Photographing your trophy

[buck50]

Really enjoy seeing the great bucks being taken and congrats to each and all on your success. However, I feel obligated as a member of our brotherhood to post this article taken from Nov, 2010 Bowhunter Magazine.

There are correct and incorrect ways to photograph your archery animal. You only get one chance in the field, so do it right the first time around. Here are some tips for taking pictures you can be proud of.



Remove any arrows still in the carcass, and scrub away all visible blood with water and paper towels. If the tongue is hanging out, tuck it back into the mouth or cut it off. Dampen the animal’s eyes for a fresh and realistic look.



Position the camera slightly below the animal and as close as possible to fill the frame. Antlered game like deer and elk appear far more dramatic when their racks are silhouetted against the sky.



When possible, have a friend take pictures of you and your animal. If you are by yourself, use a tripod. Modern digital cameras make self-photography fairly easy because you can shoot a few photos and then review them on the screen. If they are not perfect, adjust the camera position and angle and take some more.



You don’t have to always show the entire carcass. Try some vertical shots with only the front half of the animal in the picture. This will make the critter look bigger and showcase the trophy rack. Be sure to pose close behind with your bow and arrows in full view.



Finally, take a lot of photos. Try different angles and poses. Again, you only get one chance to capture your trophy before you skin and butcher the animal. Well-posed pictures are worth some extra effort!


Read more: http://www.bowhunter.com/huntingtips_trophy_photo_photography_tips_101810.html#ixzz2BZauift3​

 

[buckmaster70]

Thanks for sharing. Personally i always hate when people sit 5 feet behind it and make the animal look gigantic. I think it makes them look ridiculous most of the time. I prefer to sit tucked up close behind so you have a good reference not one that makes your head look the size of a dime compared to the deer. Definitely good advice as far as cleaning them up etc.. Thanks for sharing.

 

[tph]

my cousin always has this bad habbit of grabbing the ears for the pic and it looks dumb, and u need the ears for reference

 

[IowaDave]

Good post, thanks for sharing!
I'm a freak about harvest photos, but almost every time I get done I wish I'd done something different & then it's too late.
I always think it's a shame when I see great deer on here with less than great (bad) harvest photos.
Now hopefully I get a chance to take some this year!

 

[Crockett]

Great info! But.....You also need to be to be real and know many of us hunt alone..We are all giddy . just happy to get a deer , lucky to get a pic period!! It is what it is! Animal is still great whether your gonna put it in a magazine or not!! Sometimes it ain't about the crowds approval!! :drink2:

 

[bret]

Great info! But.....You also need to be to be real and know many of us hunt alone..We are all giddy . just happy to get a deer , lucky to get a pic period!! It is what it is! Animal is still great whether your gonna put it in a magazine or not!! Sometimes it ain't about the crowds approval!! :drink2:

x2!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[ShedderKG]

Great info! But.....You also need to be to be real and know many of us hunt alone..We are all giddy . just happy to get a deer , lucky to get a pic period!! It is what it is! Animal is still great whether your gonna put it in a magazine or not!! Sometimes it ain't about the crowds approval!! :drink2:

I bring my camera almost every time I go out just in case. And I will get someone to take a picture for me whether it is in the field or if it is back at home. I don't think the original post is implying that if you take harvest pics that they will end up in a magazine. He is just trying to give people some advice if they want to have nice harvest pics to put in a frame for their man cave or something. And you are right, it's not always about the crowds approval BUT I think nice pictures show some respect to the animal as well. I for one, can't stand the pictures of deer with an arrow sticking out somewhere, or making it look like such a slaughter house. Pics of deer in the back of trucks don't do much for me either. Great post and great advice for good harvest pics. :way:

 

[AZHunter]

I bring my camera almost every time I go out just in case. And I will get someone to take a picture for me whether it is in the field or if it is back at home. I don't think the original post is implying that if you take harvest pics that they will end up in a magazine. He is just trying to give people some advice if they want to have nice harvest pics to put in a frame for their man cave or something. And you are right, it's not always about the crowds approval BUT I think nice pictures show some respect to the animal as well. I for one, can't stand the pictures of deer with an arrow sticking out somewhere, or making it look like such a slaughter house. Pics of deer in the back of trucks don't do much for me either. Great post and great advice for good harvest pics. :way:

I'm fully in agreement with Shredder KG on this one. We preach respect for the game we hunt, so we should show that respect in how we immortalize the moment. I certainly don't do it for the crowd's approval, but out of respect for the animal.

