Hunting Field Photos

Sparks Shooter · Nov 19, 2023

Some might think this belongs in the photography section but I wanted to keep it more about the content and less about the actual photography. I think it's fair to say that most of us participate in these forums to enjoy pictures of others' adventures and to share some of our own. Like mule deer across the west, good old fashioned hunt stories and pictures are becoming harder to find each year.

We've gone over what we like about big bucks many times and I wanted to pose a couple questions regarding field pictures:

What do you appreciate and like to see in a hunting field photo?
What do you not like or feel takes away from a hunting field photo?
Are there any absolute deal-breaker no-no's in your opinion regarding hunting field photos?

If you're so inclined, I would appreciate any examples to be included with responses.....purely to illustrate your point.

-------SS

CFMuley · Nov 19, 2023

A deer mostly broadside, but slightly quartering towards the camera. The hunter sitting cross legged by the opposite front shoulder with his hands holding the main beams under the g2 with the fingers tucked behind if possible. Use your thumbs to push on the back of the g2’s to point the head slightly down, make sure both antlers are level, and generally include the full body of the animal in the picture. A little effort goes a long ways in getting a good pic. It can feel like a pain, and most guys want to just get it over with, but everyone enjoys a good pic to look back on.

Rie bread · Nov 19, 2023

I like the as they lay when you first approach the animal. Not staged no positioning. True. Or the rack on the back pack.

My only regret with this guy is not keeping the hide, softest deer fur iv felt.

marley · Nov 19, 2023

Never sit on the animal. Tuck the tongue in. Clean up the blood as much as possible. Tuck the legs underneath them. Pull the grass out of the way. What’s the rush? Take some time to get good pictures. The mounts make great memories but the pictures bring the moment back for me. Smile!

Often times I’m hunting solo and getting good pics is tough. I found a little folding tripod that folds down the size of a credit card and when folded out it clamps perfectly into an arca style tripod head. It’s perfect for solo pics.

marley · Nov 19, 2023

A few examples with the first two using that credit card sized stand clamped into my tripod.

Onthehoof · Nov 20, 2023

I love to laugh at the staging for pictures. I love to laugh at the ideas of making the animal look bigger than it is. Who are you trying to fool? To each his own I guess.

CFMuley · Nov 20, 2023

Onthehoof said:
I love to laugh at the staging for pictures. I love to laugh at the ideas of making the animal look bigger than it is. Who are you trying to fool? To each his own I guess.

It’s not necessarily trying to make them look bigger than they are, it’s showing them for what they truly are, and having a nice pic to look back on.

Onthehoof · Nov 20, 2023

CFMuley said:
It’s not necessarily trying to make them look bigger than they are, it’s showing them for what they truly are, and having a nice pic to look back on.

Onthehoof · Nov 20, 2023

Onthehoof · Nov 20, 2023

Onthehoof · Nov 20, 2023

Sorry for all the separate posts, I could not get them to load together. I love these photographs, and actually look at them often. Nothing glamorous, just my favorite hunting buddy and good times.

Slick8 · Nov 20, 2023

I hunted southern NM and passed on 2 small 4x4s, numerous 3s and forkies. I hunted hard for 5 days, saw some great country and met some great people along the way.

I didn't kill but I didn't leave anything on the table and enjoyed every minute of the hunt.

Onthehoof · Nov 20, 2023

Reuben_Soady · Nov 20, 2023

I re-read the original post and noticed it said little about "trophy photos" and plenty about "hunting photos." So...

I take a lot of pictures during my hunts b/c I'm such a crappy hunter I get relatively few trophy pictures. I try to get hunt pictures that convey the admosphere of the hunt. Locations and events, glassing, making meals, campfire, burbon, tobacco, old friends and new, camp tents or other structures, approach, canyons, clouds, rain, fog, snow, smoke, trees, manzanita. All that stuff that doesn't exist in my cube in the office.

