Best Practices for Photographing Tracks

As the Mammals of Texas project continues to grow, we are seeing more and more photos of tracks and sign. Tracks are an excellent way to document many of the more secretive mammals, but how you photograph them dramatically effects whether others will be able see enough to provide an identification.

Here are a few tips on taking photos of tracks that will help make it easy for others to identify them later.
1) Include a scale. Please whenever possible include a ruler in the photo. If you don't have a ruler, use a penny or other coin. Pocket knives come in many sizes and are of little use as a scale.

2) Shade the track. In bright light, your photos will often look much better if the track is shaded. This also eliminates dark shadows that can distort the track. 95% of the track photos I take are shaded.

3) Take a close up and a contextual photo. Take a good close up photo of the track as well as a photo from a little ways back that includes the gait pattern and other associated tracks. A photo of the general area that shows the habitat can also be helpful.

Keep up the great work everyone.

Posted on August 10, 2013 01:35 PM by jonahevans