An Introduction to Fishing Photography Pt. 1

Christmas has come and gone, all the hype and build up and just like that, the clock keeps ticking and its December 26th. As a kid, I always loved the day after Christmas, everyone was relaxed, no school, and best of all you get to play with everything you just got. As an adult I still love the day after Christmas, substitute school for work, and toys for gadgets and fishing gear and your good to go. In today’s digital world, cameras are becoming more and more popular, not just Iphones and Go Pros but DSLRs and mirrorless cameras. When it comes to catch and release fishing; photos are the only proof we have of our catch. A fraction of a second, captured in time symbolizing an epic triumph over nature. The ability to capture these images relies not only of your eye but understanding of your equipment and how it works as well. So if you just got a camera for Christmas, are interested in cameras or just want to learn a little bit, check out this intro into to fishing photography for a few tips to help you along the way.

A Brief Introduction to Exposure

Exposure can often be over complicated and rightfully so, however when it’s broken down and simplified it's not too hard to understand. In the days of film, exposure related to the amount of time the film was exposed to light, which is usually only a fraction of a second. Now that cameras are digital, its related to the amount of light and time the cameras sensor is exposed. DSLRs have a mirror that covers the sensor. When you press the shutter release, the mirror flips up and reveals the sensor. You can control the amount of time the sensor is exposed by using the first element of the exposure triangle, shutter speed. Shutter speed is usually measured in fractions of a second that look like 1/100 or 1/1000. When you set your shutter speed to 1/100, this means the mirror will flip up and then back down exposing the sensor for one one hundreth of a second. The higher the number, the faster the shutter speed. Higher shutter speeds allow less light but captures action much more clearly while slower shutter speeds allow more light but can result in motion blur if the shutter speed is too slow for the motion in your image. Once you understand the next two parts of the exposure triangle, you will be able to balance your shutter speed with what you’re trying to photograph and the available light where you are shooting.

The second part of the exposure triangle is F-stop. Your F-stop or aperture will change depending on the lens you have attached to your camera. The lower the number (f1.2, f.2 f3.5) the more light the lens will allow to reach the sensor. The higher the Number (f9, f11, f22) the less light the lens will allow to reach the sensor. F-stop also controls the depth of field in your shot or in other words, how much of the image is in focus. When you see an image where the subject is very sharp and in focus and the background is a beautiful blur, this was shot on a lens with a low aperture.  Higher F-stops like f9 or f11 allows less light to reach the sensor but more of the image will be in focus and are commonly used when shooting landscapes or images where the photographer wants the majority of the image to be sharp. Obviously this is a simplified explanation of aperture but once you understand some of the basics its really not that complicated.

The final part of the exposure triangle is ISO. ISO represents your sensors sensitivity to light. A low ISO is used when shooting in sunlight or in a bright situation and a higher ISO is used when shooting under low light. Sounds simple enough however a problem arises when your ISO is raised. Generally speaking, as you raise your ISO, you loose image quality. It's not a drastic as you may think, but the higher you go, the more grain will be added to your image. ISO is extremely important when it comes to choosing a camera. Understanding and knowing the limits of your cameras ISO is crucial to getting a good, usable shot that is not filled with grain. 

Settings

While your camera may have a lot of settings, the three most common ones are M (manual), P (program), and A (aperture priority). In the photography world we have a joke, P = professional. A lot of new photographers, go spend a ton of money on a camera, set it to P which is completely automated and shoot away, claiming to be pros. I highly recommend not starting this way, but if you must, try and take note of what the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO are when shooting images. 

If I had to recommend a setting to begin with, I would choose aperture priority. In aperture priority, you choose the aperture you want to shoot at. Remember, aperture controls not only the amount of light allowed into the sensor but the depth of field. So you want to think about a few things when setting your F-stop, like how bright is it? Do I want a blurred background? Do I want most of my image in focus? Once you get that dialed you are free to shoot away. Aperture Priority will choose a shutter speed based on your aperture selection as well as the cameras built in light meter. Somewhere on your camera, usually the top or back, you will see a + and -. This is your exposure compensation. If you hit the + and turn your exposure compensation up, you will make your images brighter. If you hit the -, you will turn in down in turn making your image darker. When shooting in aperture priority, still make sure to take note of what shutter speed the camera is selecting under different lighting situations. 

The final setting is M, or manual. In manual, you have full control of the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Once you begin to have a better understand of the elements of exposure, then you can use manual. Before you know it, you will almost be able to adjust your settings by observing the light with your naked eye. However, you can always use the cameras light meter; the little lines you see at the bottom of the view finder. First set your aperture based off the light and your desired depth of field, then try and set your ISO based on the available light, and finally roll your shutter dial until the little line in the meter ends up in the middle. You can review your shots and adjust accordingly. Keep in mind that increasing the shutter speed will darken the image and slowing it down will lighten. 

While navigating a DSLR or Mirrorless camera may seem like a daunting task, its really not that bad and with a little knowledge and experimentation you should be able to figure it out fairly quickly. While I briefly touched on basics in this post, there is a plethora of knowledge on sites like youtube as well as the thousands of photography blogs out there. For now, lets just stick with these basics and in the future I will touch on some of the more complex and specific aspects of photography. So get out there and catch, capture a photo, and release. Tight lines and happy shooting.

-Mike