Improving Carp Photos with Snapseed

I caught this fish a few minutes after arriving to this remote lake location and making the first cast.

Typically, my preference is to get the lines in the water first and then begin focusing on the smaller things like tidying-up, setting up the landing mat, laying out the weigh sling, etc. and this time I caught the fish before I really wanted to.

I hadn't yet quite had time to consider the best location for taking photos of the catches, which resulted in a poorly lit, rather overly back-lit result.

But with a little practice, the Snapseed app, available on almost any current-model Smartphone, can help improve the result significantly.

A crop here and there; a small amount of sharpening, some white balance adjustments; and the result is significantly better.

Snapseed will never offset everything lost by a poorly lit photo vs. a better planned effort, but its a great help.

Photo tip: Positioning the fish so that the sunlight was to the side with the focal point on the fish's head would have helped improve this photo straight-from-the-camera before any Snapseed edits were performed.

But don't go overboard, because too much of a good thing can be a very bad thing - as in, fake looking fish. 

This can happen by over-sharpening, using too much contrast, or too much High Dynamic Range abbreviated HDR. Just a few years ago, using HDR techniques was pretty cumbersome requiring overlaying 5 or 6 photos (or more) at various under or over exposure levels (EV or exposure value) to extend the luminosity of the photograph to "improve" upon it. With Snapseed, you can do it with a click of an icon on your Smartphone.