What does NOT get included in the hunting pictures I share on-line are landmarks, proper nouns (mountains, creeks, lakes etc.), and game managment unit numbers, that identify where I've been. This shouldn't matter much b/c I rarely have a trophy to encourge other hunters to try and draw my units, but my more-successful MM brothers may be more sensitive to that stuff.

Hunting 'schrums is easier than hunting elks.

Getting the tent ready to leave with my buddy.

Hunting back to the campsite and couldn't see it until we were w/in 30 yards.

Rie bread · Nov 20, 2023

Pictures that take you somewhere and tell a story. Draw the eye in to more than the subject

smokepolejohnson · Nov 21, 2023

Some great tips on here I’d second sunrise/sunsets glassing vistas. And make sure to keep the filter off the “Utah Guide” setting if you happen to harvest an animal, also for some of the tejas crew get the buckets out of the as they lay hero pictures.

buckhorn · Nov 28, 2023

The tongue hanging out I despise the most.
Putting the weapon out front and center like you're more proud of it than you are of the animal is lame.

Sitting on the animal in the pic is not very cool either

buckhorn · Nov 28, 2023

Good topic SS. Someone had to do it.

buckhorn · Nov 28, 2023

Here is my most recent killshot photos taken on November 24, 2023. Cellphone camera mounted on a small carbon tripod.
Sure I'm proud of my rifle, but I'm more proud of my Son taking this Desert Bighorn.

Jgill19 · Nov 28, 2023

buckhorn said:
Sitting on the animal in the pic is not very cool either

If it's a really young kiddo I don't mind that

Onthehoof · Nov 29, 2023

CFMuley said:
It’s not necessarily trying to make them look bigger than they are, it’s showing them for what they truly are, and having a nice pic to look back on.

I often wonder if the animal in a picture looks as big in real life. If it were showing them for what they truly are then I would not wonder how big it looks from a real perspective. Arms held out while sitting far away is just a little funny. I guess I do use a little kid in a lot of my pictures and maybe someone might think the animals are bigger because of that. I never thought about that. Maybe I am doing the same thing....

Iowan · Nov 29, 2023

I tried every photo angle to make it look bigger, it just did not come together.

BradA · Nov 29, 2023

Iowan said:
I tried every photo angle to make it look bigger, it just did not come together.

View attachment 127923

I think you did a great job haha
Congratulations

BrowningRage · Nov 29, 2023

Make sure the right people are in the pic with you...

Wyo_Roadhunter · Nov 30, 2023

As long as it looks big on instagram that's all that matters

. Hide the long arm, and make sure the tongue isn't hanging out. Most importantly no fish eye. It's easy to make them look bigger without having to make it look like a cartoon with fish eye.

bigmoose · Nov 30, 2023

I agree with Rie. Sometimes a "as they lay" photo looks good. I like to get lower to the ground for the best shot.

notdonhunting · Nov 30, 2023

As they lay photos sometimes are the best because hunters understand the feeling of first walking up on your kill.

Rie bread · Nov 30, 2023

notdonhunting said:
As they lay photos sometimes are the best because hunters understand the feeling of first walking up on your kill.

No optical illusions either

Largebull · Nov 30, 2023

I found if You take 20 pictures , 3-4 might turn out great. I hate is when the antlers blend in with trees or brush in the background and you can't really see a beautiful rack. Or they blend in to the hunters clothes. Just my opinion. 50% of hunters take terrible pictures.......................BULL!

lundellhunting7 · Nov 30, 2023

I have started just getting my camera set up on my tripod and recording a video in 4k. Then pull pictures out of it there. Made it a lot easier the last couple years doing it like that. Plus usually the video turns out funny if there are a couple people in the video with all their commentary.

I will sometimes have someone with me to take a few pics in portrait mode. I like how those turn out too.

Stubaby · Nov 30, 2023

People just need to stop patting and petting a dead animal and saying “thank you Mr bull/buck”. Judas man.
The critter didn’t give you its life—-you took it. I’m not saying dry hump it and be disrespectful, but don’t thank it as if it gave itself up as a sacrifice or took one for the team.

