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Picture the Picture
By: Calan J. Ahrens
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When capturing moments, there is a mental and a physical way to remember a specific time. When we look at the mental aspect, we remember a specific smell, taste, sight, sound, or small detail that cues our memory to that moment and reflect on that time. When we physically capture a moment, we use our iPhone, our Android, our Canon camera, or back in the 90’s we would have used a polaroid and shook until our picture came clear. These pictures we take, help us with reflecting on a specific moment with a simple frame of that moment in our life.
When our clients come on a hunt with us, picture taking is of the upmost importance. That picture we take of our client and their trophy, is an important photo for several reasons. One, it is used by the client to show all his/her friends back home of their hunting experience and the animal as when the client was there with it. Two, it serves as a reminder of their trip (other than the mount on the wall) and that they can take with them anywhere in the world. And finally, it is a fantastic means of marketing to other potential clients who are interested in hunting with us. With all those positive means to great picture taking, there is also some negatives to poor picture taking.
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Several years ago, it was quite common seeing the “good old boy” whitetail harvest photo with the deer in the bed of that old square body Chevy, with Pabst Blue Ribbon beer cans (empty of course), and the hunter sitting next to his buck. While this picture was acceptable and still is to some this day, there is one variant we must be aware of now verses the 70’s & 80’s. That variant is social media. Pictures spread quickly on the world wide web, and we have no way or means to control who sees the pictures we post. Photos we take of our harvested game can sometimes be used against us with anti-hunters to propagate their agenda, and we all know they don’t need any more fuel for their fire. Simply being mindful of how we post pictures and what we post will go a long way. Another issue to contend with, is the lack of hunting recruitment in the United States. Many individuals who make up the hunting community are of an older generation and not enough younger individuals are getting involved with hunting, which spells trouble in the long run. Good picture taking of harvested game, is more inviting to a younger potential hunter, verses a less tasteful photo.
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Here is just a few of my tips and tricks to take some nice field harvest photos.
· My number one trick to taking good quality field harvest photos is the simplest one of all. Clean all blood off the animal and around the picture area. Carrying some paper towels or baby wipes in your truck or hunting rig and a spray bottle of 409 will make that clean up job so much easier. On animals like Pronghorn with hollow hair that seems to just soak up blood, simply spray the 409 on the area you want to clean up, and wipe in one direction. Be sure not to over soak as it can cause the blood to spread into more of the hair. Also, using dirt that’s around your picture area to cover up bullet holes is a great trick. You can also use dirt that’s your area to touch up areas where blood is around the animals. When you use the flash feature on your camera, those blood spots on grass and on the ground really pop out and shine, so just using a little dirt goes a long way.
· Another important point in taking good pictures is making sure the tongue is not protruding from the animal. This is a simple task and takes no time at all to make sure it is not “photo bombing” your next harvest photo.
· A big key to remember when taking photos, always try to have the sun at your back. Shadows are your worst enemy when it comes to taking pictures (other than blood). So, the easiest way to combat that, is just have the sun at your back.
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· Try to have your client/hunter/huntress and the animal in some grass (but not too tall). Grass softens up the animal in pictures and gives the picture a better look. Sometimes in a flat dirt area, the animal has a stark look. So, grass is your friend when taking pictures.
· Try to utilize the sky in photos to help showcase the animal in your pictures. Often, animals’ horns/antlers get lost in the trees or habitat behind them in the pictures. I try to get different angles when taking photos, either moving myself or the animal/client into other photo taking angles (when able because sometimes on the edge of a cliff with an Aoudad ram, you won’t be moving him more than once!).
· Finally, have a designated camera (an actual camera). While technology has come a long way from polaroid and iPhone has an incredible camera, there is no replacing a great camera and the quality of photo it produces. I use a Canon Rebel T6 and it allows me to transfer photos over to my phone via Bluetooth, with cuts down the number of cameras during the “photo shoot”. There is even great pocket cameras out there at BestBuy and on Amazon that are cheaper and produce some great pictures.
I hope these tips and tricks help you the next time you are out in the field taking some photos of your next harvest. Although I have several more tips and things I do, these few bullet points I have laid out are the main ones I live by and preach to my guides. High quality photos go a long way, but so do bad ones.
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Calan Ahrens is the Owner and Founder of Ahrens Ranch & Wildlife, LLC. serving several landowners encompassing 600,000 acres all over Texas for their commercial hunting, ranch management, and exotic/native game needs.
www.ahrensranchandwildlife.com
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