Photo regrets and recreating?

[rosscrazyelk]

Have you ever regretted a field photo that did not turn out very well?
Well I have.. I really do not have a great harvest picture of my biggest muley to date. I was by myself and this was before digital cameras. It was a self timing camera. You know, Set it and run and try not to look all in a hurry before the timer runs out.
I was wondering if anyone has tried to recreate a field pic with their harvest. I know it is only a head  now but wondering if there are ways to go out and accomplish it and make it look good.
Anyone?

[lokidog]

The deer probably looks as good as it did back then, but how are you going to fix you?      

[fishnfur]

Boyd Iverson's book Blacktail Trophy Tactics II has several pics of mounts set in a field setting made to appear as though it was just after the hunt.  Same story with Scott Haugen's Trophy BT's. Science of the Hunt.  I'd check them out to see if you can make something like that work.

[Bean Counter]

Yes. All the photos I never bothered to take     

I've been pretty fortunate as a mostly self-taught hunter. Filled a lot more tags than the odds would suggest, but I don't have many field kill photos. This has been one of my biggest failures in my initial years: not slowing down and enjoying the moment. Part of it is based in a really good O.C.D. motivation: to handle the meat quickly and responsibly so that it does not spoil. I finally got the picture last year, no pun intended. For my deer I killed in Wyoming, I  killed the deer, tagged it, we walked back to the truck, dropped off weapons and hunting stuff, took the nice DSLR in and made a separate trip just for photos, walked the camera back to the truck, all before returning to field dress. Granted it was 25 degrees so there wasn't much risk of spoilage, but even if it had been warm things would have been ok in the grand scheme of things. Unfortunately the sun went down long before I could get to my elk last year so the best I got were flash shots in the dark. 

As with all photography, quality and direction of light is key. Moreso than a flattering background. I did a little dodging and burning to emphasize the pocket of light coming through the trees but you get the idea. I'll do you all a favor and spare you a view of my ugly mug 

[rosscrazyelk]

This is the picture in question.

[trophyhunt]

What a buck Ross, that would be a great pic if someone could remove the shadow for you.  Was that with your bow?? 

[rosscrazyelk]

What a buck Ross, that would be a great pic if someone could remove the shadow for you.  Was that with your bow??

Yes sir

[Bean Counter]

Nice buck indeed! 

In a  photograph, our eyes are attracted to bright parts of an image and recede from the dark parts. that's why this photo feels a bit odd. If shot with a DSLR, do the following next time:

• Set your flash to high speed shutter sync
• Use a faster shutter speed to reduce the ambient light
• Adjust flash power using flash exposure compensation to adjust the subject brightness, especially if blown out.

If its just a DSLR with pop up flash, try the following:

• Set to manual
• ISO as low as it will go, either 50 or 100
• Shutter to your max flash sync, usually 1/200 or better yet at 1/250 if possible
• f/16 aperture

Adjust your aperture setting as needed.

You can screw with it in post, but if you get it right in camera, your results will be better with a cheap DSLR and a flash than if you used a nice full frame camera and 'photoshopped' it.   

[Boss .300 winmag]

Bad ass buck right there! 

Blue MTN buck?

[h2ofowlr]

I have quite a few from back in the day that were blurry.  Some buddies must shake more than others.     I have probably 20 that I placed in my album that are pretty poor quality, but that is all I had.

[rosscrazyelk]

Bad ass buck right there! 

Blue MTN buck?

Nope

[lokidog]

I have quite a few from back in the day that were blurry.  Some buddies must shake more than others.     I have probably 20 that I placed in my album that are pretty poor quality, but that is all I had.

Picks of me at about 18 with my big bear were all slightly blurry thanks to my dad refusing to get glasses and focusing the lens for his eyes....  Thank goodness  for autofocus now.