Ideas for photographic guidelines to improve our records and identifications on iNaturalist.

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I’ve noticed a large influx of new users on iNaturalist recently, and it’s being used by students and even teachers in their classes to guide students in documenting living organisms through this platform. This is due to many interesting aspects, from its free access and the ability to georeference species and their images, to the ease of identification facilitated by the platform itself and its excellent network of experts and scholars of different life forms.
Therefore, even though I’m not an expert photographer or a specialist in documenting plants, animals, or fungi, I thought I’d contribute some basic tips that can help improve the quality of species documentation, as much as possible.
So, here’s a basic guide with general and more specific ideas.
Please comment and add your suggestions. Perhaps we can create a better quality post in the future.

1. TIPS FOR RECORDING ALL FORMS OF LIFE:
1.1 CONTEXT: Take a photo of the living being including the context in which it is located. That is, a photo with a wider angle, preferably capturing the entire being, showing a bit of the landscape or environment around it. For example: if it is an animal perched on a plant, make it clear what kind of plant it is. Or where it is located, whether on a rock, which rock, whether in the sand, whether in a house or built structure, a post, etc. If it is a plant, show the entire plant and the surrounding terrain, even if this photo needs to slightly change the individual’s location. Where in the landscape is this plant located, on a hilltop, in the middle, or at the base of a hill? Are there animals nearby or on it? In the case of fungi: what kind of life are they associated with around them? What kind of plant species is the trunk of? What animal’s feces? These can appear in the background of some image of the living being. This context photo is something I usually take before approaching the creature (especially animals) and after finishing the detail photos as well, when possible. [examples: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/263479812 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/258295422 ]
1.2 ALL POSSIBLE ANGLES: Capture images of the living being from all possible angles and of all parts of its body/structure. For animals and living/moving beings, this is sometimes more difficult or even impossible, but do your best.
1.3 DETAILS: Photograph details of this living being that can differentiate it from other species or life stages or development phases.
1.4 SCALE/SIZE REFERENCE: If possible, add a scale/size reference of the creature to some photos. It can be a white or transparent ruler, but in its absence, you can also use common, known parts of your body or other objects such as your little finger or hand (for photos of insects or fungi, for example), a pen or its cap, a street tile or a lamppost (for trees), a car (without showing the license plate or personal information), etc. [Examples: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/281549808 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/268971574 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/264972362 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/264863619 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/260421365 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/260014780 ]
1.5 AVOID PEOPLE: Avoid having people in the photos, at most placing them in a distance that is unrecognizable as a reference for scale/size of a tree, for example.
1.6 REVIEW LOCATION: After uploading the images to iNaturalist, check on the map if the automatic location matches the actual location where the creature was found.
1.7 DETAILS NOT PERCEPTIBLE IN ACTIVITIES: After publishing, provide as many details as possible in the “Activities” section that are not perceptible through the photos: smells, textures, tastes, sensations, weather conditions, interactions with other species, reactions of the creatures, etc.
1.8 EDIT OR CROP: Apart from the contextual photos showing the living creature, all other photos should only show the creature that is the object of study in the image. Then, using the Editing option (in the mobile app), it is possible to crop out excess information from the photos, framing only the creature of interest. Other minor edits are also possible. Naturally, if you have experience with other programs, you can edit the photos before publishing them, avoiding altering the real colors and shapes of the recorded creature.
1.9 PROJECTS: Participate in projects: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects . There are projects organized by place, group, classification, event, institution, etc.
1.10 EQUIPMENT: Get to know your camera and all its possibilities: if it has a lens option or a wide-angle lens, test detail photos with or without flash.
1.11 GPS: Sometimes, in the case of cell phones, to increase the accuracy of the photo it’s worth opening a map application before taking the picture and checking, through that application, if the location it’s indicating is where you are at the moment of the photo. Of course, for animal photos sometimes there isn’t time to take this precaution. But this greatly helps in the accuracy of the location.

