Forced Perspective Fish Photos 2024
Scott F reply :
Most everybody takes pictures of their catches but one thing that bothers me is why so many feel the need to push the fish toward the camera in order to make it appear bigger than it really is. If you catch a nice one, distorting the picture that way to me, is just like having the fish "grow" when you tell someone how big it was. Is it really necessary to make that fish look 3 feet long, when it's already a very nice fish?
WRB reply :
It's human nature to want pictures to look good and that doesn't always happen. Bill Dance is famous for having the biggest s thumbs in bass fishing, not just because of his bloopers, it's the way he holds bass towards the camera to increase size perspective, Bill is an expert.
Hands tell the story"; fingers average about 1" spacing when holding fish, basses heads are usually about 1/3 of the fishes length.
Tom
Paul Roberts reply :
This has been a pet peeve of mine for a very long time. I worked in a tackle shop years ago and we'd joke about the posters on the wall and in the ads featuring Bill "Big Hands" Dance, Jimmy "Popeye" Houston, and Al "Thumbs" Lindner.
I understand the diff perspectives, that wide angle lenses can create bold statements, highlight the fish, and let's face it, big fish always seem bigger than life, esp when you first get them in the boat and are doing your war-woop, and then there's fact that media is 75% eye candy.
But, along with oftentimes poor weight estimation skills, distorted photos bug me too. It's one thing to show a fish well, another to hide its size, or distort reality. The flip-side is wide angle lenses can make nice fish look small, if you are not careful.
Bottom line I guess is: photos are often lousy at recording reality. Know that going in. My heart long ago stopped leaping at such photos, but it still does when I see photos that shows beautiful fish well and in unique ways.
SudburyBasser reply :
I honestly believe that most people aren't trying to make the fish look bigger, they're just unconsciously making the fish the primary focus of the picture.
Take a look at pictures of people drinking. How many people hold their drink towards the camera when they know a picture is being taken. They trying to make their Coors look bigger?
Perhaps I'm naive.
hooah212002 reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 12:13 AM, SudburyBasser said:I honestly believe that most people aren't trying to make the fish look bigger, they're just unconsciously making the fish the primary focus of the picture.
Take a look at pictures of people drinking. How many people hold their drink towards the camera when they know a picture is being taken. They trying to make their Coors look bigger?
Perhaps I'm naive.
This is my thought when taking a picture. I am saying "hey, look at this FISH I caught". Why would I want you lookin at my ugly mug instead of a beautiful fish? Also, what do I gain from making the fish appear larger? I may as well just photoshop a tarpon on the pic while I am at it. If I am worried about the legitimacy of how the size is perceived, they make scales and rulers.
Frog Turds reply :
i could care less as long as there an actual weight posted along with the Moby Bass pic...
flyfisher reply :
I am with you on this one as well. I also think it is a conscious effort to hold the fish out in such a way that really isn't natural. In all my fish picks I try to hold the fish close to my body to show relative size in comparison to my body.
OkeechobeeAngler reply :
Most are just happy they have a nice bass and want it to be the main focal point in the picture. Don't stress it. Not everyone is a professional photographer.
Scott F reply :
It has nothing to do with being a professional photographer. Holding the fish in a natural position next to your body is one thing. Pushing the fish at arms length toward the camera is not normal and for the most part is done intentionally to make the fish look bigger than what it really was. I was looking for a guide on a web site who had hundreds of fish pictures. EVERY one was held with the fish as close to the camera as it could be. To me, it's all I see when I look at pictures like that. Ruins what could have been a nice shot.
BradGuenette reply :
In my eyes people want to see the fish, not my ugly mug so why not hold it closer to the camera.less of me, more of the fish.
senile1 reply :
Picture taking can go both ways. Sometimes the picture makes the fish look smaller. My wife and I took a trip to Table Rock Lake last week and mixed some crappie fishing in with my bass fishing because she prefers to fish for that species. The top picture is a 2 lb 14 oz crappie, just shy of 3 lbs. It was the biggest crappie I have ever caught. My wife took the picture from a seated position in the cockpit while I was up on the front deck. She also caught a crappie that weighed in at 2 lbs off of the same brushpile. I took that picture and her fish looks very similar in size to mine in the picture even though it is approximately 2/3s of the size. She usually outfishes me when we fish for crappie so I wanted proof this time that I actually caught the biggest one. Alas, the pictures prove nothing. 
