Hey everyone, ISpeakForTheSeas here.
Since pics are invaluable for critter ID and some pics are better than others for ID purposes, this is a brief list of picture-related tips to help you help us (the community) get accurate ID's on your hitchhiking critters.
To be clear, this is not a thread on how to use your camera better or how to take more professional pictures; this is strictly on how to take pics that are more helpful for ID purposes - if you're after tips on how to use your camera better or to take more professional-looking photos, then you should check out the Photography Forum here on Reef2Reef, as this thread won't be of any help there.
So, on to the tips:
->Take pics under white lighting - if the critter is visibly fluorescent or luminescent under blue lighting, then you can include some blue light pics as well to show that, but you should always have primarily white light pics, and you should have always have white light duplicates of any blue light pics you include.
->Take both zoomed in and zoomed out pics of the subject(s) both for clear pics of the subject, an idea of its size, and how it looks at different distances.
->Keep the subject as stress-free as possible (stress can impact coloration, cause critters to retreat into their shells, etc. - sometimes these stress responses can be useful for an ID, such as when Sphaeromatid isopods curl into a ball, or when you need to see the umbilicus of a snail; but generally they hurt more than they help for an ID).
->Keep the subject in saltwater for the pics (this is particularly important for blobby/squishy critters like anemones, sponges, tunicates, sea slugs, etc.).
->If the critter is too small/far away to get good pics of in the tank and you can remove it safely, then move it from the tank into a container of tank water and get closer up pics that way - if the critter is still too small, then a magnifying tool (such as a magnifying glass, jeweler's loupe, microscope, etc.) may be needed.
->If you can, get pics of the critter(s) against a black, preferably matte background (especially if the critter itself isn't primarily black, particularly around the edges).
->Take pics of the subject(s) from a variety of angles; if possible take straight-on pics from the front, back, top, bottom, right side, and left side. Some angles are more important than others depending on the kind of critter you're getting pics of - assuming you don't know what kind of critter it is, default to all six of the angles mentioned above.
->If the subject has a tube, burrow, shell, etc., then get pics of that too if possible.
->If there are areas of old growth and new growth for the subject(s), take pics of both.
->Take pics of both the subject's full body, and any unusual or otherwise likely important appendages, textures, patterns, or features (such as the "windshield wipers" of a porcelain crab, the claws of a true crab, any tentacles on a worm's head, streamers on a fish, color patterns on a shrimp, extra or modified appendages, the central disk of a brittle star, the interior and exterior of the holes of a sponge or tunicate, the arrangement of holes on a sponge/tunicate/bryozoan/etc., etc.).
As a final note, adding in comments such as notes about the subject's behavior, the subject's diet, if the subject moves (and, if so, how), if it is soft or hard, if it reacts to light, if it has a shell (external or internal), etc. are all good things to include for getting an ID as well.
Hope this helps, and happy reefing!
Since pics are invaluable for critter ID and some pics are better than others for ID purposes, this is a brief list of picture-related tips to help you help us (the community) get accurate ID's on your hitchhiking critters.
To be clear, this is not a thread on how to use your camera better or how to take more professional pictures; this is strictly on how to take pics that are more helpful for ID purposes - if you're after tips on how to use your camera better or to take more professional-looking photos, then you should check out the Photography Forum here on Reef2Reef, as this thread won't be of any help there.
So, on to the tips:
->Take pics under white lighting - if the critter is visibly fluorescent or luminescent under blue lighting, then you can include some blue light pics as well to show that, but you should always have primarily white light pics, and you should have always have white light duplicates of any blue light pics you include.
->Take both zoomed in and zoomed out pics of the subject(s) both for clear pics of the subject, an idea of its size, and how it looks at different distances.
->Keep the subject as stress-free as possible (stress can impact coloration, cause critters to retreat into their shells, etc. - sometimes these stress responses can be useful for an ID, such as when Sphaeromatid isopods curl into a ball, or when you need to see the umbilicus of a snail; but generally they hurt more than they help for an ID).
->Keep the subject in saltwater for the pics (this is particularly important for blobby/squishy critters like anemones, sponges, tunicates, sea slugs, etc.).
->If the critter is too small/far away to get good pics of in the tank and you can remove it safely, then move it from the tank into a container of tank water and get closer up pics that way - if the critter is still too small, then a magnifying tool (such as a magnifying glass, jeweler's loupe, microscope, etc.) may be needed.
->If you can, get pics of the critter(s) against a black, preferably matte background (especially if the critter itself isn't primarily black, particularly around the edges).
->Take pics of the subject(s) from a variety of angles; if possible take straight-on pics from the front, back, top, bottom, right side, and left side. Some angles are more important than others depending on the kind of critter you're getting pics of - assuming you don't know what kind of critter it is, default to all six of the angles mentioned above.
->If the subject has a tube, burrow, shell, etc., then get pics of that too if possible.
->If there are areas of old growth and new growth for the subject(s), take pics of both.
->Take pics of both the subject's full body, and any unusual or otherwise likely important appendages, textures, patterns, or features (such as the "windshield wipers" of a porcelain crab, the claws of a true crab, any tentacles on a worm's head, streamers on a fish, color patterns on a shrimp, extra or modified appendages, the central disk of a brittle star, the interior and exterior of the holes of a sponge or tunicate, the arrangement of holes on a sponge/tunicate/bryozoan/etc., etc.).
As a final note, adding in comments such as notes about the subject's behavior, the subject's diet, if the subject moves (and, if so, how), if it is soft or hard, if it reacts to light, if it has a shell (external or internal), etc. are all good things to include for getting an ID as well.
Hope this helps, and happy reefing!
