Tips on Trophy Shots

Posted: May 20, 2009

The “trophy shot,” aka “hero shot,” is a popular convention in outdoor photography as well as personal archives. We asked photographer Tim Flanigan for advice on making the most out of those shots, and he offered these valuable tips.

• Pose the hunter/angler and his/her trophy in front of an uncluttered background; natural settings are best.
• Ask the hunter/angler to look at the trophy – not the camera – doing so automatically directs the viewer’s eye to the main point of interest: the trophy.
• If at all possible, have the hunter/angler hoist the trophy fish to his/her eye level or kneel beside an antlered specimen and raise the antlers to as close to eye level as possible.
• Position the camera at or slightly below the grade level of the subject to enhance the drama of trophy photos.
• If the trophy is an antlered specimen, turn the animal’s head a few inches left or right to properly display the antler points.
• Be careful to avoid including indelicate logos on hats and or clothing.
• When posing trophy shots with water in the background, be certain to keep the horizon level.
• Try to position a trophy fish so that the light passes across it from head to tail to add definition to scales and fins, but beware of harsh glare on fish such as shad, tarpon, etc.
• Natural side lighting is best for trophy photos.
• Using a bit of “fill flash” in bright natural light conditions will add detail to dark shadows such as those below hat brims.
• Have the hunter/angler remove his/her sunglasses, so their eyes can be seen.
• Eliminate any visible blood from the trophy (fish or game) and avoid dangling tongues on game animals.  
• Clean leaf litter, pine needles, etc. from the trophy, especially from its eyes.
• Be especially careful to avoid any photographic impressions of possible illegality such as improper game tagging regulations.

Carry cameras in clean cloth bags. Plastic bags will cause camera-damaging condensation.