2 TIPS FOR PLANT RECORDING:
For plant recordings, I usually go “hunting” for plants with flowers or fruits. Sometimes also for species that I don’t remember ever seeing before, and that’s how my selection begins.
2.1 BACKGROUND: Sometimes the plant being photographed is among several others. So, after the context photo, which is interesting to show the plant along with the others where it is located, it’s helpful to take detailed photos of just the recorded plant. To do this, use black or white cardboard, or another color different from the plant, in the background, isolating this plant from the others around it and making it easier to identify its details. [examples: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/264859541 / https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/260015315 ]
2.2 DETAILS: For plants, there are often details that go unnoticed by the layman and are fundamental to differentiating one species from another very similar one. Sometimes it’s a small vein at the base of a leaf, or the shape of a stigma or hair on the flower or leaf that makes all the difference. So, whenever possible, record details. Some simple and easy-to-remember suggestions are: Isolated LEAVES, front and back (sometimes the back has different colors and this helps to identify them), Presence or absence of hairs on any part of the plant, of THORNS, of waxiness, of veins, of glands. Details of the base of the leaves, of the flowers. Internal, external, top, front and back parts of FLOWERS. FRUITS: external and internal parts: cut or bite the fruit to open it and show the internal part, the number of seeds, of carpels. If possible, cut the fruit in more than one direction. ROOTS: whenever possible, photograph the roots. If you can, uproot a plant and place it on a neutral surface and photograph the roots as well. TRUNK/STEM: Photograph the plant’s stem and bark in detail. Capture GREEN and senescent leaves. Leaf and flower buds. If possible, use Lens or Detail mode to photograph details up close. If possible, take pictures of the plant from different angles and in different lighting conditions.
[Examples at: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?user_id=ventomar&verifiable=any&iconic_taxa=Plantae ]

3 TIPS FOR FILMING ANIMALS:
These are definitely the types of photos I find most difficult, after all, they move and I don’t have good equipment. For live animals, lenses make all the difference.
3.1 SOUNDS: For animals, there is also the possibility of recording sounds. This can be done by recording the sound or filming and then extracting the sound, which can be published along with the images of the animal.
3.2 DETAILS: If there is a group of these animals, it is interesting to try to capture individuals in different conditions: adults, males and females, juveniles, eggs, offspring, larvae, nymphs, etc. Still and moving. From above, from below, from the side. Organs in detail: paws, claws, feeding apparatus (mouth, beak, snout, etc.), eyes, wings, fins, tentacles, feathers, glands, genitals, bones, spurs, etc. Details of the patterns on their skin, fur, shell, scales. If the animal is dead, take advantage of these details even more.
3.3 ISOLATED PARTS, WITHOUT THE ANIMAL: FEATHERS OR OTHER PARTS: Feathers, skin, shells, footprints or tracks, constructions and structures also count as records. There are even “Projects” for identifying beings from parts. One example of this type is the one that identifies birds through their feathers. To use this service, it is necessary to participate in this project and manually register the photo in the project after it has been published on iNaturalist. See more at https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/found-feathers . Another interesting one is the project for identification through eggs: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/eggs .

4 TIPS FOR FUNGUS PHOTOGRAPHS:
4.1 CONTEXT: Remember that for mushrooms, the location or SUBSTRATE where it is developing is essential for its identification. So in the general context photo, always record whether it is a shady or sunny location, what type of surface or organism it is on: old or living trunk, soil with vegetation or with straw and dry leaves, animal or other organism dung, animal or fungus, stone, etc.
4.2 ANGLES AND DETAILS: In the case of mushrooms, the fact that they have pores or gills on the underside of the “cap,” and the angle and spacing of these gills makes all the difference. Its TEXTURE, whether it has scales, hairs, or is smooth. Use a lens to record these details. So, in addition to photographing the top of the mushroom, also photograph the underside of the cap. If there is more than one individual, pick one and place it next to another with its head up and down, or even a third at a different angle, in order to record these details in the same photo. If possible, cut a mushroom in half and also record its shape and internal parts. Another interesting detail to record is its MYCELIA or “veins” that are hidden in the substrate where it is appearing. To do this, you can dig up part of the soil, or remove or cut part of the leaves, or even peel off part of the bark when it is on a log, and thus record the mycelia that spread in a hidden way. Some fungi change COLOR after being picked, so, if possible, wait some time and record in the same photo the color difference between a picked mushroom and another still attached to its substrate.
Currently, mushroom identification is still very weak when done automatically by iNaturalist. So in this kingdom, the community’s contribution greatly helps in the safety of the species.
[Examples at: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?user_id=ventomar&verifiable=any&iconic_taxa=Fungi ]

I haven’t yet had records of other kingdoms of living beings to share any experiences with.
Therefore, I hope these tips are useful and I look forward to comments with other ideas.

