How To Shoot A Trout
by
Wayne Heinz

You can win Pautzke’s Photo Contest. Here’s how.

A good photo tells a story. “What, where, who….” Dowse your steelhead in the water while you ask, “What do I want my audience to see?” Run a background check. You wouldn’t litter the river, right? Why clutter the photo? A busy background makes a bad picture.
Unless you have a foot fetish, shoot the whole fish and half the angler. Helps remove foreground clutter. When we simplify a scene, we magnify the importance of what’s left.

A Face Outranks A Fish.

We photograph people. Fish add interest. Unless somebody can say, “Why that’s old Harley!” the photo flops.
Show us a fine view of somebody’s face. Our main interest in faces is eyes. “Tip your hat back, Harley. Sunglasses off, please.” This fills face with light. Smile stands out. Eyes sparkle.
“Hold your steelie higher, will you, Harley?” This unites face and fish, directing our audience’s attention to one place. Two steelies? Have Harley hold them close together. Avoid pulling your viewer’s eyes in two directions at once.
Before you say, “Smile,” say, “Chin up.” A raised chin reduces facial shadows and conveys confidence.
Harley’s face conveys one more thing, critical to winning Pautzke’s Photo Contest. Emotion. Even though it’s a picture, we must hear Harley shouting, “Wow! What a Fish!”  

Get Close, Get Down.  

With camera in hand, the closer you get, the more you miss. This is good. The less junk in your picture, the better. Tip: People grow vertical. Cameras come horizontal.  Rotate your camera. 
Avoid zoom. Zoom compresses far and near objects. This distorts proportions. The picture ends up with a giant’s head behind a dwarf trout.
Kneel or sit. A low angle fills the background with sky. Angler stands out, appears more imposing. Fish looks bigger, too. Dirtying your knee also steadies your hand, and minimizes glare from the water.
If angler kneels, photographer must kneel. Shooting fish-catchers, eye level is the level. Reviewing: A winning photo needs four basics – Fish, Face, Sky, Water. If you can add the angler’s excitement, you’re courting success.

Let There Be Light. 

Photos: Greek for, “Light.” Graphos: Greek for, “Write.” So photography means, “Write with light.” More light means more contrast, more details, more color.
Shoot with the sun over your shoulder, off to one side. This floods the scene with light, but doesn’t make the angler squint. Side-light also creates shadow. Shadow creates a 3D effect.
Sun behind a cloud? Wait. Shade has only one fourth the brightness of full sun. Try fill-flash, even on a sunny day. It yields truer skin tones and will light up an angler’s eyes under a hat brim.
Worried about light when shooting at night? Flash shots are great shots! Fish and face gleam against the darkness. Get close. Full-flash range is only about seven feet; for point and shoot cameras, five feet.

Kids’ Stuff

Never look down on a child. Always kneel to the child’s eye level. And shoot up-close. Young anglers get lost in an expanse of woods and water.
To keep a child engaged, talk while you shoot. “Can you hold your Steelie a little higher? Is that your biggest smile?”
Most kids wear colorful life jackets. Color enlivens any picture. If your youngster’s attention span allows, shoot several photos, from different angles.
Look for special moments. Son holds up fish for mom to admire. Daughter watches dad release her fish. Capture the bond between parent and child and you’ll win your viewers’ attention.
Kid shots are often our best shots. A child with fish in hand needs no prompting to smile. Their joy comes through in the picture.

Tell The Rest Of The Story

The rest of the story – spinner dangling from jaw – is optional. If you do choose to include a few telling details, make them just that – few. Torn net – sure. Angler’s jacket on the grass – doubtful. Which details might add to a photo’s story? Study the shots that the Pautzke judges select.
A cautionary note to fish-thrusters: Don’t do it. You’ve seen pictures of a six pound steelie thrust as far toward the camera as arms permit. Presto! A sixteen pound trophy … held with fingers the size of bananas.
Viewers instinctively compare angler’s huge hands to angler’s normal head and think, “Something’s fishy here.” Show us an honest story, with fish and face in the same focal plane.
Once you snap the shutter, review the picture. Problems? Re-shoot. Unlike wine, pictures do not improve with age.   
Back home: You took your best shot, but didn’t get quite close enough? Crop the foreground. This brings angler closer to viewer. Adds immediacy. Cuts clutter.
 Other editing: more contrast, less glare…. Chances are good that if you hit the “Auto-Enhance” icon of your photo-edit app, your shot will become picture-perfect.

O.K. You know how to shoot a trout. Now all you have to do is catch one and enter your shot in Pautzke’s Photo Contest. Winner!
                               

Pautzke’s Tips For Better Photos

 

Shooter: Plan Your Shot.	Angler: Lookin’ Good!
Keep sun over your shoulder.	Wet your fish. Wipe blood off.
Hold camera vertical.	Hold fish high, side view, close to chest
Keep horizon level.	Tuck your elbows in. You’re not a bird
Get close. Get down.	Remove sunglasses. Tilt hat back.
Cut foreground clutter.	Look away from sun. Prevents squint.
Run a background check	Look at camera or admire fish.
Keep your own shadow unseen.	Shout, “Yahoo!” Adds excitement.
Try fill-flash	Chin up. Smile
Center angler. Shoot torso.
Check: fish, face, sky, water.