Taking before and after photographs of your site is always an easy way to confirm a planting. Photographs taken over time will provide a visual record of the development of your planted natives.
Ideally, take a photograph of your planting from a fixed point (known as a photopoint) which can be repeated at the time of each survey to capture changes of your planting site over time. Tips for effective photopoints include:
- Locate each photopoint on a high point to best cover a representative section of your planting area;
- Where possible site the camera from a fixed point such as a fence post;
- Select a view which will show changes in your planting area over time framing the view so it will be easy to repeat in future;
- If possible, position the camera to the north of your planting area to minimise shadows and sun glare;
- Have a copy of the last photograph you took from the photopoint to help replicate previous photos as closely as possible; and
- Repeat photographs annually preferably at the same time of the year using the same camera angle and zoom setting.
Avoid taking too many photographs as storage and captioning can be onerous. Setting up one, well-positioned photopoint should be sufficient for most planting projects.
Uploading a photograph into the online tool
When entering data for a survey into the online tool you can upload the photopoint photograph for the survey. More information about this process is here.