What should a photo log include beside each image?

Create an unambiguous image link

Give every image a number or file name that connects it to the notebook entry. Record the date and time, site, and photographer if several people are working together. Cameras may store dates automatically, but their clocks can be wrong or set to another time zone; note a correction if you know one is needed. A caption such as “IMG_042, pool 3, 10:20 local” is a useful start, but it should also identify the subject and the circumstances that shape what the image can show.

Identify the subject carefully

Use the narrowest name you can defend and keep uncertainty visible. “Small red limpet, tentative” is more informative than a confident species label based on a blurred image. If the frame contains several organisms, indicate which one the note refers to, perhaps with a position such as upper left or a numbered mark on a field sketch. Include visible behavior or context when relevant: attached beneath a ledge, drifting near the surface, or resting on sand. Do not treat the camera image as a complete record of features that were outside the frame or hidden from view.

Record scale and limitations

A photograph rarely communicates size unless a scale is included. Note a ruler, scale card, or known object in the frame, and make clear if size is only an estimate. Avoid placing objects near wildlife if that could disturb it or create a hazard; a separate measurement from the same observation may be more appropriate. Record limitations that change interpretation: backlighting, glare, motion blur, shallow depth of field, obscured anatomy, or color altered by artificial light. “Focus soft on the tentacles” helps a later reader understand why a diagnostic feature cannot be assessed.

Make the log support later use

Keep the original image identifier even if you crop or edit a copy, and note which version supports a measurement or identification. A short row can include image ID, time, location, subject, scale, and limitation; the associated field entry can hold broader conditions and method. For example: “042; 10:20; east pool; possible juvenile snail; 5 mm scale card; glare across shell.” This concise description makes the image easier to find and prevents a later viewer from assuming that a close crop shows the animal’s true size or full appearance.

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