Scott F reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 1:25 AM, DirtNasty said:In my eyes people want to see the fish, not my ugly mug so why not hold it closer to the camera.less of me, more of the fish.
If that's the case, instead of moving the fish away from you toward the camera, all you have to do is zoom in or move the camera closer to the fish. You can fill the frame with the fish without distorting the size relative to the size of everything else in the picture.
SudburyBasser reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 1:58 AM, Scott F said:If that's the case, instead of moving the fish away from you toward the camera, all you have to do is zoom in or move the camera closer to the fish.
Which is the functional equivalent of holding the fish away from your body.
People need to chill...
jhoffman reply :
Holding the fish out in front of you 3 feet is not the same as zooming on a subject. People do the same thing with bucks suddonly that little 60" deer looks like it makes P&Y.
Its not like its some big secret or people just figured this out. Its been known about for years. Ive heard enough times, "hold it out makes it look bigger". If it was all about the fish the person wouldnt be in the picture at all besides some hands.
Trout fisherman are the worst about this next to us archery hunters. They not only hold it out ten feet they **** it 60 degrees sideways so it looks like its six feet long too.
Brian Needham reply :
am I the only one that has bigger worries than how others hold their fish.
Maybe we should call our local/state game and fish commission and DEMAND standardized fish picture holding laws..... because clearly this is an epidemic that needs to be solved.
shimmy reply :
On 4/21/2013 at 10:38 PM, Scott F said:Most everybody takes pictures of their catches but one thing that bothers me is why so many feel the need to push the fish toward the camera in order to make it appear bigger than it really is. If you catch a nice one, distorting the picture that way to me, is just like having the fish "grow" when you tell someone how big it was. Is it really necessary to make that fish look 3 feet long, when it's already a very nice fish?
Yes it is.
As long as you provide a weight and you make it look huge, who cares? I think the problem occurs when you get the full arm extension and the angler states the fish is 4 pounds bigger than it is. For people who like to catch big fish, it is fun to show pictures of a fish looking big. The pictures provide a memory of how exciting the relatively big fish was in our mind. Does anyone take a picture of a nice bass and hope it looks smaller than it really is?
SudburyBasser reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 6:20 AM, Brian Needham said:am I the only one that has bigger worries than how others hold their fish.
Maybe we should call our local/state game and fish commission and DEMAND standardized fish picture holding laws..... because clearly this is an epidemic that needs to be solved.
This is how government grows 
jbsoonerfan reply :
Which one of these fish is bigger? Two different pics to show the arm out vs. close to body.
jbsoonerfan reply :
BTW, most cell phones automatically zoom in on the nearest thing in a frame. Which is what these pics were taken with.
BassinB reply :
If I catch a big enough fish worth taking a picture I'm making that thing look as good as I can. I don't care whether or not someone looks at it and says "that fish is smaller than it looks". The only point of a picture is to capture something that you think is out of the ordinary, so why not make it look out of the ordinary? I know that's what other people do and it doesn't bother me one bit. Yes there are extremes but c'mon, as long as its not ridiculous what difference does it make?
Bluebasser86 reply :
Once you've seen enough pictures of big fish it makes it harder to try to pass a smaller fish as a big fish. I don't care if you want to hold it out to the camera, I'm looking at the picture to see the fish anyways. For me it's when someone holds out a 3lb fish and tries to claim it's 6 that bugs me. It's like this first picture I could try to claim it's 6 easy with it's frame and because it's close to the camera because of the self shot, but if you inspect it a little closer unless I had hands like bear paws you can tell it's just a solid 3 pounder.
