If I really want to produce a good picture, I take multiple shots from the same angle, which produces slightly different angles of the "same angle". I scan through them and discard all but the best before I do any edits.

 

If I'm using my iphone, I just hit the magic button and it edits it satisfactorily most of the time. Sometimes I edit it manually for an effect I want.

 

I have a canon 60D, and I can take some decent photographs if I so choose. I have found that I can get acceptable results with the phone, if I take into consideration that the field of view is limited, and there is a lot of distortion.

12 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

My waterproof camera works well for my 30-seconds or less approach, meaning I keep the bass out of the water for 30 seconds or less. 

 

I do the same. I'll unhook them in the water only to lift them out for the money shot and back they go. There have been times when hook removal on a super quality fish took too long and was stressful so I'll forego the photo op and release them as soon as they were unhooked.

10 hours ago, Skunkmaster-k said:

Every time I take a picture with a fish, his eyes are closed. That’s the way I like it though. Perfect pictures are boring. 

 

You will almost NEVER see a photo I have taken that has not been processed in some way, if not in several ways. I figure that if someone is going to take their time to look at my photos, I can at least try to level a horizon, or maybe crop the parts that detract from the story the photo is intended to tell. I always try to shoot a little loose so there's room work with.

 

Even photos I take with my L lenses need some post processing to bring out shadow details/highlights, adjust saturation, contrast, white balance, etc. and maybe a little sharpening here and there. I try to get my camera pre-sets decent, but no settings work great in all situations.

 

And they're still not perfect by any stretch.

 

And then FB downgrades the quality and they look like I a had a smudge on the lens 😬

Why do some photos on BR have the BR logo on them and mine don't?

13 hours ago, Big Hands said:

 

You will almost NEVER see a photo I have taken that has not been processed in some way, if not in several ways. I figure that if someone is going to take their time to look at my photos, I can at least try to level a horizon, or maybe crop the parts that detract from the story the photo is intended to tell. I always try to shoot a little loose so there's room work with.

 

Even photos I take with my L lenses need some post processing to bring out shadow details/highlights, adjust saturation, contrast, white balance, etc. and maybe a little sharpening here and there. I try to get my camera pre-sets decent, but no settings work great in all situations.

 

And they're still not perfect by any stretch.

 

And then FB downgrades the quality and they look like I a had a smudge on the lens 😬

I liked the old cameras that had to be developed before I knew if the quality was good or if there was someone who had “borrowed” my camera to take a selfie before they were called selfies. Telling the story behind the photo is half the fun for me. If someone doesn’t like my photos, they don’t have to look at them, but they will. They always do. 

3 hours ago, Lottabass said:

Why do some photos on BR have the BR logo on them and mine don't?

 

I assume the poster is adding the BR logo. 

I should break out my OLD Polaroid Insta Camera and try that! 😃

 

(I know you young guys don’t know what I’m talking about)

 

 

 

 

Mike

13 hours ago, Big Hands said:

You will almost NEVER see a photo I have taken that has not been processed in some way, if not in several ways.

 

You bassheads who retouch your photos have WAAAAAYYYYYY more energy than me. When I come off the water and do a trip report, that's all I can do. I'm drained at that point. 

 

My issue with retouching is that many go too far and the bass look too shiny. Plastic. They look like the photos that realtors post and then you go see the house and you say, "This dump looks nothing like your pretty photos."

 

26 minutes ago, Mike L said:

I should break out my OLD Polaroid Insta Camera and try that! 😃

 

Meet the Swinger

Polaroid Swinger

Meet the Swinger

Polaroid Swinger

It's more than a camera

It's almost alive

It's only 19 dollars

and 95!

9 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

Meet the Swinger

Polaroid Swinger

Meet the Swinger

Polaroid Swinger

It's more than a camera

It's almost alive

It's only 19 dollars

and 95!

I remember that!

I didn’t think you would young Lady

 

 

 

Mike

10 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

You bassheads who retouch your photos have WAAAAAYYYYYY more energy than me. When I come off the water and do a trip report, that's all I can do. I'm drained at that point. 

