48 EXTREME ELK | FALL 2014

Adventure AdvicePicture this: You spend years applying for a coveted elk tag. You finally draw your tag and start getting your gear ready. You buy a new bow and practice every weekend shooting at the range. You scout for weeks before the hunt and finally find THE bull. On opening morning, you hike to your spot. The bull walks to within 20 yards and you take a clean, ethical shot. He falls and you field dress the elk and pack him out. A few years later, your memories of the event become foggy. You can’t remember exactly where you shot him, what time of day it was, or other details from the hunt. Time has worn your memories, and all you have is a nice shoulder mount on the wall.

This Is Why We PhotographA picture of you holding a severed head in camp or in front of your garage doesn’t tell the same story as a photo of you and your trophy in the gnarly terrain where you shot it. Besides, field shots tell the real story of the hunt on a steep mountainside, thick brush, talus slope, or dark forest. With that in mind, here are a few steps that can help make your trophy picture even more memorable.

You Have One Shot. Make It Count!Professional photographers carry a lot of equipment: a nice DSLR, a couple of lens options, a tripod, a folding reflector, flash equipment, and possibly a camera remote. This equipment can transform an average

photo into an eye-catching, story-telling masterpiece. In this best case scenario, Dusty Lutt (Figure 1) positioned the hunter and animal to be backlit by the sun and reflected light back into the photo with a folding reflector. In another example, Dusty used an off-camera Canon flash to light the hunter and animal (Figure 2). Again, the sun was behind them, and these examples show the best possible results from being prepared with the right gear. If you draw a once in a lifetime tag, and want great pictures, having a professional photographer/videographer follow you is a great idea.For most of us, carrying all this equipment is not feasible, especially in the backcountry. Here are a few suggestions that will provide great results, with very little equipment.

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David DeAustin

49EXTREMEELK.com

Prep the AnimalClean the wound. No one enjoys pictures of animals covered in blood. Take the time to wipe it down with a cloth and water. There is only so much that can be done in Photoshop after the fact. Put the tongue back in the animal’s mouth. If the tongue keeps falling out, cut it off. Pictures of animals with their tongues hanging out aren’t great to look at. (Figure 3), submitted by Jennifer Lynn Wood, shows a great buck that could have benefitted from cleaning the wound and fixing the tongue.

Prep the AreaClear any brush around the animal and anything that may be in front of the lens (unless you want branches or grass as a design element in your picture). If left uncontrolled, these things can be seen as a distraction in your picture. Your camera tends to focus on them instead of you, and if you’re using a flash, it will highlight those objects and make them look white.If you want to include your bow, rifle, pack, etc. in your trophy shot, take care in placing the article in a way that it fits into the picture. Don’t just set it on the animal, or drape it across it. Set it or prop it neatly next to the animal.

Position Yourself & the AnimalFolding the animal’s legs under the body is a practice that makes the animal look more at ease and peaceful. It also ensures the legs aren’t sticking out and pointing

into the lens of the camera. Keep it nice and neat. (Figure 4), submitted by Chris Will, could have benefitted by folding the Elk’s back legs, just like the front. Great bull Chris!

Prop the animal. Some hunters like to place the animal on a pile of rocks, log, etc. The best view of the animal is from slightly overhead, so you can see the side and part of the back. This gets the animal up and off its side and naturally lifts the head. (Figure 5), submitted by Joe Rush, is an excellent example of how good the animal can look when propped up. We will discuss how to improve the lighting, below.Straighten your clothes. There is no way to go back and redo this photo. Do your best to look good. Face it, we work our butts off when we’re hunting. Take a quick moment to make sure everything looks good before you take the picture. You may also need to take your hat off, or turn so that the light is behind you. Hats can cause heavy shadows over your face, depending on the light, as seen in (Figure 6) by Skylar Miller. Kneel behind the animal. Shots with you riding the animal, standing next to or sitting on it aren’t ideal. (Figure 7), submitted by Craig Temple, is a great example of sharing a precious moment with his child, but sitting on top of the animal can be seen as disrespectful to the animal.

