Field Picture's Reminder

pottymouth · #1 08-22-2011, 09:38 PM

Your trophy may be a once in a lifetime experience. By remembering a few details, you will end up with a photo that may be a photo of a lifetime as well.

Bucking buck- Never “ride” your animal- Save that for the rodeo. Sitting on an animal shows the utmost of disrespect.

Remove the evidence- Get rid of the blood- We all share a common interest in the harvest. There are some who may find it offensive, a clean animal sends a better message . Take the time to clean the animal up.

Don’t stick your tongue out at me- Make sure that you tuck the animals tongue back in, cut it off if need be. Take the extra time to make sure that the tongue is not sticking out. That's a huge picture killer in my books.

It's not an ornamint- Your animal did not grow up in your garage or in the back of your pickup. Nor does that trophy buck plan on using the lawnmower in the background. Quality photos are ones that are taken in the animal’s environment. Be sure to bring your camera with you and also make sure that it has new batteries.

Be a grass or treeguy- Pull the weeds in front of the animal. Sometimes the most perfect of shots can be ruined by grass or a twig, check before you shoot!

Lay it to rest- Position your animal in a manner so that it appears to be at rest. For hoofed animals, try tucking the legs under as the body, as it would lay down. For bears, lay them on a log and drape the head off to the side, try giving it a more natural look.

Leave the props on the stage- Though objects can be used to prop the animals. Stay away from building a woodpile or stone wall under the animals head. Do what it takes to make the animal look as it is resting with a limited use of props.

Focus on the star- Though you are the one that put the event together, the animal is what you want to focus on. Have the photographer get down low and up close to the animal. This will put emphasis on the animal and not the hunter. You don't need to sit 6 feet behind your animal, especially in an attempt to increase the size.

Scenery is important – It may take some work to get exactly what you want, but as with anything else, hard work pays off, and back drop can be the icing on the cake!

100 to 1 odds- Even though you think that you may have the perfect shot, make sure of it by taking a whole lot of photos. Try different variations and angles. You never know which one of the 100 will be wall worthy.

Mug shots - Remember you just had a great day, and great expirence, so SMILE, show your happiness, and your accomplishment, no one wants to see your tough guy look or your mug shot!

Good luck this fall, can't wait to see some pics!

Thinlizzy · #2 08-22-2011, 09:45 PM

Good Tips!
Thanks for posting!

duck34 · #3 08-22-2011, 09:45 PM

All fantastic pointers....especially the smile part. I don't care if you have three wooden teeth, enjoy the moment as it makes it much more fun to look at the pics especially for those that do not hunt as they do not want to see the "killer" look but the happy to put food on the table or have a great trophy look.

SEADOG · #4 08-22-2011, 09:59 PM

Never really thought of it i that much detail!!

Drop_Tine · #5 08-22-2011, 10:12 PM

Could you post a few pics to show some people how they should look ? I think a visual would really add to this thread !

Bassett · #6 08-22-2011, 10:14 PM

Mabey another one,

Shoot the animal not your self:Dont point your rifle at your head in the photos doesnt look ethical!

ishootbambi · #7 08-22-2011, 10:15 PM

excellent advice! amount on the wall is good, but a great picture can capture memories like nothing else. they show the weather, time of day, scenery and a look of pure joy...or sometimes exhaustion.....mounts cant do that.

this darn near oughta be a sticky.

Rockymtnx · #8 08-22-2011, 10:32 PM

Great tips pottymouth. Thanks for sharing.
Think we should sticky this one for awhile.

albertadeer · #9 08-22-2011, 10:43 PM

Wicked post! Soon the photos will be rollin in!!

BrownBear416 · #10 08-22-2011, 10:57 PM

Great thread Potty

sourdough doug · #11 08-22-2011, 11:07 PM

It's all about respect in my books. It's the least we can do....
Good show Potty..

Rackmastr · #12 08-22-2011, 11:16 PM

Great thread man!!! I've managed to snap quite a few pics that I consider good quality trophy shots, but its taken years and a lot of trying new things! All those things you listed add up to a great picture!!

The other thing that I use as a really important factor is using the flash on my camera, no matter the time of day. That was my one problem with my elk photos...no flash!! It makes for dark faces and shadows...

pottymouth · #13 08-22-2011, 11:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rackmastr

Great thread man!!! I've managed to snap quite a few pics that I consider good quality trophy shots, but its taken years and a lot of trying new things! All those things you listed add up to a great picture!!

The other thing that I use as a really important factor is using the flash on my camera, no matter the time of day. That was my one problem with my elk photos...no flash!! It makes for dark faces and shadows...

Also Great point Trev. It was actually your elk pic, Artistics Stone sheep, Sheep's Dall and Mamba's muley pic's that got me thinking about it.

Maybe you guys could repost some of those pics as examples, or any other great pics....Or any other great advise from the photo pro's like HoofsandHorns or Skinnydipper !

The Fisherman Guy · #14 08-22-2011, 11:54 PM

Awesome tips, great thread Potty!

albertadave · #15 08-23-2011, 07:06 AM

Great tips for sure. One thing that I find, and this is really just a personal preference, nothing more, is that the field shots with just the hunter and the animal are much more appealing if there is no rifle or bow in the shot. Can't really explain why, and like I said, just a personal thing, but when I look back at my own photos I always prefer the ones without the gun in the shot, and regret that on a few animals I didn't get some pics with just me and the animal, and nothing else.
Important Note: I'm not saying there's anything wrong with having a gun in the shot, not at all. I guess my "tip" would be to take a few pics with the gun, and also a few without.

