# Duplicating observations **URL:** \ **Category:** General\ **Created:** [April 30, 2026, 5:40am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341 "2026-04-30T05:40:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![clightowler](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/clightowler/32/35926_2.png) [@clightowler](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/clightowler)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 5:40am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/1 "2026-04-30T05:40:55Z")
I was told that one of my observations has two species in it, so I duplicated it. I put notes saying “this observation is for the bird on the left / right”. Is there a way to then crop the photos from within the observation, to show only the correct organism, or would I need to go crop my original and add the cropped photos manually to each observation? ---
**Author:** ![paul\_luap](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/paul_luap/32/17343_2.png) [@paul\_luap](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/paul_luap)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 6:04am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/2 "2026-04-30T06:04:12Z")
This might depend on the version of the app you are using. On the current Android one this is not a problem, you just edit the observation, go to the image in question (you can even duplicate that one if you want to preserve the original one), You’ll find an edit option when the image is open. Not sure if this option is already implement in the new iOS one. ---
**Author:** ![phma](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/phma/32/54376_2.png) [@phma](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/phma)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 6:52am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/3 "2026-04-30T06:52:29Z")
As far as I know, there is no way to crop the observation on the site. Also, pictures are automatically shrunk to (IIRR) 2048 pixels when they’re uploaded. So you should open the picture in the Gimp, crop it to at most 2000 pixels, and add it to the observation. My camera takes 4kpx×3kpx pictures, so if I need to show detail of an organism that is small in the picture, I have to crop it. ---
**Author:** ![lizaeckardt](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/lizaeckardt/32/72376_2.png) [@lizaeckardt](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/lizaeckardt)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 12:44pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/4 "2026-04-30T12:44:35Z")
The photo could be cropped on your device and then added as a second photo on that observation. Or, once the cropped photo is added, the other photo could be deleted. ---
**Author:** ![gcwarbler](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/gcwarbler/32/1787_2.png) [@gcwarbler](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/gcwarbler)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 12:51pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/5 "2026-04-30T12:51:11Z")
Let me ask a clarification: Are your original images on a smart phone or on a computer? In either case, duplicating and cropping the original in its primary location, then uploading the cropped versions to iNat, will always be the easier route…unless you live in the Android iNat world and that is foreign terrain to me. ---
**Author:** ![oxalismtp](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/oxalismtp/32/4248_2.png) [@oxalismtp](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/oxalismtp)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 5:59pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/6 "2026-04-30T17:59:18Z")
Using the Android app you can open the observation, click on the little pencil icon in the upper right to edit the observation. Next, select the photo you want to crop and click the little pencil icon down at the bottom left. Now you can crop, rotate, etc! When you are done, click the checkmark in the upper right and exit out of the observation. ---
**Author:** ![clightowler](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/clightowler/32/35926_2.png) [@clightowler](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/clightowler)\ **Post date:** [April 30, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/7 "2026-04-30T18:27:02Z")
Thank you. That’s exactly what I wanted to know. Much easier than dowloading, editing and reuploading photos! (It’s strange how many things can only be done on the website, but this is the first time I’ve found something that can only be done on the app.) ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/7/7831452cf7f0d653ff1ffd34176334b7ef1b6a17.png) [@system](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [June 29, 2026, 6:27pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/duplicating-observations/78341/8 "2026-06-29T18:27:52Z")
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