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Taking photo's with a flash

R

Richard Booty

Senior Member & Supporter
Last weekend I managed to land a lovely barbel of 12lb 7oz at last knockings. However taking the obligatory trophy shots (admittedly only with an iPhone) has resulted in some pretty poor photos with flash glare and the such like. While I'm not overly bothered about this particular occasion it did remind me of a previous capture (a 15lb 10oz fish) where the photos were also pretty rubbish which were taking with an SLR camera and a decent flash. This time it was pitch dark but had the same issue with flash glare, and I was bothered as it was close to a PB!

Any tips on how to take better pictures in the dark? I tend to only take an iPhone these days but have got an SLR that I sometimes pack with the gear.

I am really not into night fishing and I do 95% of my barbel fishing in daylight so it was interesting to realise that my 5 biggest barbel all came at dusk, or when it was dark....
 
Hi men ,

If your using your phone for taking pics then you should look at the adaptor from Rhino . They screw into a bankstick , and have a clip on lens . I do all my photos off my phone , including self takes when nobody is around . Best option is while the fish is resting in the net , set the phone to video the mat , sling , scales in the position would be holding the fish , and record the whole thing . Then just go back through recording and choose the best frame , its a good system , gives good results .

http://rhino-tech.co.uk/?s=flatliner+lens

This way there is no gap in the weighing / photo procedure , better all round . Its as easy as doing the mat shots we see on here and facebook , where it would be just as easy seeing it held up .


Hatter
 
Hi Richard

The problem you describe used to really frustrate me; I've got plenty of very disappointing flashlight photos from either of my two cameras where the fish is bleached out or worse. My beloved zander are even harder to capture at night than barbel.

I've managed to resolve it this winter by buying one of these:
http://www.jessops.com/online.store...o/lumimuse-series-3-led-light-96555/show.html

and an adaptor which screws onto a bankstick. It's tiny and light so no problem to carry in your rucksack. Just take photos with the flash off and I've had decent results. You can vary how much light you shine - it has three settings. It also makes taking the pics easier in my opinion.

 
Hi Richard
If you have a protective case on your iPhone remove it when you take pics at night.
What is happening is the flash hits the side of the case and causes flare.

Give it a try and see the difference.

Brian.
 
You're always going to get some level of glare because of the laws of physics. I would try experimenting with the distance between the camera and your fish. My argument being that too close will result in maximum bounce-back and glare, lesser so the further away you are: obviously too far and you won't be able to see anything! Once you've trialed it with your camera, you can snap away and crop your photos as necessary. This fish was caught a few hours before the season closed and here you have the original photo and the cropped version, which have little glare:





I used a compact digital camera for this (not a DSLR).

Using a single light source which is positioned away from the camera will result in shadows (as in Graham's shot which I took on his camera). However, having seen his light source, I'm sure it's got potential.

An alternative to this is to use a rechargeable LED bicycle light (about £7 off ebay) and attach it to a bankstick. I've trialled this successfully, but also had my flash engaged on the camera to reduce shadows. It certainly illuminated the background but unfortunately gave away rather too much information about the swim!!!!
 
A lot of the problems come from the fact that your camera or phones are set on auto. I never use this on any of my cameras or phones, they are always set to manual. You could also use a filter such as a polarising one, this takes the glare off water and windows. you will need to turn the filter to get the maximum effect, this will effect your exposure. The other thing you can try is placing some diffuser material over your flashes lens, this will soften the light the flash gives out. Use grease proof paper but you can get some sticky plastic now. Best way is to experiment at home before you go fishing. Good luck.
 
If you are using an SLR with an in built flash practice at home, outside with some silver foil so for a given distance you know which settings work best...set them up on the camera before you go so you are not fiddling in the dark. I wouldn't take an external flash gun as it is yet more kit to carry and drop in the river. In fact, although I own too many SLRs, I use a second hand £50 compact but you still need to know the settings to avoid glare. I would never use auto or the programme setting in the dark.
 
As I already stated, if you are taking photos at night with an iPhone 4 or 5 that has got a leather and plastic case you will get a nasty foggy flare, if you remove the case when taking night photos the flare vanishes, the flash hits the porthole sides which in turn cause the feedback flare, I no longer use my iPhone at night, I use my compact camera.
Brian.
 
Also don't bother with a tripod or bank stick to hold your camera. Use a mini tripod (Gorilla pod) ebay about £20, you can mould it to the back of your chair.
 
It's funny how as anglers we'll spend hours poring over internet pages and fishing videos to hone our skills but when it comes to photography, how many of us actually practice the art?
 
Anthony, after reading your advice, i'm going to practice with my camera. Thank you. :) Even tho, in your cropped picture, it looks like you've been 12 rounds with Tony Bellew in the Sahara Desert :D Only joking pal :) Great night shots. :)
 
It is second nature to me! I was a professional photographer for nearly forty years. First eight years using Sinar mono rail cameras photographing fine art and architecture and the rest as a senior medical photographer in orthopaedics. Never take a camera with me now.
 
Thanks guys

Brian - it was with an iPhone 6 and with a case so maybe that didn't help.

Graham - I have seen serious night angers using separate light sources and the such like but they always seemed bulky. I try to travel light and only fish into the gloom for a short while in any case but one of those may work well.

Anthony - good point about practising!
 
Richard Booty said:
Thanks guys


Graham - I have seen serious night angers using separate light sources and the such like but they always seemed bulky. I try to travel light and only fish into the gloom for a short while in any case but one of those may work well.
Click to expand...


I doubt if they weigh 2oz! All you need is a bank stick and you're good to go. I hardly ever fish overnighters, travel light and only take self takes of really big fish but it's no hardship having it in the rucksack in case!
 
Mark Anderson said:
Hi men ,

If your using your phone for taking pics then you should look at the adaptor from Rhino . They screw into a bankstick , and have a clip on lens . I do all my photos off my phone , including self takes when nobody is around . Best option is while the fish is resting in the net , set the phone to video the mat , sling , scales in the position would be holding the fish , and record the whole thing . Then just go back through recording and choose the best frame , its a good system , gives good results .

http://rhino-tech.co.uk/?s=flatliner+lens

This way there is no gap in the weighing / photo procedure , better all round . Its as easy as doing the mat shots we see on here and facebook , where it would be just as easy seeing it held up .


Hatter
Click to expand...

RHINO do a beam light as I'm trying to cut down I just use my phone go on there Web site it what you will need mate
 
Interesting thread this one lads, I'm picking up some useful tips, who say's you can't learn at 63 :D
 
To be safer...Slightly turn the angle of the fish your holding (and your body), so it is not directly straight in line with the flash, and it will deflect the flash off the side of the fish and not bounce straight back into the lens..and make sure the white belly is not tilted upwards. Anything white in the framing of the pic can usually or sometimes burn out, and can also give a false light reading if on an automatic mode at times....and always hold the fish close to your body with your head over and level to the back of the fish on the same plain, otherwise either the fish or you face can end up being out of focus as the smaller depth of field can be critical in low light and darkness.
 
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