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That may require a permit. I will not do that.

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For a general comment, I always recommend people take a photo of the palm of their hand filing the full frame between organisms (could do shoes or sky or something else as well). This really helps during the upload process to make sure there’s one organism per observations. Just don’t include the photos of the hands when uploading, of course!

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I don’t think we want to be encouraging destructive recording (e.g. uprooting plants). There are ethical and legal issues. The ethical issue is the pressure it imposes on plant populations. On the legal side, it is my understanding that digging up plants without permission of the landowner is illegal in the UK.

Moreover, I doubt that there are many instances in which roots are necessary/helpful. The only major case that comes to mind is Crocus, where features of the corm tunics are considered taxonomically important.

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Over the last few days I have been trying out recording using the iNaturalist Android app, and the Seek app. They are part of the problem - they encourage single image observations, and result in hit or miss photograph quality. (2 out of 4 Pyronia tithonius observations lacked the butterfly because of lag between the Seek app making an identification and the Seek app taking the photograph.) You can, I believe, take and review multiple photographs using the phone camera app before pointing iNaturalist/Seek at the photographs, but that isn’t the “natural” way of working. Unless I’ve missed it, you can’t review the photograph from within the app prior to posting it to iNaturalist.

The thought had already crossed my mind that there could be benefit to providing documentation of observing workflows for the apps, if such do not already exist.

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If you can, uproot a plant and place it on a neutral surface and photograph the roots as well.

It is very rare that this is ever required for ID, I’ve only come across two genera that need this information and even with it both are generally considered not identifiable to species.

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This article has several good hints especially for the documentation of plants. Yes, flowers, fruit and seeds should always be documented from different angles if present.

Lower sides of leaves are important in plant ID, but rarely recorded in iNat observations! l want to add:

If documenting isolated leaves, make sure to document the whole leaf (not just a leaflet of a compound leaf). If you’r unsure, it’s better to document a young branch with leaves attached.

Whether or not you are documenting isolated leaves, you should always document phyllotaxis → the arrangement of leaves on the plants stem (alternate, opposite, whorled).

As mentioned by OP thorns, spines, tendrils, stipules and their position relative to leaves on the stem are important. As are indumentum (hairs, bristles), leaf scars, glands, buds, bud scales, young branches, bark, runners etc.

In addition it might also be helpful to check for latex.

Having said all this, i am also aware that it’s not always possible to make a perfect documentation. In well known plant species, a single foto can be enough for identification. In case you take a single foto only, make sure you are close enough to the plant to document at least some of the above mentioned characters.

As others have already said: No uprooting please.

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Good hints, thank you.

A few notes - certain plants such as Genus Notobubon and Sosnowsky’s Hogweed cause severe skin irritation if any part of the plant is touched and can be fatal as well. To take photos of such plants, especially if users do not know them, it is best to touch all plants and parts of plants with a stick or a ruler. The same goes for certain species of fish; use a fish grabber in all cases and if you really have to touch a fish, make sure your hands are wet. Also, many plants and fungi are toxic, so tasting the unknown is big no-no for me (I still worry about the person who first tasted e-coli faeces and started marketing it is aspartame). As for uprooting plants - uhm no - it is very definitely illegal in some areas and apart from that, a user might unknowingly cause direct harm to a plant or organism that is critically endangered. I really would caution against uprooting any plant unless it is requested and a very common plant.

As for recording sounds - I’ve had an instance where I could have sworn a certain bird made the sound and it turned out to be another species altogether. Joining birdsong to bird images should be done with caution.

Nests and juveniles - be careful of approaching nests and touching eggs and juveniles as some species of animal rely on scent to identify their young to feed them (the soap, deodorants, fibre dyes, dead skin cells, hair, microplastics and breath moisture we shed can all interfere with that and lead to the adults fleeing the nest or even rejecting their young). Always be careful of interfering with live animals, especially if you are a tourist in a region - don’t be so encouraged to take a photo of a lion’s teeth that you forget those are made for killing and not for iNat ID’s.

Having recently acquired a DSLR camera it noticed that my camera autofocus easier on my hands if it is close by, rather than the actual thing I am trying to focus on. An added incentive to for making sure only the plant is in the image.

