You could all be right. BUT, the crouching started in the UK and carpers just follow that.
1-It is saftey.
2-If you look at carpers from the UK, they crouch and look to the side in every picture, this is to show respect for the fish, since a 1 week Paylake trip (thats all they got, and it BIG $$$$$) they will probably, if they are lucky, catch 3 fish each, using 3 rods each.
3-For me, it looks cool.
Daniel
OCH
Oh ya, carpers don't hide spots, we don't photoshop out pics. NO crouching is not done not to minimize the background.