Taking Dead Deer Pictures

Taking Dead Deer Pictures

It was 1997 when Tommy Sitka brought in his Trophy South Texas Buck which scored 178.875. When I saw the deer I decided we needed to start a web page for the Big Buck Contest just so people could see that one deer. That was the first deer picture ever published on our web site and has led to several hundred more in the past 9 years. Even though it was 9 years ago and it was the first picture we published, Tommy and his hunting party should be commended for the quality of the picture. This was our first picture and still ranks as one of the better “Dead Deer Pictures” we’ve published over the years.

Tommy Sitka 1997

I appreciate all the pictures that people have given us to put on the web site over the years. It’s been a lot of fun, and I personally like the convenience of being able to go to the web site and pull pictures of deer that were entered in the past. I hope that we can maintain the site for years to come so that anyone can look back at a deer they killed in the past.

Over the years we’ve received and published some really good “Dead Deer Pictures” and we’ve received or taken and published some really bad “Dead Deer Pictures”. As we start or 20^th year of the Big Buck Contest and our 10^th year of publishing pictures on the internet it’s a good time for all of us to do our best to raise the quality of pictures that we take of our deer. Whether you take a deer that scores 70 or 170, you shouldn’t take him unless he’s something you’re going to be proud of. And if you’re proud of him you should be willing to take some extra effort to get quality pictures to record the event.

I don’t know if the perfect “Dead Deer Picture” has ever been taken. Perfection is something to be strived for but maybe never reached. However, I can assure you, that the perfect dead deer picture will never be taken of a deer in the back of a pickup or hanging from a tree. The perfect picture will not show any blood on the deer, or his antlers, or on the hunter’s clothes or hands. It won’t show the exit wound or a slashed throat, or a tongue hanging out of his mouth. And it will not show just the head cut off at the neck or in a garbage bag, or laying in the yard, or on the porch. Oh and did I mention it won’t have a tongue hanging out of the deer’s mouth.

If the perfect dead deer picture is ever taken, it will be taken of the whole deer in the field. Once you’ve taken the deer out of the field you’ve probably lost your best chance at the perfect “Dead Deer Picture”. Taking the picture in the field doesn’t necessarily mean that it has to be taken where the deer fell. You do what you have to do to get the best picture possible. If that means loading him up and hauling him to a different part of the pasture where you can get a nice natural looking background to take the picture then do it.

Richard Innocentti 2002 Buck

For the picture above of Richard Innocentti’s 2002 buck, the deer was actually kept in the cooler over night set up in the pose seen here. Next morning with good light he was taken back out into the field for pictures. I know that most of us don’t have walk-in coolers to allow us to do that but I think this picture demonstrates that you do what you have to do within your means to get a good picture.

As I said earlier the perfect “Dead Deer Picture” will be of the whole deer in the field. So always have a camera with you when you hunt. If you have a digital camera please use it. A digital camera will allow you to take as many pictures as you want and then delete the ones you don’t need. Most digital camera’s have a self timer feature that you can use to get pictures of you and your deer if you are hunting alone. Get a little cheap tripod and keep it in your stand to use to hold the camera. You’ll be able to use the view window of a digital camera to immediately see if you got a good picture. And, while we’ll take your pictures in any form, it’s easiest on everyone involved if you can email us your digital pictures to be posted on our Web site.

If you don’t have a digital camera the little 35mm throw away camera’s do just fine. For just a few dollars you can take a bunch of pictures. Be sure and get one with a flash.

Remember that God has blessed our area with one of his most beautiful creatures. Let’s treat them with respect by using only fair hunt methods of hunting and taking them, and by displaying them in a respectable way after they are taken.

I’ll close with a few Picture taking pointers.

Use a wet rag to clean off as much of the visible blood as possible. Wipe off any blood on the antlers, around the mouth and nose, and at the bullet wound. Carry some baby wipes with you in the field to use to clean the dear up for pictures.
Either tuck the tongue inside the mouth where it won’t be visible or cut it off.
Either tuck the tongue inside the mouth where it won’t be visible or cut it off. (did I mention this twice again!!!!?)
The hunter should always be on the picture and should also be clean of blood on their clothes or hands.
Include the rifle or Bow in the picture if you like.
Get any beverage cans or other trash items out of sight.
Hold the deer in such a way as to not cover antlers with your hands. Use only your finger tips to hold the antlers.
Have the hunter tilt their cap back so as to reduce “cap shadow”. Also, even in the daylight take some pictures with the flash on to help reduce “cap shadow”.
Take a lot of pictures so you’ll have more to choose from. They are cheap compared to your lease, feed, rifle, or 4 wheeler.
Get as close as possible. Look at what you want in the picture and move up close enough to only get what you want. The closer you can take the picture the better the quality will be when it is published on the internet.
Take some different angles so that you are able to get a picture that shows all the deer’s antlers. Try straight on, left, and right, and high and low.
Be aware of the sunlight and shadows. You may want to take some pictures in the shade and some in full sun. Then pick the ones that turn out best.