Lesson number 2 on photographing fish: Light!
Light is the basis of all photography, and is the single most important part of any photo you will ever take. Photography is literally the: "Method of recording permanent images by the action of light projected by a lens in a camera onto a film or other light-sensitive material."
We could go incredibly in depth on the subject of lighting, which expands into white balance and colour temperature, but we would be here for weeks. So instead, we will stick with the basics.
First and foremost, you want to try to have your subject (angler and fish) facing the sun. Or at least at an angle to the sun. Having the sun, or other light source, behind them is what is called "backlighting". Quite literally, the light is at their back. This usually produces a photo where the background is well lit and clear, but since there is very little light on the angler's face, or on the fish, they are in shadow. The other possibility is that if you properly expose for the shadowy part of the photo, then the background will end up incredibly bright, overexposed, with little to no detail (also known as "blown out").
For example:
Being in a boat, or on the river, or any body of water, you can't always control where the fish is, where the angler is, and of course where the sun is. It is more important to take a photo quickly, and release a healthy fish than it is to re-adjust, and move, and cause further stress to a fish by keeping it out of the water longer than necessary.
So, the simple solution is...Use your flash! Yes, even on a bright sunny day, your flash is a great tool to use to get a properly exposed photo! Case in point:
As counter-intuitive as it may seem, using your flash on a bright, sunny day, or even an overcast day, is a great way to get a great fish pic!
One other secret for salmon and steelhead anglers: the flash will make those chrome beauties look even shinier!