Oh, and also—stop gazing in the animals’ eyes as if there is/was some connection. You can admire the animal without looking like you are trying to seduce it.

Didn’t the Kuiu guy actually physically kiss dead sheep he killed? Yikes.

My brother killed a bull two weeks ago. I took around 50 pics and I only like two of them. You can’t take too many pics, deleting them just takes a second and not having good ones gives you regret for not taking a few minutes and getting some good shots.

headbones · Dec 1, 2023

How about this perspective?
There are some values that outsiders simply don’t have, and what I mean by that is that for us, hunting is an act of prayer. What’s really different about tribal hunting, about Nez Percé hunting for my family, is that we’re not supposed to pose and take a picture with an animal. And that’s the first thing white people do. After they kill an animal, they pick up the antlers and take a big smiling picture. We’re taught explicitly not to do that because it’s disrespectful. But we’re starting to get more tribal folks that do that, and we have tribal members who are trophy hunters. I don’t like it, but that’s the reality. The old men that I grew up around say things under their breath when the youngsters show pictures of a good-sized buck. They’ll teasingly say, “Oh, you hunt like a white man.”

Sparks Shooter · Dec 1, 2023

headbones said:
How about this perspective?
There are some values that outsiders simply don’t have, and what I mean by that is that for us, hunting is an act of prayer. What’s really different about tribal hunting, about Nez Percé hunting for my family, is that we’re not supposed to pose and take a picture with an animal. And that’s the first thing white people do. After they kill an animal, they pick up the antlers and take a big smiling picture. We’re taught explicitly not to do that because it’s disrespectful. But we’re starting to get more tribal folks that do that, and we have tribal members who are trophy hunters. I don’t like it, but that’s the reality. The old men that I grew up around say things under their breath when the youngsters show pictures of a good-sized buck. They’ll teasingly say, “Oh, you hunt like a white man.”

Great perspective. Cultures have different customs for sure and we're all better served when can appreciate and respect our differences.-----SS

dgfavor · Dec 1, 2023

I'm a bit of a photo/video nerd, I take shiz ton of photos/vids and usually throw together a little compilation vid of both stills and vid clips for the season...then I post 'em to a forum to bore the bejeezuz out of anyone foolish enough to click on 'em - somewhat similar to the old days of making family members suffer thru boring vacation slide shows!! Suffer suckas!!

Gratuitous trophy shot of my bull this year - using the terrain to max effect

nontypical · Dec 2, 2023

Stubaby said:
People just need to stop patting and petting a dead animal and saying “thank you Mr bull/buck”. Judas man.
The critter didn’t give you its life—-you took it. I’m not saying dry hump it and be disrespectful, but don’t thank it as if it gave itself up as a sacrifice or took one for the team.

Oh, and also—stop gazing in the animals’ eyes as if there is/was some connection. You can admire the animal without looking like you are trying to seduce it.

Didn’t the Kuiu guy actually physically kiss dead sheep he killed? Yikes.

My brother killed a bull two weeks ago. I took around 50 pics and I only like two of them. You can’t take too many pics, deleting them just takes a second and not having good ones gives you regret for not taking a few minutes and getting some good shots.

I like to look at the rack. Sometimes my picture gets taken while I'm admiring his rack. I'm not "looking into his eyes". Gimmee a freakin' break. I'd rather see someone doing that than sticking a cigar in his mouth or a beer, or sitting atop the animal like a crazed lunatic.

Stubaby · Dec 2, 2023

Nontypical,

Why are you quoting what I said and assuming I’m talking about you? Nothing wrong with admiring the animal. I don’t even know you. Did you read my whole post?

One can admire the animal without gazing into its eyes, etc. People assume there’s some kind of connection between them and the animal they just killed and there just isn’t. The animal never considered the hunter as anything but a threat. Animals don’t understand ballistics. Who said anything about a cigar, beer, etc? I’m not a fan of sitting on the animal either.