LightingIf you recover the animal in the afternoon and have harsh (bright) lighting conditions, it can

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50 EXTREME ELK | FALL 2014

be tough to get a good photo. If possible, move it into the shade. This will help soften the lighting and make it more even. This will also help keep the meat cool in the early season heat. Don’t worry if you over-expose the background (make it too bright). You and your animal are the subject matter that needs proper exposure. You also may have an option in your camera to set manual exposure. Try changing the exposure +/- a few stops to make it look great in the LCD. (Figure 5), by Joe Rush,

is a great example that shows how the camera’s internal light meter was “tricked” by the light coming through the trees. The camera exposed for the shadows, which is the majority of the picture, leaving the highlights overexposed and too bright. I would suggest moving the animal into an area that has less light coming in through the forest canopy if possible, so you don’t have to battle with harsh lighting. Also, make sure to set your white balance to ‘shade’

to get correct color. The white balance settings are important to get a neutral color for your lighting and scene. The other option is to underexpose the shadows. By doing this you will almost guarantee the highlights are correct. (Figure 8) by Joe Rush is an excellent example of positioning yourself so the natural light illuminates 3/4 of your face and still shows some shadow. This is optimal because it shows dimension.Fill the shadows. You can use the fill flash setting on your camera (or a lightweight reflector) to help fill in shadows caused by harsh lighting. Shadows over your face caused by wearing a hat can also be minimized with these options. A reflector tends to have a softer quality of light than the small on-camera flash. Using the flash during the middle of the day works well with back-lit scenes and supplies just enough light to add detail to the shadows.Use a diffuser. If you are carrying a folding reflector (very lightweight by the way), you can unzip the outer cover and use the diffusion material inside to soften the harsh sunlight. Simply position the diffuser between the sun and the subject.

Framing the ShotWith the antlers positioned correctly, you can frame your face and head with the animal’s antlers. You want to make sure you have a clear line of sight through the antlers to the camera, and nothing is blocking your face. This may take a couple of tries, but looks great when executed correctly. (Figure 9) and (Figure 10) illustrate framing perfectly.There are a few choices when it comes to highlighting your animal’s antlers. Before setting up your camera, take a good look and ask yourself, Are the antlers really wide? Or, are they narrow and tall with lots of points? If the animal has wide antlers, it may be best to shoot a frontal shot to emphasize the width. If the animal has narrow antlers but they are really tall, or maybe there are lots of points, you might consider either shooting from the side of the animal, or a ¾ view to emphasize the height of the tines, number of tines, etc. Just make sure none of the

tines are hidden or cut off with your chosen camera angle. (Figure 11) by Danni Miller illustrates highlighting the profile of the antlers.Get the right angle. Some people really know how to use a wide-angle lens. Fishermen have learned to hold the fish away from their bodies and closer to the camera to emphasize the size of the fish. Wide-angle lenses make things look smaller as they get further away, so it is no surprise that fishermen and hunters alike have figured out how to use that to their advantage to make fish and antlers look bigger by making themselves look smaller. The wider the lens (smaller number: 18mm, 20mm, 24mm) the closer you can get the antlers to the lens and the bigger they will look.

Other Exemplary ShotsThe newest trend in trophy shots is a completely new take on successful hunting. The new approach is less staged, and more of a behind-the-scenes look. Theses shots could include capturing a moment of reflection or gratitude, and not your typical ‘grip and grin’ pose. We all feel like jumping up and giving high fives to each other after a successful hunt, but showing respect and gratitude is the most sportsmanlike thing we can do. We owe it to the animals we hunt.Examples of these shots:Holding an antler/Examining the quality of the animal (Figure 10) and (Figure 12). Hand on side/Giving thanks/Remembering a hunting partner (Figure 13).

ConclusionThere are quite a few things to consider when you get the opportunity to photograph your next trophy. If you keep these few tips in mind, you are bound to get great results. Remember, while memories tend to fade, a great photograph will last a forever.

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About the author

David DeAustin is an avid outdoorsman, hunter, professional photographer, and educator. He is also the co-founder of adVENTURE Imaging, a company that specializes in creating photographs for the outdoor industry.

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