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For vascular plants, as for other groups of organisms, there is a trade off between ease of making observations, and ease of 2nd party identification. Making a greater proportion of observations identifiable results in there being smaller number of observations; at some level a point of diminishing returns is reached.

There are also ethical, legal and safety issues. The objections to uprooting plants to photograph subterranean organs have already been covered above, but for rare plants I’d also be concerned about the impact of the removal of flowers and fruit on reproductive success, and for slow growing plant about the impact of the removal of branches. But to get good photographs often requires such actions.

There are plants which ought not be touched. The worse are perhaps Dendrocnide moroides and Hippomane mancinella, but there are others which I would not recommend touching. Hazards include latex and various hairs and thorns. (I have a permanent small scar on my hand suffered when harvesting gooseberries.) This reduces the ability to get good photographs of several organs. To a degree this can be obviated by the use of gloves, but be aware of the hazards of transfer from gloves to skin, eyes, etc.

Some plants are highly poisonous. For that reason, tasting unknown plants, or plants of unknown safety, should also be avoided. I would extend that to using teeth as a cutting tool.

Evidence does not have to be presented as photographic evidence. It can instead be presented textually. That includes information such as locality and habitat, but also information from non-visual modalities, such as touch, scent and taste, and information too small (“handlens characters”) to be captured by the camera in use. Phenology, like locality and habitat, can be used to constrain identifications, though, as in those cases, there are plants that have not read the books.

Plant taxonomy is commonly based on flower and fruit characters, though there are exceptions, such as Hedera where the species are distinguished by leaf trichomes. Consequently flowers and fruits are the prime targets for identification shots. However a trained eye identifies plants by gestalt, and a habit picture (one of the whole plant) is desirable. A “habitat picture” or some other indication of scale reduces the chances of a potential review being confused

Between the whole plant and the flower of fruit there are intermediate scale characters, such as phyllotaxis (arrangement of leaves) and inflorescence structure (arrangement of flowers).

A photograph of a whole flower or inflorescence is not always sufficient. The number of stamens and styles can sometimes to be used to distinguish species or genera (e.g. in Alsinoideae, but also Oxalis exilis and Geranium pusillum), or the form of the styles (e.g. clavate versus 4-lobed in Epilobium, or capitate versus introrsely decurrent in Malveae), or the presence of staminodes (e.g. in Tilia). An example with stamens is the “hammer-head” stamens distinguishing the flower heads of Succisa pratensis from those of Jasione capitata. It might be necessary to take a closeup of less than a flower/inflorescence to show this. Photographing flowers and inflorescences from different angles gives more information. The shapes and relative sizes of the keel, wings and standard in legume flowers can be shown by photographing them from the side. The involucel (epicalyx) is useful in Malvoideae (photograph from below) and in distinguishing Calystegia sepium from Calystegia silvatica (photograph from the side). The involucre (photograph from the side or below) is useful in distinguishing composites, especially the multiple yellow-flowered species in Cichorioideae. The presence and shape of bracts and bracteoles (photograph from the side or below) is useful in distinguishing umbellifers. And so on.

Similar principles apply to fruits, to leaves, and to stems. The nature and distribution of trichomes can also be informative (e.g. in Rubus and Rosa), but they may be too small to photograph well, and may be less well studied, so even if documented intraspecific variation may not be well understood.

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I don’t normally hesitate to uproot an invasive species for a photo. I’ve even been paid to uproot invasives without taking photos. And I am okay with people doing the same as long as they can recognize the difference between native and invasive. If you aren’t sure if you can, best to leave them in the ground.

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Taking photos with square dimensions helps with identification if you are scrolling through a list of species on iNat. Square photos fit the thumbnail approach iNat uses on the explore page. This is surprisingly import with things like moths where the wingtips are often critical in the ID. So many taxon photos have the wingtips cut off and are useless unless you open each species page. Big waste of time IMO.

I’ve often thought it would be better if iNat set the thumbnails on Lepidoptera to base size on the largest photo dimension instead of the smallest (But this is dangerously off topic so I won’t mention it.)

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Invasives I have no hesitation in helping to clear.

But for an observer who starts from – no idea what that plant is – without a permit to collect – the destructive damage should be minimal. Some in my hiking group will take a small piece home to key out … which of 500 pink ericas is this one ?