HIcountryman · Dec 3, 2023

I hate it when folks have their guns pointed straight at their heads while it leans against animal! Especially kids

Wyo_Roadhunter · Dec 3, 2023

HIcountryman said:
I hate it when folks have their guns pointed straight at their heads while it leans against animal! Especially kids

I think this one more times than not is a optical illusion. I always make sure mines not then when I look back at the pictures it looks like it is.

nontypical · Dec 3, 2023

Stubaby said:
Nontypical,

Why are you quoting what I said and assuming I’m talking about you? Nothing wrong with admiring the animal. I don’t even know you. Did you read my whole post?

One can admire the animal without gazing into its eyes, etc. People assume there’s some kind of connection between them and the animal they just killed and there just isn’t. The animal never considered the hunter as anything but a threat. Animals don’t understand ballistics. Who said anything about a cigar, beer, etc? I’m not a fan of sitting on the animal either.

I wasn't assuming you were referring to me. Just speaking in general after your comments. Nothing personal. No offense intended.

marley · Dec 3, 2023

Stubaby said:
People just need to stop patting and petting a dead animal and saying “thank you Mr bull/buck”. Judas man.
The critter didn’t give you its life—-you took it. I’m not saying dry hump it and be disrespectful, but don’t thank it as if it gave itself up as a sacrifice or took one for the team.

Oh, and also—stop gazing in the animals’ eyes as if there is/was some connection. You can admire the animal without looking like you are trying to seduce it.

Didn’t the Kuiu guy actually physically kiss dead sheep he killed? Yikes.

My brother killed a bull two weeks ago. I took around 50 pics and I only like two of them. You can’t take too many pics, deleting them just takes a second and not having good ones gives you regret for not taking a few minutes and getting some good shots.

This one’s just for you Stubaby. I was trying to gaze into his eyes but he just wasn’t having it. He never did come around.

Joe2Kool · Dec 6, 2023

Don't know that I've done this, but after reading the "as you walk up on them," I like it.

Tongue out is a no-no.

I often have the weapon in the background if it is of significance, such as grandpa's gun, etc.

And I like the scenery background to help remind you of the spot.

Weiserbucks · Dec 6, 2023

As they lay isn't always breathtaking.

Joe2Kool · Dec 6, 2023

Weiserbucks said:
View attachment 128676
As they lay isn't always breathtaking.

You have a point. Looks like he's waiting on a belly rub.

buckhorn · Dec 6, 2023

Joe2Kool said:
Don't know that I've done this, but after reading the "as you walk up on them," I like it.

Tongue out is a no-no.

I often have the weapon in the background if it is of significance, such as grandpa's gun, etc.

And I like the scenery background to help remind you of the spot.

I agree 100%.
This is my 2023 Nevada muzzleloader buck. Shot him right before dark and he rolled a long way down the mountain and wound up in this position in a rock slide. Didn't have time to get many pics, but this one was as he laid when I walked up to him.

marley · Dec 6, 2023

This was the best “as they lay” scenes I’ve ever witnessed.

buckhorn · Dec 6, 2023

buckhorn said:
I agree 100%.
This is my 2023 Nevada muzzleloader buck. Shot him right before dark and he rolled a long way down the mountain and wound up in this position in a rock slide. Didn't have time to get many pics, but this one was as he laid when I walked up to him.

View attachment 128681

Thanks to Sparks Shooter for helping me pack him out of that canyon the next day.
It was a 1000 foot vertical climb back up to the quads.

buckhorn · Dec 6, 2023

marley said:
View attachment 128683

This was the best “as they lay” scenes I’ve ever witnessed.

Marley
I can always count on you to come up with one better than mine.

You've been on some awesome hunts and taken some great animals.
I admire your hunting accomplishments!

marley · Dec 6, 2023

buckhorn said:
Marley
I can always count on you to come up with one better than mine.

You've been on some awesome hunts and taken some great animals.
I admire your hunting accomplishments!