CLB · #16 08-23-2011, 08:07 AM

I see it was mentioned to watch for twigs and grass in the foreground. Also watch your background. The antlers can easily get lost in a cluttered background full of bushes or branches. Also watch for trees which in the photos appear to be growing either from the hunters head or the animals, they can be very distracting. Watch for your shadow. Try not to have the photographers shadow show up in the photo, that as well can be very distracting.

buckbrushoutdoors · #17 08-23-2011, 09:36 AM

one more tip..... get close to the animal do not use zoom while you are standing 20 feet from the deer. Get close! and get low! lay on your side or on your belly to get a nice even picture

Rackmastr · #18 08-23-2011, 06:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pottymouth

Maybe you guys could repost some of those pics as examples, or any other great pics....Or any other great advise from the photo pro's like HoofsandHorns or Skinnydipper !

Here are a few of my favorites from the last few years.....few of them have a few issues (blood, lighting, etc) but overall not too shabby...

Rackmastr · #19 08-23-2011, 07:43 PM

Here are a few....posted for Drop_Tine.....

Bassett · #20 08-23-2011, 11:14 PM

Here are a few of mine I figure are good field photos

Im looking the wrong way in the elk photo because 2 cameras were going off!

(bit of blood but oh well! shows off the buck nicely IMO)

The Bit Runner. · #21 08-24-2011, 04:24 PM

Very Good Post!! Thanks lots of great tips.

albertadeer · #22 08-24-2011, 08:54 PM

Some keepers from last year.

With my whitetail i was alone. I had a remote control and a 2 second delay set. Out of 50+ pictures i got 2 i really like, 5-6 keepers but only 2 golden photos...oh ya, it was -35 out

My friends elk was shot in early October, golden leaves and a golden little elk!

steve · #23 08-30-2011, 05:25 PM

Great post Potty.

I got slammed by some guys for making a thread like this last year.

You must be a better writer then me

Looking forward to see some classy feild pics.

Stinky Coyote · #24 08-31-2011, 08:23 AM

great timing on great advice, i didn't see it in the original, and i also x2 on the gun pointed at the hunter comment.....but if you could take the original post and add in the gun pointed at the hunter comment and then one very near the top if not the top post is 'lighting, get the most light into the face of the animal and hunter' turn the animal, drag the animal so that its point towards the most light, the sun etc.

then you have yourself a perfect sticky post imo

ShawnM · #25 08-31-2011, 09:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rackmastr

Here are a few of my favorites from the last few years.....few of them have a few issues (blood, lighting, etc) but overall not too shabby...

That is the nicest Elk picture I have seen... That rack is INCREDIBLE! For that one I'd bite the bullet and get it mounted.

x2 on the advice to get low and to watch your shadows. Some of the tips the OP mentioned I don't see as a big deal but we definitely want tasteful pictures out there. We get enough flack from the tofu-turtleneck sweater crowd.

honda450 · #26 08-31-2011, 09:40 PM

OK let me see if I got this right.

Stage pics at at a low level to appear your critter is bigger than actual. Check

Stage pics at a arms way or even farther to make your critter seem even bigger. Check

Stage pic to make everything to look bigger so ya can post here on the forum. Check

Use photochop when above can not be acheived. Check.

Decepition is great.

I got it.

Thanks

Stinky Coyote · #27 09-01-2011, 07:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by honda450

OK let me see if I got this right.

Stage pics at at a low level to appear your critter is bigger than actual. Check

Stage pics at a arms way or even farther to make your critter seem even bigger. Check

Stage pic to make everything to look bigger so ya can post here on the forum. Check

Use photochop when above can not be acheived. Check.

Decepition is great.

I got it.

Thanks

lol, lemme guess, your not a bowhunter and since it opens today you gotta wait another 2 months before you get to crackalackin? i'd feel as tho my cornflakes got pee'd in this morning also

and for godsake don't hold a fish out to show it off or make it look a bit bigger....really, end of day, why take pictures at all right honda? i mean, why not just take a picture of the fish filet in the fry pan after, or the backstraps on the bbq?

i like to see pics done well of nice game and done in a way that really shows the game off....thats how its supposed to be done imo, some may look at it as giving the animal maximum respect....ie; opposite of riding it like a horse with its tongue hanging out and the gut pile still in the frame etc.

ishootbambi · #28 09-02-2011, 03:57 PM

^^^dont sweat it stink....its easy for someone who wont post his own pics to critical of everyone elses.

hehehe.

hehe.

Hunting Alberta · #29 09-03-2011, 09:45 AM

Honestly i have hundreds of field photos from the time i was months old until now and you know what theres alot of pics of me when i was just a tyke sitting on deer(god forbid) or in antlers and some have blood some have the lifted 4x4's that got us to the moose/deer/elk etc i think that often there should be some to the story right in the photo i think my big fat photo album would be a lil boring if it was pic after pic of just animals it is nice to have a few perfect shots but dont beat yourself up over it... GOOD LUCK IN THE WOODS THIS YEAR I CANT WAIT TO SEE YOUR PHOTOS EVEN IF THEY ARENT PERFECT!!

Hunting Alberta · #30 09-03-2011, 09:49 AM

Remember these pictures are for YOUR memories and not like alot of the guys on here think that "thems there are braggin pics" and need to be perfect so you can show them off on the internet!!!