Then this 6 1/4 pound Beaver Lake bass that doesn't look all that big at first until you start to compare it's length to my height or compare it to the 5" swimming flukes I was using on my A-rig.
Off topic but I just noticed in that second picture you can see all the fish that were streaking around the point chasing shad on my graph, kind of cool!
Tuckahoe Joe reply :
For the most part, I take pics of everything I catch whether its big or small. I usually fish by myself so whenever I take a pic, I'm holding the fish in one hand and working the camera with the other. Sometimes it can be difficult because I can only stretch my fish arm out so far. I have pics of 12 inch fish that take up the entire frame. With pics like that it can be difficult to determine size so I usually try and get the pic with the lure still in the fishes mouth to give it some perspective. Everyone knows how big a KVD 1.5 is and if there's one hanging out of the fishes mouth, it makes it easy to figure the size of the fish.
It doesn't particularly bother me when someone holds the fish out to the camera. They're usually only trying to take a good picture. Just don't lie about the size/weight.
Comfortably Numb reply :
This is same fish. 24" and 8#. First pic is from camera and second is a vid capture. I did not purposely hold it closer to the cam but you can see how much bigger it looks.
senile1 reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 1:27 PM, Bluebasser86 said:Once you've seen enough pictures of big fish it makes it harder to try to pass a smaller fish as a big fish. I don't care if you want to hold it out to the camera, I'm looking at the picture to see the fish anyways. For me it's when someone holds out a 3lb fish and tries to claim it's 6 that bugs me. It's like this first picture I could try to claim it's 6 easy with it's frame and because it's close to the camera because of the self shot, but if you inspect it a little closer unless I had hands like bear paws you can tell it's just a solid 3 pounder.
Excellent point, Bluebasser. I caught a few bass this past week in the 3 - 4 lb range and all were healthy thick females full of eggs. I was looking at one of them and thinking how she might look like a 5 lb'er in a picture.
clayton86 reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 1:42 PM, Tuckahoe Joe said:For the most part, I take pics of everything I catch whether its big or small. I usually fish by myself so whenever I take a pic, I'm holding the fish in one hand and working the camera with the other. Sometimes it can be difficult because I can only stretch my fish arm out so far. I have pics of 12 inch fish that take up the entire frame. With pics like that it can be difficult to determine size so I usually try and get the pic with the lure still in the fishes mouth to give it some perspective. Everyone knows how big a KVD 1.5 is and if there's one hanging out of the fishes mouth, it makes it easy to figure the size of the fish.
It doesn't particularly bother me when someone holds the fish out to the camera. They're usually only trying to take a good picture. Just don't lie about the size/weight.
Same here I fish solo 90% of the time I take pics of every fish just about. My arm only goes so far to get the fish in the frame. I usually catch smaller fish so it's not bad but the few times I get something big especially pike I wish I had some one else their to take the pic instead of just getting its head in the pic because they are so long.
Ratherbfishing reply :
Instead of putting on pounds with people, the camera seems to subtract size and/or weight on fish. I've caught what I considered some pretty nice fish until I see picture images of them, then it's like "huh? What happened to my giant fish?!" Certainly, in my minds eye they were larger. So, to make up for that "shrinkage", I hold out the fish some. I think a lot of people do likewise.
tomustang reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 2:39 PM, Comfortably Numb said:This is same fish. 24" and 8#. First pic is from camera and second is a vid capture. I did not purposely hold it closer to the cam but you can see how much bigger it looks.
Was he trying to chase your trout shirt? 
J Francho reply :
Why anyone would use a picture to prove how big their fish is, is beyond me. I use a ruler and a scale. If you don't like my pics, too bad. I took them to show off the fish, not prove anything.
It takes a little bit to ruin a great picture with the wrong pose:
Wrong:
Right:
Why anyone would intentionally make their fish look smaller is pretty funny, if you ask me. If you're after proof of how much the fish actually weighed, or how long it is, get a scale and a ruler. Take a picture of that, if you must. Though scales make pretty boring subjects. Same with rulers.
Mr. Pike has perspective.