Thanks Buckhorn. The photos mean a lot to me so I try to spend plenty of time to get good pics. They’re all you have left when it’s all over. Plus taking that extra time lets you sit back and really appreciate that time. Too many times I’ve seen guys just jump right into breaking it down and getting out of there. Unless it’s super hot, take some time to enjoy the moment because there really aren’t enough of them.

Weiserbucks · Dec 6, 2023

marley said:
They’re all you have left when it’s all over.

This is it 100% gents, big ones, little ones, kids, grandparents whatever. Once you take a knife to them the quality photo opportunities are over.

Buckfever34 · Dec 13, 2023

The best pics have kids in em! There’s no faking/forcing a smile with my favorite little hunting buddy (same goes for all other kids).

Here’s a whitetail doe he shot the other day. Yes, I like to mess with the editing function.

I can’t stand tongues hanging out.

Always keep some wipes handy to clean up blood, especially around face.

Don’t sit on the animal.

Tuck front legs in/under.

For God’s sake, smile!

Tristate · Dec 14, 2023

Tristate · Dec 14, 2023

I like a great pic that doesn't look set up. Like it's just a moment in history but still makes people take notice.

Buckfever34 · Dec 14, 2023

I agree with ya on that, Tri.

BradA · Dec 14, 2023

That’s a big buck !

Joe2Kool · Dec 14, 2023

Tristate said:
I like a great pic that doesn't look set up. Like it's just a moment in history but still makes people take notice.View attachment 129301

Yep. Just a pic that tells a story. Like, that's a dang nice buck, wonder how the heck they got him in that SxS? And wonder if it exceeds the manufacturers recommended payload?

And yes, nice buck Tri!

DeerMadness · Dec 14, 2023

slamdunk · Dec 16, 2023

I don't care much for rifles in pictures, excessive blood.

Tristate · Dec 16, 2023

I love a great pic like this.

There is a feel of authenticity that the traditional posed pic doesn't have.

Tristate · Dec 16, 2023

I always like a pretty lady in the pic too.

money · Dec 18, 2023

Stubaby said:
People just need to stop patting and petting a dead animal and saying “thank you Mr bull/buck”. Judas man.
The critter didn’t give you its life—-you took it. I’m not saying dry hump it and be disrespectful, but don’t thank it as if it gave itself up as a sacrifice or took one for the team.

Oh, and also—stop gazing in the animals’ eyes as if there is/was some connection. You can admire the animal without looking like you are trying to seduce it.

Didn’t the Kuiu guy actually physically kiss dead sheep he killed? Yikes.

My brother killed a bull two weeks ago. I took around 50 pics and I only like two of them. You can’t take too many pics, deleting them just takes a second and not having good ones gives you regret for not taking a few minutes and getting some good shots.

I do think it's a pretty normal reaction for a lot of people to give thanks to the animal. No it did not volunteer to die, but it did die to feed your family and your soul. To many people, there is a direct connection to God in the outdoors and giving thanks to the animal is a natural reaction to that. I personally have started to take 3-5 minutes by myself with animals I harvested where I can say a little prayer of gratitude for the animal, the opportunity and the experience. I've found that for me it keeps me centered and focused on what really matters in my life and helps me to cherish the hunt even more. I understand that is not for everybody, but for me personally it is an important part of the harvest and good for my soul. I am in the camp that they are all creatures created by God for our benefit and enjoyment and I try to give thanks right away to show my gratitude and understanding of my place in the circle of life and death.

I don't blame you for not doing it yourself, but I also see why people do it. I am not quoting you for any reason other than to give my two cents to comment. Not to start an argument. No offense taken or meant on my end.

Now adults sitting on the animal, sitting way behind the animal, tongue hanging out, fish eye lenses and all that other crap that we are talking about all drives me crazy like everybody else. I wish people learned how to take good kill photos because it's not really that tricky and can give you a really neat picture to frame and look at for years to come. 5 minutes of prep and you can take pictures that will help preserve that moment for life.