Apologies if this has been discussed before, but I haven’t found it on the forums. My question is what is everyone’s philosophy on what makes an ideal thumbnail image for a species. I have two competing ideas in my head that I can see pros and cons to: -A: An image that shows a particularly beauti…

I personally prefer the attractive, perfect version, but you have a good point. (How’s that for wishywashy?)

FWIW there are some guidelines for picking taxon photos, although they don’t address this particular question. I don’t know if there’s a “right” answer, but I’d probably lean more toward an “average specimen” photo. Even then, what’s “average” for one area might be different for another. [image…

i think i prefer an image that gives a good representation of the species. attractive, but also reasonable… so no, not the tallest moose or the burliest bear, but a good shot of an average or above average specimen that offers an opportunity for a clear understanding of what that species looks like. …

I’ve wrestled with this before. My two cents: it depends on the taxa. For higher level taxa such as Orders and Families, I like the idea of having “book-cover” species. For Genera and species, I recommend answering the following questions before making a photo a thumbnail: Is it CC-BY? Is the observ…

A few months ago I edited species thumbnails for a few European moths, I selected high quality thumbnail photos of somewhat pristine moths with the main features needed to identify the moths purely from the photo ( something I frequently do if i’m doubtful with the CV).

I have extensively added photos for lizards of the Amazon using the following prioritization: first image should be identifiable from the thumbnail meaning cropping is important…usually this is a male in breeding colors in the act of displaying…preferably this should be of the type species if thes…

[image] paul_dennehy: Check out how beautifully marked the thumbnail moth is for this species: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/205198-Eudeilinia-herminiata But here’s what a typical one looks like: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/205198-Eudeilinia-herminiata That’s the same link twice,…

These two threads have some useful ideas: Choosing the best photos for plant taxon pages What makes a good animal taxon photo?

For fungi (let’s say mushrooms), I appreciate the ones with multiple fruiting bodies in the same photo, especially at different angles and at different stages of development. There are many good ones like this that give views of the gills or pores, stipe with base, cap from the top and a side view, …

My personal preference for thumbnails in order is as follows: Living organism in its natural habitat > Living organism in a lab or indoor environment > Dead specimen I think a better photo should be made a thumbnail over one that is more blurry or “average” because it can highlight those differenc…

Species Thumbnail Image Choices

General

rupertclayton November 8, 2023, 1:24am 9

These two threads have some useful ideas:

Choosing the best photos for plant taxon pages
What makes a good animal taxon photo?

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WTOAT: Worst Thumbnails Of Nature Talk	8	346	May 9, 2023
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Species Thumbnail Image Choices

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