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What is a good hunting photo?

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Most of us take photos at least some of the time when we hunt, especially when we get game.
So I'm interested in what folk think makes a good hunt photo, the picture you show your friends, put on wall .... or post here. Uusually that means you with the animal, but ther are diffeernt styles.
For instance, I like to show the weapon used, because that's part of what I'm trying to learn, and part of the story. But lots of hunters don't show gun or bow.
 
Clean up any blood and don't leave the tongue hanging out
Amen on the tongue hanging out. A friend sent me this photo of a nice buck he collected. It was taken after dark, with a flash, and he hadn't realized the tongue was hanging out.
TomBlack_deer2.jpg


I fixed it for him, it looked better, and he was pleased.
TomBlack_deer.jpeg

Spence
 
I find I prefer for the hunter not to be in it the game was taken with traditional gear. Just the gear and the animal, well posed (as mentioned, not looking into the body cavity or with the tongue hanging out), done with some class.
If the hunter is in the photo, unless it is a grinning kid with 1st game taken, in the best ones the hunter isn't looking at the camera. Either looking at the animal with some reverence, or gazing off into the woods or fields where taken.
 
With or without the hunter are both OK with me, but most of my photos are taken for my records and enjoyment, only, to preserve memories of the hunt.

Some basics are required for any kind of good photo, sharp focus, good exposure/lighting, and appropriate size of the main subject. Too many people fail to get close enough before snapping the shot. A good habit is to pause a moment before pressing the shutter button, look at the view through the eyepiece and think what the photo will look like if you press it now. There's a knack to composing a well balanced photo which comes mostly with experience, but that pause to look before shooting is a good place to start.

Spence
 
My game pictures have usually just been a second thought due to all of the work ahead and the excitement of a successful hunt. I hunt alone so there is no way I can include myself but do like to include the rifle used to make the kill.
I posted this picture here last fall and the reviews tended to get comical about the kiddie sled used to drag this big doe out of the woods.
P1040651.JPG
 
Amen on the tongue hanging out. A friend sent me this photo of a nice buck he collected. It was taken after dark, with a flash, and he hadn't realized the tongue was hanging out.
View attachment 44834

I fixed it for him, it looked better, and he was pleased.
View attachment 44835
Spence
now that is better! and kids can view it without thinking about the BOOGEY MAN. this is a family orientated site.
 
My game pictures have usually just been a second thought due to all of the work ahead and the excitement of a successful hunt. I hunt alone so there is no way I can include myself but do like to include the rifle used to make the kill.
I posted this picture here last fall and the reviews tended to get comical about the kiddie sled used to drag this big doe out of the woods. View attachment 44880
hey, if it works use it! it sure beats dragging it out.
 
I don't normally take photo's, but this was a mile stone for me, I made the bow from osage, made the arrow shaft from some red ash, fletched it from a Turkey I killed, and hammered out the broached from an old saw blade. It, the pic, is pre digital, is of poor composition and use of ambient light, not very sharp either, but all that seems to make it a very good hunting photo to me. So I guess its all in how you look at it sometimes.
IMG_0177.jpeg

I really like quality, well done pictures like Brit does, but I like these homey, hokey ones too.
Robby
 
My game pictures have usually just been a second thought due to all of the work ahead and the excitement of a successful hunt. I hunt alone so there is no way I can include myself but do like to include the rifle used to make the kill.
I posted this picture here last fall and the reviews tended to get comical about the kiddie sled used to drag this big doe out of the woods. View attachment 44880
Most cameras and cell phone cameras has shutter release timers 👍
 
Taking photos, especially good ones takes just as much practice and study as learning to shoot your rifle. I focus first on presenting the animal in a respectful position showing care to it. Having a clean background focuses the viewer onto the animal not all the clutter. If you wish to present the method of the kill, do it with clean lines and proportion to the animal. If Captjoel had taken the photo before placing the animal on the sled, the effect would have been much better. If Robby would have moved his body so it didn't look like the tree was growing out of his head, the photo would have been better. Robby's picture is good that you can see his face. Many pictures are taken with a shadow over the face or too much contrast between the background and foreground. Spence's picture has too much clutter ( besides the tongue LOL) Bracing the deer on along the tree trunk, placing it in the forefront of the picture might have been better. Having the hunter kneel beside the deer would have presented the hunters clothes more accurately without the viewers attention drawn to his crotch because of the change in color and material type. It looks like the rifle is a phallic symbol in the pose.

With all this said, any photo is better than no photo IMO. It really is a "moment to remember" for the person in the hunt. It is not a magazine art item. The photos I hate the most are the Cabelas, manufacturer's Macho Man , unshaven, gear holding Marlboro man pose. Those pictures are made to sell stuff , mostly stuff we really don't need just made to want because a capitalist needs to sell something to make money. PS a cell phone camera is one of the best point & shoot cameras available. Also learn how to use the delayed shutter feature if you are alone and wish to be in the picture. Also get close enough to see detail.
 
I don't normally take photo's, but this was a mile stone for me, I made the bow from osage, made the arrow shaft from some red ash, fletched it from a Turkey I killed, and hammered out the broached from an old saw blade. It, the pic, is pre digital, is of poor composition and use of ambient light, not very sharp either, but all that seems to make it a very good hunting photo to me. So I guess its all in how you look at it sometimes.
View attachment 44891
I really like quality, well done pictures like Brit does, but I like these homey, hokey ones too.
Robby
KUDDOS TO YOU! nice!
 
I look at others who have taken photos and thought ‘nice’.
Some are pretty artistic, some are just dead animals.
I don’t take pictures or make trophies. I’ll use a skin to make something, but don’t save bits just to look at.
Don’t get me wrong I don’t think bad of trophies, I just don’t.
The picture I want to see captures the country around it, the gun, maybe a dog if used. Light in the right spot, Hunter not in the shot, no shadow cast on the photo.
Birds and small game should be laid together and large game laid out. It should be a celebration of the hunt not of the death.
 
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