photos dramatically.



 
35mm OR DIGITAL?
 
You will get superb results using either, but for ease of use, the ability to view your pictures immediately and make any necessary changes to composition or exposure, then digital is prefered. Shooting digital also allows you to download your images onto your computer for editing or emailing, without the need for scanning prints and the resulting loss in final image quality.
 
Digital cameras are cheaper to run after the initial outlay of the camera, lenses and memory card(s). You only need to have your chosen photographs printed instead of paying for the whole roll of film to be processed, only to discard half of them afterwards. There is also no need to keep buying film.
 
COMPOSITION
 
This is what makes or breaks a picture. Modern digital cameras (if set to the 'auto' mode) will pretty much look after the exposure themselves, what they can't do is determine what the camera is pointing at.
 
I often see a picture of an angler holding his specimen carp, pike or whatever, only to have my eyes drawn to the tesco carrier bag or front end of his car that has managed to get in on the shot!! Give some real thought to what is in the background before you press the shutter, not just the angler and fish.

The best way to look at it is just to imagine how the image in your viewfinder would look in print, does it compare to what you expect to see in angling publications? Have you made sure that there are no distractions in the background? Has the angler got his hands covering the fish's flanks? If he has, ask him to reposition them so they are more or less out of the picture. Have you zoomed too close and cut off the top of the anglers head or cropped out the fish's tail? Have you not got in close enough?
 
Really think about your pictures, you could even have a spot in mind for the angler to pose with his catch, with an uncluttered background and facing into the light before the fish is even caught. This will speed up the photographing process, ensuring the fish is kept out of the water for as short a time as possible and returned with minimum stress.
 
DEPTH OF FIELD
 
This is basically a term used to describe how much of the image (from front to back) is in sharp focus. A shallow depth of field is best used for this type of photography as it will keep the angler and his catch in focus, while softly diffusing the background out of focus for striking portraits. This is achieved by setting the camera to a wider aperture in your camera's aperture priority mode.

Most modern digital cameras will include a portrait mode which should produce pleasing results. A wide depth of field (the image is in focus all the way from the foreground right to the back, or 'infinity') is achieved by setting a smaller aperture, and is ideal for landscape photography.

Dont forget that changing the aperture will cause the camera to alter the shutter speed for optimum exposure, this is quite simple in that the wider the aperture, the less time the shutter needs to be open in order to let sufficient light into the camera to expose the image correctly. When you decrease the aperture, the camera will select a slower shutter speed.

This is why landscape photographers usually use a tripod to steady the camera, especially in low light, to avoid 'camera shake' and a useless image.
 
AUTOFOCUS OR MANUAL FOCUSSING?
 
Manual focus is best used when the subject is completely still, or unlikely to move during the shot. For still life and macro (close up) photography manual is the best choice for a sharp shot.

For virtually all angling photography situations, autofocus, if your camera offers it, is the one you should use.

LIGHTING
 
This is one of the most important aspects of any branch of photography and can make a good shot great if you make the most of it. Bright sunshine is not always the best for pictures, as the light can be quite harsh and may cause shadows to obscure parts of the anglers face, which can be remedied by careful use of 'fill in' flash.
 
Sometimes in direct sun, highlights can become pure white or 'burnt out'. Using the exposure control setting on your camera to underexpose by one stop will help with this. Natural light will always make for a more pleasing picture than flash alone, but your camera's flash output can be toned down with an SLR camera so it merely 'fills in' shadows without being overpowering.
 
Doing this can also bring out more detail in the fish's scales. Try to get the sun behind the photographer during daylight, unless you want the subject to be in silhouette. If you want a silhouette, try metering from the sky, locking the exposure with the focus lock button, recompose, then shoot. Practice makes perfect.

If your camera has a 'night portrait' mode, you can use this to good effect in low light, such as dawn or dusk. Always make sure you set the camera's white balance according to the conditions, eg sunlight, cloudy, shade etc.