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
Just catch bigger fish. 
Brian Needham reply :
On 4/23/2013 at 1:55 AM, SPEEDBEAD. said:Just catch bigger fish.
EY OH!~!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Hyrule Bass reply :
doesnt bother me at all. i never once actually thought right before a picture that im going to hold this fish out from my body to make it look bigger. i think some people just naturally do it. when youre showing someone your catch in person, do you hold it close to your body? i would think most people hold it out so the person can get a good look at it, you can see more detail in the fish. i think the same thing happens with/applies to photos, you want people too see the fish better and hold it out naturally. if its a worthy fish im more interested in the weight and length before a photo
gr8outdoorz reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 6:20 AM, Brian Needham said:am I the only one that has bigger worries than how others hold their fish.
Maybe we should call our local/state game and fish commission and DEMAND standardized fish picture holding laws..... because clearly this is an epidemic that needs to be solved.
AMEN!!!! What difference does it make? If someone is doing that with a 5 lb fish and saying its a 10 lb'er then they are just a liar and I wont have anything to do with them anyway. I personally snap a pic as fast as I can so I can get them back in the water. I don't give a darn what position the fish/camera is in.
trailer reply :
It's a measuring contest. People are probably insecure about small fish. Does it really matter? No. I go fishing for fun. Do you and I want to catch a huge fish? Sure. But tell me why we have a PB line under the profile pictures? As long as there is a measurement system people want to be the best. And catching a big fish makes us feel better and justifies all this equipment we buy. If a guy is happy distorting his fish, let him be. It doesn't mean you have to buy into it.
CKFishin reply :
On 4/21/2013 at 10:38 PM, Scott F said:Most everybody takes pictures of their catches but one thing that bothers me is why so many feel the need to push the fish toward the camera in order to make it appear bigger than it really is. If you catch a nice one, distorting the picture that way to me, is just like having the fish "grow" when you tell someone how big it was. Is it really necessary to make that fish look 3 feet long, when it's already a very nice fish?
Why is it necessary for old men to have to find something to ***** about?
Oh... You don't like being lumped in? That sucks go play bingo or something....
SirSnookalot reply :
How someone displays their fish in a photo is entirely up to them, I'm not in the least bit bothered 1 way or the other. I appreciate seeing a photo of a nice fish, admit I've held a few out to the camera too. Much of my fishing is done alone, placing a fish on the ground or holding it arm's length just does not create a good photo op. I've done it but I've lost interest in doing so, in the future the elements have to be right, quality fish and someone to snap it for me. I'm as curious as the next person on size, just not enough to carry my own tape and scale with me, my fish are measured in the joy that they gave me in landing them.
PABASS reply :
I take photos with my smart phone and hold the fish out to arms length, I take pictures for archival/journal reasons, this year I have only taken pictures of bass over 15 inches. This year I want to try fishing for big fish, especially if I have already caught a few dinks. The picture tells me, date, time, location, water clarity and weather, worth a thousand words.. I am a tall guy so my fish look small compared to me anyway, so it doesn't much matter how I hold the fish.
DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only reply :
Fish tales have been around forever! This is just a new generation and method of keeping the tradition alive. This goes back to my topic on Fish Tale.
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/topic/116109-fish-tales-funny-and-true/
Jay
chromedog reply :
On 4/22/2013 at 12:13 AM, SudburyBasser said:I honestly believe that most people aren't trying to make the fish look bigger, they're just unconsciously making the fish the primary focus of the picture.
Take a look at pictures of people drinking. How many people hold their drink towards the camera when they know a picture is being taken. They trying to make their Coors look bigger?
Perhaps I'm naive.
No, I am with you. I think sometimes people just need a reason to whine and cry about something.
BassWhole! reply :
I don't care how anyone holds their fish. I tried to stick this one in the camera, but...
DelfiBoyz_One_and_Only reply :
On 4/26/2013 at 6:55 AM, reason said:I don't care how anyone holds their fish. I tried to stick this one in the camera, but...
Sweet I don't think it matters how you hold that thing!
