Master Gardeners are often asked to identify plants, insects or diseases from pictures. It's great that we have this technology and we're happy to do it. Unfortunately many pictures we receive look like this:

The biggest problem we get is images out of focus.

Here are some tips to help you take good pictures of leaves and plant parts:

• If you are using a digital camera, look for a button that looks like a tulip. Pressing it will allow you to focus closer than normal.
• On a smartphone, usually holding the camera steady and clicking on the point on the picture you want in focus will do the trick. Smartphone cameras will let you get surprisingly close up, the trick is just getting them to focus on what you want. 
• Take lots of pictures, examine them, and just send the clear ones (zoom in on image to make sure it's in focus)
• On a regular camera, put the object you want in focus directly under the camera's focusing region, usually the middle of the frame. Press the shutter 1/2 way and hold it there. If the camera can focus on the spot it will make a noise and usually puts a green square on the screen. Press the rest of the way. What usually happens is that the camera tries to focus on something more distant (like the ground) if you don't force the camera to focus where you want it. 
• Hold still! hold the camera or phone close to you or set it on a rock or stump to steady it. Close up it's easy to have blurry pictures
• If you're just taking a picture of a leaf close up, pluck it off, set it on a table and then take a picture. This works great:  
  
• It helps to get a picture of the whole plant as well as a close up
• If you want a plant identified, get close ups of the flower (so we can see the parts in focus) and the leaf as well as the overall form. Where it located is helpful. 
• For identifying disease, a picture of the sick/dying part is helpful. Try to get parts in the process of dying, not already crispy.
• When you're close, you won't be able to get the whole plant in focus. Just make sure 1 important thing is in focus whether that be the leaf or a stem, etc.
• Try to take the picture in bright light.
• Hold the camera perpendicular to the object you're photographing so more of it will be in focus. 
• Many times when you're in close to a plant the light levels are low. This means your camera will have to keep the shutter open longer and increases the chances of a blurry picture. If you're worried about low light or just can't keep still enough, turn on the flash. Usually it's on auto but most phones and cameras let you force it to flash. (The control looks like a lightning bolt.) Use this setting. It won't create professional quality images but it will hold everything still.

This isn't a real guide to plant photography, but hopefully will make for clearer images.

Send your images and questions to immg@ucanr.edu.