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Even though I consider sunrises and in particular sunsets as subjects more suitable for teenage bedroom posters than for fishing pictures, I have to admit that I have shot my fair part of them

This article is another photo article, this time teaching you how to get pictures of your gear or your flies on a clean, white background.

Harsh shadows from a bright source like the sun are usually not very welcome in our images, and we often jump through hoops to avoid them. But how about making the shadows a part of the image, and maybe even the most important part?

Sometimes you want the opposite of a clear surface and a look into the depths. You want reflections. And just as clarity can be stunning, so can a well placed reflection - clouds, a mountain side, the angler, the sun - it can all add tremendously to an otherwise ordinary picture.

This article is the latest incarnation of all our tips and ideas on taking fly pictures, collected in one place - and with a lot of new material, not least pictures. It will offer detailed advice and a lot of inspiration and cover all kinds of fly photography, from meticulous studio setups, over makeshift arrangements to shooting flies in the field.

Shooting pictures close to the surface can give an exciting perspective that will enhance the feeling of being near the water... literally! This is yet another chapter in our long series about taking better fishing pictures.

This might be considered a strange and kind of exotic photography subject to write a whole article about, but looking at the images that my fishing friends and I shoot, I can see that it's a very popular thing to shoot. As soon as a fish is hooked, we rush to the scene, and get quite a few bent rod pictures. That has made me think about how to get the best pictures of bent rods.

I basically see a few categories of bent-rod-pictures, meaning that most of our pictures fall in one of four certain categories.

Capturing the essence of the environment in which we fish can be tough. The vistas, the beauty, the clarity or the wildness of the water. How do we get all that into our cameras?

We all love these shots of stunningly clear water. Streams, lakes even the ocean can appear almost non-existent in the way that the bottom is visible in your shot.

How do you best shoot these images, which let's the freshness of the water come out in the final picture?

If you look in casting books, ads for fly lines or just the odd fly fishing magazine, you will often see some fascinating pictures of casting. Lines forming the most beautiful arcs in the air, clearly illustrating one of the fascinating things about fly fishing: the beauty of the cast.

I remember being on a trip for tarpon in Mexico. We caught quite a few babies, and I decided to get some pictures of jumping tarpon.
When it comes to jumping, tarpon are like clockwork: you can rest almost 100% assured that they will jump at least one time and frequently several times as soon as they are hooked. A skilled tarpon angler is also able to tell you when a fish is about to jump, which is usually detectable through the way the fish moves and how you feel that in the line.

Composition is the act of building the picture and placing its elements deliberately and with care. Classical composition consists of considering the division of the image into parts, creating depth and perspective and using subject shapes and lines to create a compelling image.
Composing fishing pictures is of course essentially the same as composing any other type of photograph, but there might be a few tips that can help enhance the sense of fishing and convey the information that interests anglers.

If you want really sharp fishing images there's no avoiding some kind support for your camera. A steady tripod is the best solution and the one that you see pros using, but there are other ways of supporting your camera as GFF partner Martin Joergensen explains here.

Another round of good advice for getting better fishing pictures. This time about the few moments during the day where the light is particularly exhillarating—namely around sunrise and sunset. This article tells you how to get the most from these often few minutes of great light.

We want to capture our fish in two ways: first on the hook and then in the camera. Once the fish has been hooked many of us already envision the poster on the wall, the image in the online gallery or just a print to show to the fishing buddies.

One of the most common reasons for not getting the really good fishing images is that people simply don't bring their camera. Either they leave it at home - which is really stupid - or they leave it on the bank - which is just moderately stupid.

More ways to improve your fishing photos. This time about using your flash in bright daylight - even in sunshine.
You might think that the flash on your camera is for taking pictures when it's dark.
Wrong!

One of the most common errors I see when I see people taking pictures is that they will be looking down on their subject.
An angler just caught a nice fish and landed it. It's about to be released and the lucky - or skillfiul - guy kneels on the bank. The photographer hovers over the angler and the fish and gets a picture of a couple of shoulders, a cap with a bill that shadows the face and some bank and maybe a bit of water.
What's missing?
How about a face?
What did the fish look like?
Where's the horizon?

This is the first little article in a small series on taking better fishing pictures. The first chapter is about going closer to your subject when you photograph. The closer you go, the better you get the picture focussed and the viewer's attention.