 

It's amazing what you can get done when you forego sleep.

11 hours ago, Swamp Girl said:

You bassheads who retouch your photos have WAAAAAYYYYYY more energy than me. When I come off the water and do a trip report, that's all I can do. I'm drained at that point. 

Photo editing is not really as time consuming as video editing. The time spent on editing videos is largely dependent on the software used and one's familiarity with it. More complex programs like DaVinci Resolve have a learning curve, and in my case, a very long learning curve. 

14 minutes ago, Crow Horse said:

More complex programs like DaVinci Resolve have a learning curve, and in my case, a very long learning curve. 

Which is why I stick with my NCH VideoPad - low learning curve, results good enough for YouTube.

37 minutes ago, Crow Horse said:

Photo editing is not really as time consuming as video editing. The time spent on editing videos is largely dependent on the software used and one's familiarity with it. More complex programs like DaVinci Resolve have a learning curve, and in my case, a very long learning curve. 

 

I tried to go the digital video route after (film) SLR's became more or less extinct, but the rendering process just wasn't ready for prime time. I would set a relatively short video to render and it would take all night. Then I would all too often find that it had hung up and froze at 2:30 am and I would spend hours troubleshooting the cause that might be something like the file name of a still/jpg was not to the program's liking, or I would regularly have to reinstall my OS to get it to play nice for a cycle or two. I had a love/hate relationship with Pinnacle that was a tad threadbare on the love side TBH, and finally decided that I would go the DSLR route and found that it better suited my temperament.

I believe a lot of the issues might be due to processor speed & the video card. I'm using a dinosaur of a desktop, a fairly robust Dell 5810 workstation and I'm limited to using 1080. 4K rendering took forever and for YouTube, the 1080 was acceptable. It can be very frustrating when things don't work out well.

Just a little late add on to this interesting and quite opinionated thread. I think going forward, all bass pics are to be taken under some kind of duress lol

 

On 8/20/2025 at 7:30 AM, Lottabass said:

Why do some photos on BR have the BR logo on them and mine don't?

When a members photo is saved in their photo album, that BR watermark is automatically added. Then whenever it's shared here you'll see it.

A-Jay

I think when on the bank, there is a thousand words that can be told, by seeing the fish in or near the water on the bank, ideally with minimal hand. Already some good examples in the thread with trout. CPR with trout can be a risky practice.

I've was really struck by a recent photo by Al @Lottabass. Here:

 

 

If I were to describe this photo thusly, Al is holding a bass and all we can see is the lower jaw and belly, the photo wouldn't sound like much, but it's a great photo because it really conveys the girth of the big bass. I think it's my favorite photo for 2025. I can also see Al straining and that adds to my awe.

 

I also like this photo of mine:

 

 

Most of my photos are lip and grips or on-the-bump board, but the photo above is different because it was hard to hold two bass at once. The reason I love it is because the angle really conveys how broad and big-headed the bass on the left was. I think the smaller bass on the right also helps. Photographically chopping off the tail on my photo and Al's photo doesn't detract from the photos' impact at all.

 

When I net a bass and I look into the net, I sometimes half gasp at the slab of bass lying there. I like photos that convey that hunkiness.

 "I think it's my favorite photo for 2025. I can also see Al straining and that adds to my awe."

 

Thank you, Katie!  Words like that from you make me blush!

I was straining, but at my age I strain to lift a soda bottle!!!😛

 

"I like photos that convey that hunkiness."

 

That's why we all love your photos!

 

56 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

 

That's why we all love your photos!

 

 

57 minutes ago, Lottabass said:

I was straining, but at my age I strain to lift a soda bottle!!!

 

Me too. I always process bass on the port side of my canoe, so if I hook them off starboard, I have to lift the bass in the net up and over to the port side. My straining tells me how thick the fish is. 

I am not a fan of selfies.  I'd honestly rather just lay the fish on a measuring board than take a dumb selfie.

 

I did obtain a clamp for my phone that attaches to my windshield the season before last, so I can use the timer.  It works pretty good, but I'm still refining that technique.

 

A-Jay's photos are usually very good with his go pro mount.