# WTOAT: Worst Thumbnails Of **URL:** \ **Category:** Nature Talk\ **Created:** [May 8, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530 "2023-05-08T11:35:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![broacher](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/broacher/32/52883_2.png) [@broacher](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/broacher)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 11:35am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/1 "2023-05-08T11:35:26Z")
I was scanning my list as thumbnails the other day and one really stood out to me because of the fact that it was flat and nondescript. But that’s due more to the species incredible camouflage. Other times, It’s just the cropping algorithm. And then I thought, hmm. What are the worst iNat thumbnails of all time? Would you like to share any nominees? . ![Screenshot_20230507-110417_iNaturalist](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/9/c/9cc3a64cbba0b79734eeab93cd8bda9839e341d8.jpeg) ---
**Author:** ![owlshead-wren](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/owlshead-wren/32/29629_2.png) [@owlshead-wren](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/owlshead-wren)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 11:44am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/2 "2023-05-08T11:44:10Z")
JSYK you can edit thumbnails on most taxons. Go to a taxon page then click curation, then edit photos. Often, the only reason a species has a poor thumbnail is because no better pictures exist. ---
**Author:** ![broacher](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/broacher/32/52883_2.png) [@broacher](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/broacher)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:20pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/3 "2023-05-08T12:20:29Z")
Thanks, but I actually prefer the randomness. Who knows? Maybe it encourages your observation skills. Plus, it’s kinda fun. ---
**Author:** ![thebeachcomber](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/thebeachcomber/32/12748_2.png) [@thebeachcomber](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/thebeachcomber)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 12:35pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/4 "2023-05-08T12:35:53Z")
in this case op was referring to thumbnails of their own observations (is how I interpreted it) ---
**Author:** ![owlshead-wren](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/owlshead-wren/32/29629_2.png) [@owlshead-wren](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/owlshead-wren)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:06pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/5 "2023-05-08T13:06:57Z")
Ah, I think you’re right. ---
**Author:** ![broacher](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/broacher/32/52883_2.png) [@broacher](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/broacher)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 1:11pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/6 "2023-05-08T13:11:20Z")
I thought you meant for anyone when you mentioned the editing function. But like I said, I prefer the mystery of the random. And especially with camouflagers. I know a lot of people prefer to shoot and see them against a background say, that shows their shape and colour better, but I kinda like to showcase their amazing powers more, even if it means just showing a blob for a thumbnail. ---
**Author:** ![Ajott](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/ajott/32/7397_2.png) [@Ajott](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/Ajott)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 2:34pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/7 "2023-05-08T14:34:41Z")
Since I am an active IDer and know how I sometimes pick what I will ID and what I won´t give a second look, I actually always crop my pictures in a way that will show someone coming along and possibly IDing my stuff as much of the organism as possible. But some of my older uploads feature interesting and very “helpful” thumbnails like those 😆 ![Thumb1](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/1/4/143a3c2f2dc5b2257e610f98451f1ae6147127fa.png) ![Thumb2](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/a/a/aa7a84bf9359dd8537bb3884d6de449dca55662d.png) ![Thumb3](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/3X/3/1/317011df97ed7f84587cde07ca4267b762f5007c.png) ---
**Author:** ![jnstuart](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/jnstuart/32/1623_2.png) [@jnstuart](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/jnstuart)\ **Post date:** [May 8, 2023, 4:08pm UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/9 "2023-05-08T16:08:40Z")
[Long lizards](https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/30444902) are always a challenge and the thumbnail can’t really capture them. But I never crop my pictures to fit a square thumbnail. ---
**Author:** ![whaichi](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forum.inaturalist.org/whaichi/32/277_2.png) [@whaichi](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/whaichi)\ **Post date:** [May 9, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/10 "2023-05-09T02:36:09Z")
I have a few photos of waterbirds where there will be several individuals on one edge of the photo and several individuals on the opposite edge so the thumbnail shows up as a square image of the stream they were in. I’ve started cropping those so that the thumbnail makes it clear which species was observed and then using the wide shot as a second or third photo for the observation. Probably makes it easier for folks doing identification through the Identify menu as well! ---
**Author:** ![system](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/uploads/inaturalist/original/2X/7/7831452cf7f0d653ff1ffd34176334b7ef1b6a17.png) [@system](https://forum.inaturalist.org/u/system)\ **Post date:** [July 8, 2023, 2:36am UTC](https://forum.inaturalist.org/t/wtoat-worst-thumbnails-of/41530/11 "2023-07-08T02:36:12Z")
Closed on July 8, 2023, 2:36am UTC This topic was automatically closed 60 days after the last reply. New replies are no longer allowed.