Three Tips to Take A Perfect Hero Shot After Your Hunt

by Jamieson Crast, owner of Reckoning Media Company, LLC.

Do just a few key things to make your grip and grin photo a piece of art—and a lasting memory.

Let’s say you just wrapped up a successful hunt. Maybe you shot a big deer, or your daughter got her first turkey. You want to take a great photo to lock in that memory, that moment in time. To do that, you need to focus on three key things when you take a hero photo.

image: holding a camera taking a photo of successful turkey hunt

Anyone can take a professional looking photo after their hunt!

1. Keep It Clean

Clean up the animal as much as possible. There’s nothing worse than a bloody tongue hanging out or an excessive amount of blood on the animal. Take some time to shove that tongue back in, wipe off the blood, or even use foliage to screen out the wound.

2. Find a Good Backdrop and Lighting

A nice background that illustrates the landscape and good lighting go a long way in producing a great photo. Try to get the subject against the sky or at least find a clear background that isn’t distracting. Of course, if you’re standing over a moose or an elk, you may be limited in how much you can move it.

3. Pay Attention to the Human

When you’re behind the camera focusing on making the deer look good, you forget about the hunter. When you get home and look through the pictures, you realize that the hunter in the picture wasn’t smiling or looking at the camera. Maybe they had a big antler across their face. Take the time to look at the photos on your device. Make sure you get the photo you want to hang on the wall next to that trophy.

image: turkey hunter poses after a successful hunt in early spring

Capture a great photo by using these 3 simple tips!

And that’s all there is to it. Make sure you respect the animal. Don’t sit on it for the photo, and clean it up a little. Find a nice backdrop that really showcases the habitat in which it lived. And finally, don’t forget about the hunter in the photo. You want them to look good, too. These simple steps will help you capture the hunt just the way you remember it.