Ambassador guide
SHOOT
LIKE YOU
FISH.
Your photos and videos are how Svivlo tells its story. Not the product shots. Not the studio images. The real moments — on the water, in the conditions, with the fish.
This guide gives you everything you need to shoot material we can actually use — across social, ads, website, and print.
One rule above all others: Don't delete anything because you think it's not good enough. A photo you consider average may be exactly what we need. Send everything. We decide what's usable.
The reel
Keep it visible. Not everything.
The reel should be the subject in many shots — clearly visible, not necessarily filling the frame. But we also need shots where the reel isn't the focus at all. Environment, atmosphere, preparation, waiting, nature. That's what builds the story.
Framing
Leave space. Always.
Don't zoom in too tight. Leave space around the subject. This lets us crop into different formats — square, portrait, landscape — and adjust for ads, social, and print. Better too much space than too little.
Authenticity
Be yourself. Fish normally.
Authentic moments beat perfection. We are not looking for staged shots or perfect conditions. Fish as you normally do. The moments that happen naturally are the ones that resonate. Have fun with it.
Photo guidelines
WHAT MAKES
A GREAT SHOT.
Shoot in RAW if possible
RAW files give us far greater flexibility in post-production — colour correction, exposure adjustment, cropping. If your camera or phone supports RAW, use it. JPEGs are fine if not. Never edit the files yourself. Send them straight from your camera or phone.
Don't edit the material
No filters. No colour correction. No cropping before sending. We have a defined visual style and we handle all adjustments ourselves. Editing before sending limits what we can do with the file. Send it raw.
Think about formats while shooting
Your photos will be used in many formats. Both portrait and landscape should work as a square crop. A portrait image cannot become landscape and vice versa — but both should give us a usable square. Think about that before you press the shutter.
Avoid visible competitor brands
Try to avoid other brand logos and products in frame. It doesn't need to be perfect — if it's in the background of an otherwise great shot, send it anyway. But if you can avoid it, do. It makes the material much easier for us to use.
Shoot the full experience
The environment matters as much as the reel. Water surfaces, light on the bank, hands on the rod, the moment before the cast, the moment after the catch. Atmosphere and feeling often matter more than technical perfection, especially on social media.
Send everything — don't filter yourself
Never delete material because you think it's not good enough. An out-of-focus shot of the right moment is more valuable than a sharp shot of nothing interesting. We review everything. Send too much rather than too little.
Do this
- Leave space around the subject for cropping flexibility
- Shoot in RAW when your camera supports it
- Send files straight from camera or phone — unedited
- Shoot both the reel and the environment around it
- Capture the full session — preparation, waiting, the catch
- Think square crop when framing every shot
- Use a microphone if you speak on video
- Send everything, even shots you're unsure about
Not this
- Apply filters, crops, or colour correction before sending
- Delete footage because it doesn't look perfect to you
- Zoom in too tight — leave room around the subject
- Stage shots that don't reflect how you actually fish
- Show visible logos or products from other brands
- Record video in low resolution when 4K is available
- Film handheld in conditions where a steady shot is possible
- Edit or compress files before sending them to us
Shot list
SHOTS WE
ALWAYS NEED.
Reel in hand — ready to cast
The reel held naturally, rod loaded, about to cast. This is the most used shot category. Different angles — from behind, from the side, from low. Show the grip. Show the thumb position. Real casting stance, not posed.
The cast — mid-flight
The lure in the air, line unspooling, rod bent. Action shots during the cast are hard to time but extremely valuable. Burst mode helps. Don't try to get it perfect — shoot a lot and we'll find the frame.
Splashdown moment
The lure hitting the water. Water spray. Ripples spreading out. This is the defining moment of CastGuard — the moment the thumb doesn't need to step in. If you can capture it, it tells the story better than any copy.
The catch
Fish in hand, fish at the net, fish being released. The reel visible in frame where possible. Don't stop filming for the catch — the moment of the strike, the fight, and the landing are all valuable. Keep rolling.
Reel on the deck — ready to fish
The reel laid on the boat gunwale, on a tackle box, on the dock — rod rigged, lure tied on, ready to go. Clean, detailed, atmospheric. Early morning light or golden hour makes these shots. The reel as part of the scene, not a product shot.
Close-up detail shots
The spool. The handle. The drag. Hands on the reel. Line leaving the spool. Get close — macro if possible. These are used in ads, product pages, and social. Sharp focus on the reel, background blurred. Natural light preferred over flash.
The environment — no reel needed
Water surfaces. Mist on the lake at dawn. Light through trees on the bank. The boat from a distance. A rod silhouetted at sunset. Atmosphere without product. These are the shots that make people want to be there — and they're often missing from ambassador submissions.
The full session — start to finish
Rigging up. First cast of the day. Long stretches of waiting. The light changing. Packing up at the end. A full session tells a complete story that a single hero shot can't. Shoot throughout the day, not just when something happens.
Format guide
FOUR FORMATS.
ONE SHOOT.
One photo taken with space around the subject can be cropped into all four formats below. This is why framing matters — shoot wide, let us crop.
Video guidelines
Film it.
We'll edit it.
Video brings fishing to life in a way photos can't. The sound of the cast. The pause before the strike. The moment the fish takes the lure. Capture all of it.
You don't need a professional setup. A modern phone in 4K is enough. What matters is that the footage is steady, well-lit, and captures real moments — not rehearsed ones.
Shoot both short clips and longer sequences. A two-minute continuous shot of casting gives us more to work with than ten two-second clips. Keep the camera rolling longer than you think you need to.
If you talk to camera or do commentary, use a microphone if you have one. Built-in microphones work in calm conditions — wind kills them. Good audio makes a bigger difference than most people realise.
Video specs
FISH.
SHOOT.
SEND.
You don't need to follow every rule in this guide perfectly. Fish as you normally do. Shoot what feels right. The authentic moments are always the best ones.
When in doubt — shoot it anyway and send it. We would rather have too much to work with than too little. A shot you almost didn't take is often the one that ends up in the campaign.
Questions? Contact us directly. We're here to help you get the best material possible.