 

[buck50]

Great info! But.....You also need to be to be real and know many of us hunt alone..We are all giddy . just happy to get a deer , lucky to get a pic period!! It is what it is! Animal is still great whether your gonna put it in a magazine or not!! Sometimes it ain't about the crowds approval!! :drink2:

Not what I'm saying at all, brother. The only magazine I'm concerned about is one of many supported by those who would put an end to hunting all together. Us old-timers fought many battles back in the seventies relating to just this sort of thing. Those people have nothing better to do than search sites like ours, find what they can to spin us out as "less than desirable" and plaster it all over national media campaign ads for which they have unlimited resources.
Look. In the state of Iowa, I know of one single mother raising a young bowhunter. I'm not saying there isn't more out there, I'm just saying if we as bowhunters don't share our experience and knowledge with one another on how to preserve and protect our heritage... it will be lost. I want you to enjoy as many and more years bowhunting as I have.

 

[Crockett]

I understand and agree with ya on respect!! If it 'comes down to a pic in the back of a truck or no pic! Well there will be no pic!!! :way:

 

[iabwhntr]

Great info! But.....You also need to be to be real and know many of us hunt alone..We are all giddy . just happy to get a deer , lucky to get a pic period!! It is what it is! Animal is still great whether your gonna put it in a magazine or not!! Sometimes it ain't about the crowds approval!! :drink2:

X3!!! I have no pics of the animals I killed, except those my mother took when I was 10. My feeling is that if you want majestic pictures of the animals we harvest, take 'em before you kill it! In lieu of that, make some comments on shot placement! :drink1:
Happy hunting!

 

[turtlshell]

The point of the post was to REMIND us all, that we can do things a tad different to maximize the pictures after the kill...when we REMEMBER.

If the pics are at home and not in the field, then so be it. I absolutely hate the rodeo pictures and the back of the truck pics...but that's just me. If you want to post'em like that, that's your deal...but I think what the original post was here is spot on. Take a moment, in all the excitement, and get some decent photos. Use the tips provided and you'll quickly find out they work.

 

[JNRBRONC]

Can respect and killing go hand in hand?

 

[cjgarrett]

The point of the post was to REMIND us all, that we can do things a tad different to maximize the pictures after the kill...when we REMEMBER.

If the pics are at home and not in the field, then so be it. I absolutely hate the rodeo pictures and the back of the truck pics...but that's just me. If you want to post'em like that, that's your deal...but I think what the original post was here is spot on. Take a moment, in all the excitement, and get some decent photos. Use the tips provided and you'll quickly find out they work.

Agreed!!! We all work our butts off for the chance at a once in a lifetime buck. Why cut that moment short with bad pictures? Take the pictures as if they mean something to you. Like the original post said, it truly is a one time deal.

 

[cjgarrett]

Can respect and killing go hand in hand?

Absolutely! Some of you guys have seen the buck that i harvest yesterday morning. It is buck that i have been chasing for 3 years. At the time of the kill i was so pumped to put an arrow in that deer i could hardly speak. But now that all of the excitement has passed by, it is really a bitter sweet moment.

 

[turtlshell]

Absolutely! Some of you guys have seen the buck that i harvest yesterday morning. It is buck that i have been chasing for 3 years. At the time of the kill i was so pumped to put an arrow in that deer i could hardly speak. But now that all of the excitement has passed by, it is really a bitter sweet moment.

SPOT-ON...because once you cape them out and butcher them, you ain't getting a second chance at any pics, right? :way:

That buck, that story, and the PICS were awesome, BTW. Congrats again.

 

[Bill Hartzell]

Come on Man!! Respect & killing a Deer. Absolutely, it can go hand in hand. Love love to hunt whitetails and respect them to the max. We put names on them and have history of them and yet, still want to kill them. I also love to take pics and try my best to do it in the right way. Great post btw.