Jay
jignfule reply :
I AGREE !!!!!! and affidavits on ALL FISH STORIES.
greyleg33 reply :
That's the way I do it. That's the way I'll always do it.
SirSnookalot reply :
On 4/26/2013 at 6:55 AM, reason said:I don't care how anyone holds their fish. I tried to stick this one in the camera, but...
Know what you mean, sometimes ya just can't hold them at arms's length.
http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/gallery/image/1439-sail/
shootermcbob reply :
On 4/23/2013 at 2:41 PM, SirSnookalot said:How someone displays their fish in a photo is entirely up to them, I'm not in the least bit bothered 1 way or the other. I appreciate seeing a photo of a nice fish, admit I've held a few out to the camera too. Much of my fishing is done alone, placing a fish on the ground or holding it arm's length just does not create a good photo op. I've done it but I've lost interest in doing so, in the future the elements have to be right, quality fish and someone to snap it for me. I'm as curious as the next person on size, just not enough to carry my own tape and scale with me, my fish are measured in the joy that they gave me in landing them.
I agree completely...
Fish Chris reply :
Well ya' know, I've taken a couple photos of big fish in my days. And I do a lot of "actual photography" {mostly nature, outdoors} as well.
IMPO, I normally don't take a photo unless its a big fish (big, being relative to the species, among other things)
Yes, a person can hold there arms stretched straight at the camera, then have the camera 1ft from the fish, and obviously, this will look goofy, and unnatural.
On the other hand, SO many people will hold the fish too close to their bodies, then the clueless camera man will stand so far back, that he captures the birds in the trees, the guys fancy new boots, and 6 feet of property in front of them ! Of course the fish ends up being like 1% of the shot. It's like, "Hey... is that guy holding something ? I think its a fish ! Can you hand me my reading glasses ? Doh ! 
Then later, the angler says, with a sad look on his face, "But I swear.... we even weighed it ! It just looks so much smaller in this shot" 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bottom line:
I always say > I'm not holding this fish out to make it look "bigger than it did in real life"..... I'm holding it out to try "to make it look as big as it actually did, in real life". Do you know what a 13 or 15 lb bass looks like, when holding it 18" in front of your face ? Alright well, it looks pretty big.
Peace,
Fish
PS, Please do shove that fish in my face. I think its "prettier than you are" LOL
J Francho reply :
Great post Chris!
Paul Roberts reply :
LOL. Excellent post, Chris.
Problem is, we don't have 15lb bass to fill the frame, so have to hold them at arm's length so they LOOK like the photo's you take.
J Francho reply :
So fill the frame with a seven pounder!
SPEEDBEAD. reply :
See, I was right.
Just catch bigger fish. LOL
Paul Roberts reply :
Nice, J.
Yeah, bigger fish solve the whole issue.
Mattlures reply :
I usually take my pictures at angles that hide my fishing spot. I also hold the fish about 1 foot away from me. Not sticking them all the way out but not hugging them either. Kind of a happy medium. Pics with fish stuck all the way out don't bother me at all. Now if its a 3 lber and the guy says its 6lbs then I have to admit, the lying does bother me. But just a pic doesn't at all.
A-Jay reply :
On 4/21/2013 at 10:38 PM, Scott F said:Most everybody takes pictures of their catches but one thing that bothers me is why so many feel the need to push the fish toward the camera in order to make it appear bigger than it really is. If you catch a nice one, distorting the picture that way to me, is just like having the fish "grow" when you tell someone how big it was. Is it really necessary to make that fish look 3 feet long, when it's already a very nice fish?
Yes.
A-Jay
SirSnookalot reply :
You need a photographer with minimal skills, I had one yesterday with no skills. I was amazed how a picture could be snapped out of foucs with an autofocus smartphone and good portion of the fish not in the frame. As long as I had a body there, wanted a picture of this 30 incher on a new outfit I just bought.
ColdSVT reply :
nice linesider right there!
