Why do people hold fish out when taking photos?

[U D]

I assume it is to try and make the fish look bigger? I think it makes the angler look silly. Do they think someone is really fooled??

Crisp colorful photos taken on the water with the fish held and looking normal is the way to go in my book. If I want photos of big fish I go fishing for big fish.

[Gnarf]

Yes to make looks bigger. I like to hold the head up close to me and extend my other arm with the tail fully. Shows the size of the fish more realistically.

[SeaCatMich]

Some people do it because they think the person taking the picture is photographing the fish -- not the person and the fish. I have had others who don't really want to hold it so they want it as far away as they can. But, I agree most of the time it is because they want to make the fish look bigger -- or someone taught them to do it this way because they wanted to make the fish look bigger.

Funniest thing to me is how most people don't know how to hold a fish for a picture and get their hands in the picture in front of the fish. First I don't like seeing the fingers/hands but those holding it out to make it bigger don't think about how the hand to fish size really tells me how big the fish is. The better way to hold the fish is to insert the fingers from one hand in the gill on the side of the fish facing the person and the fingers of the other hand go under the fish between the pelvic and anal fins. Basically the same way you hold the barrel of a baseball bat when buning.

[sherman51]

some people just don't know any better and some just want the fish look bigger and some just want a good picture of there catch.

[gordymohr]

......they have been watching too much pro-bass