Fisherjon, good idea, I think this will be very helpful.
When solo, I've been using a fish gripper to get the fish a little farther away from me and get more of my arm out of the frame.
Or if your catch is small--Go next door and get the big ones out of your neighbor's cooler for picture taking.Dont forget the "hold it out at arms length but bend your elbows just enough and get just the right angle, and wear your hat just a bit high and forward to make the fish look as big as possible" technique...LOL!!!!
Lefty has the photo-quality waterproof bag - works great. I use cheap enough cameras that it won't break my heart 'when' (not 'if') I dunk one. I keep it in a ziplock in a pocket in my vest while not in use.Do you guys have some sort of water proof case you put them in while in the yaks. I would be scared I would go in the water.
I used one of the plastic bags designed for the purpose -- I think it was an Aquapak, not sure. Got it for around $30 or so. It worked fine - a bit awkward to operate the camera, but not enough to make me consider taking it out of the bag and risking water damage. The most awkward part was, my camera used to zoom the lens all the way out when it booted up, so you'd have to flex the bag to allow that to take place without obstruction, otherwise the camera would shut itself back down. Also, heed the advice in the instructions -- place the lens of the camera against the lens of the bag. The pics came out just fine.Do you guys have some sort of water proof case you put them in while in the yaks. I would be scared I would go in the water.
Wow, now that's a cool idea... Even if you're using a bag wrapped around a non-waterproof camera, you could mount a platform to the stakeout pole and bungee the camera to it... (After you jammed it into the sand, of course...)Yak4fish has a stakeout pole with a camera mount on it - he sets the pole, sets the timer then moves himself and the fish back into the frame. Makes for much better solo kayak pictures than you can get from inside the boat.
I know some folks like to keep the baits "secret" as that could be their secret weapon.A couple more thoughts:
If you can get the rod, reel and artificial lure/fly in the pic I always appreciate seeing that too. Like to see the size of the bait in relation to the fish and to get an idea for how it was caught .
This also gives you room to PhotoShop the picture and substitute the background with one that doesn't give away the honeyhole. I always get a kick out of the ones Dave posts, with the grouper he catches from the serene, snowy mountain streams.I try not to make the object of the picture directly in the middle center. When outdoors I like to take a picture with the person about a third from the edge or so and allow something from the background to clearly be seen. Like the lake or tree or something. That is something I've heard from hobbyist photographers that take pictures of wildlife and flowers. Their pictures look good. Worth a shot, that is what I love about digital camera's, no more wondering if it is a good shot. I take three pictures and keep the best.