ColdSVT reply :
edit nvrmnd...photo to large to upload
NEjitterbugger reply :
Tell the truth about fish size...
Take picture however you please...
~If you lie about your fish's size when you actually catch one that big it doesn't seem as spectacular...
Happened to me when I caught my first actual 3 pounder...
MarkH024 reply :
I like to see the colors and pattern of fish. So I like the close ups personally. I could care less about size and what weight because most guys blow those numbers out of proportion. Just like the "i lost a ten pounder by the boat"........no, you lost a ten pounder in your head and more than likely it was a 5 or 6.
SissySticks reply :
I do this. Look at my profile picture (which is in fact a 6 lber, I weighed it on a Rapala scale). I think I do it (maybe not everybody) because for some stupid reason, I need other people's approval and appreciation to feel better about myself, and because I grew up watching TV fishings shows and spent the early part of my adult life fishing in tournaments where I came to believe that I was measured as a fisherman by how big my fish were. The parenthetical comment in the first sentence of this post is further evidence that I want you all to approve of me, which again, makes no sense. I acknowledge that this neurosis and behavior is dumb and senseless, but like many (most?) people who live in an achievement-driven society, I am insecure and apparently I desperately want other people to think I'm good at whatever (bass fishing in this case). But, I think lots of us are like this about lots of things, so while its something I should probably work on, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
WRB reply :
Very few of us have the skills or camera available to take good pictuure, Fish Chris is a skilled photographer and angler and knows how to take great photos! Getting the lighting perfect that shows off the fish colors and no shadows, poor back lighting etc, etc. Big regrets I have looking back was having no camera and trying to find a passer by to snap a photo of a big bass and rushing too fast to get the bass released back in the water.
Today we have decent digital phone cameras, now all we need is some big bass to take a picture of.
Take your time, keep the bass wet, you may never get a second chance!
Tom
flippin and pitchin reply :
Let the peeving begin.
SirSnookalot reply :
It's a matter of personal priority, If I have an available "photographer" (last time I had one with zero talent, lol) and the fish in my mind is photo worthy, sure I like to have a pic. It isn't my priority just to snap a pic of just any fish or to tote a tripod along with me. Most of my boat fishing is done offshore in the ocean, a camera mounted can be more of a liability than an asset, it just gets in the way. I've posted some pictures that I probably should not have, maybe I bought a new camera or phone and wanted to test it, or a new fishing combo, the redundancy is getting to be stale.
hooah212002 reply :
On 5/5/2013 at 12:12 AM, SissySticks said:I do this. Look at my profile picture (which is in fact a 6 lber, I weighed it on a Rapala scale). I think I do it (maybe not everybody) because for some stupid reason, I need other people's approval and appreciation to feel better about myself, and because I grew up watching TV fishings shows and spent the early part of my adult life fishing in tournaments where I came to believe that I was measured as a fisherman by how big my fish were. The parenthetical comment in the first sentence of this post is further evidence that I want you all to approve of me, which again, makes no sense. I acknowledge that this neurosis and behavior is dumb and senseless, but like many (most?) people who live in an achievement-driven society, I am insecure and apparently I desperately want other people to think I'm good at whatever (bass fishing in this case). But, I think lots of us are like this about lots of things, so while its something I should probably work on, I'm not going to lose sleep over it.
Dang man. That was meta as heck. Very introspective and telling. Props to you, mate. It takes A LOT to admit something like this and to be so aware of ones self.
SissySticks reply :
On 5/5/2013 at 12:48 PM, hooah212002 said:Dang man. That was meta as heck. Very introspective and telling. Props to you, mate. It takes A LOT to admit something like this and to be so aware of ones self.
Things like fish photos, though they seem insignificant, give me a lot of insight into my own hangups, and I like to think that when I can be honest about my hangups, maybe I'll be able to be more gracious to others about theirs. I don't think we can really begin to live life authentically together until we can admit that we are small and frail and therefore, we owe others the grace to be small and frail in their own ways too.
tomustang reply :
As I agree with the OP, the way the shot being taken could look even worse than size distance being described.
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