It is a fact that now a days our phones are generally with us wherever we go and the quality of the camera capability in those phones is quite amazing. Do you use your phone to take pictures while you are fishing? We have put together a few tips for taking photos with your phone that you and your friends will enjoy for years to come. Step number one is invest in a waterproof case! Trust us, it is well worth the investment since those expensive little devices seem to be most slippery when they are near water!

Using our phone and digital photography technology allows us to take multiple pictures in rapid succession by holding down the shutter button. Take as many photos as you can but be sure to go back and review them later, saving the best shots and deleting the rest. That said, before you even start your day of fishing be sure that you have enough storage available on your phone, you may need to delete or save some photos to another medium. There is nothing worse than being all set up to take photos of the catch of the day only to see the dreaded ‘storage full’ message.

In general, taking photos with your phone is just like taking photos with a small point and shoot camera. However, lighting is particularly important with smart phones because they have limited range in luminosity. Use the light provided by the sun to your advantage by positioning your light source at roughly a 45-degree angle from your subject. Be careful with the lighting and angles since the bodies of most fish reflect a lot of light, causing issues with glare obscuring your beautiful catch.

Look for details to compose around. As a rule, the locations that we all catch fish in are incredible backdrops for any photo! We love to play with the amazing vistas that become the backdrops for our fishing photos. That said, we also like to play with ‘near ground’ for our backdrops as well. When you are on a beautifully clear mountain stream, snapping a photo of your fish in the water with the cobbles at the bottom of that river, can make for a special photograph. If you are in the ocean, small corals and vegetation in the water can also make great ‘near-ground’ backdrops. So, while your fishing partner is fighting their fish and bringing it in, get your phone ready to snap photos and start looking at what you have at your disposal for a backdrop and lighting (photos of the fight are also great!). That may be the overall view around you, the river, the ocean, a space inside the boat you may be in…you get the idea, as the photographer it is your job to be ready to give quick directions to the angler as to where you want them and the fish so that you can snap a few quick photos and get that fish back in the water.

Get as close as you can to your subject, smart phones do not have optical zoom, so getting close is essential to getting the highest resolution. Not to mention it makes the fish look bigger! Take various angle shoots. Everyone has tons of photos with the angler holding the fish in both hands so that you have the angler in the shot and a side on view of the fish. Those are great photos, however, try some with the fish head on, extreme close ups of particularly detailed patterns on the fish or interesting colour combinations. Also go for extreme close ups of its fins, its head, the fly in its mouth (especially gratifying if that fly is one of your own creations). Playing around with different angles and aspects can give some surprising depth of field and perspective to your photos.