 
Photographing
your catch - Part 2
Photographing Yourself
This year I have been forced to fish many sessions alone, which
can be very frustrating when you catch a fish worth photographing,
but with a few extra pieces of equipment you can still take
good photographs of yourself and a fish. An easy way to
still get a photo of your catch is to leave the fish in the
landing net, and lay something beside it, such as your reel
or scales, to give an idea of perspective. This can look
really good, but there is a better way to photograph your own
captures. On my Olympus cameras, there is a function which
enables you to use an infra-red remote control to work the shutter.
Gardner Tackle market a camera adaptor which screws into a bankstick,
so that you don't need to carry a tripod to mount your camera
on. I mount this adaptor into a Pro-Logic quick-release
bankstick adaptor so that I can set up my bankstick before I
start fishing and simply unclip the camera and store it in my
bag until it is needed.
Two self-taken photographs; one
taken in the net, the other taken using the remote shutter-release
To set up my adjustable bankstick into the desired position,
I first find a nearby tree, bush, rock, or anything else with
texture. I kneel in front of it, taking note of any feature
which lines up with the top of my head, such as a branch or
flower. I then attach the camera to the bankstick and
position it so that the feature is in shot, near the top of
the frame. Making sure I also have enough width on the
shot, I then screw in the bankstick and adjust its height accordingly.
I then know that when I catch a fish, I  can
kneel in the same place and the fish and I will both be in shot.
When I land a fish, I simply weigh it, grab my camera, clip
it into the bankstick, pose and press the button on the remote
control. The self-timer gives me three seconds to drop
the remote and make any last adjustments to my pose, before
it takes a photo. On the digital camera, I can view the
photograph instantly and if I'm happy with the shot, the fish
can be returned immediately.
My equipment for photographing
myself
I hope these tips help you take some better photographs of your
catch. Most of what I have learned has been through my
own trial and error. I hope this helps you avoid making
these errors yourself, and having to live with a poor photograph
of your prized specimen.
Even with practice, the unpredictability
of fish still means you can still mess up a photograph.
Below are a few examples of fishing photos
going wrong! They should make you chuckle, if nothing
else. If you think of any captions to go with each of
them, I'd love to hear them!
When you get your photographs developed, we're always looking
for new captures to add to our "Your Pics" section, so please
email them with a short description of how you caught the fish
to myself or Kevin, the editor.
If you have any further questions regarding
angling photography, you can always email me at andrew@just-fish.net
Tight lines,
Andrew Kennedy.
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