# Taking Photos for Identification



## zany_toon (Apr 3, 2010)

I was wondering what you would recommend to get the best possible shot of 2 mice whose colouring I'd like to identify? In terms of background I wasn't sure whether just taking the photo against a piece of black material would be best or whether it would be best to take it against a maxey box (and how bad is it that I didn't know what a Maxeys was until i saw them on here - I just assumed they were carry cases for getting to the vets without terrifying my mice!) I know this seems like a really silly thing to ask but I want to make sure that I take a reasonable photo of them to get the best possible identification and after the thread about making a FMB colour identification website I realised that different computer screens may display the image differently and being a bit dense I hadn't considered this before - and taking a photo of my mouse against British currency might not help any non-UK members!! And any tips on getting them to sit still would be appreciated too as the only place Indiana and Jones sit still is at the base of my neck!! Thanks all x


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## Jack Garcia (Oct 9, 2009)

It depends on the color of the mouse. If the mouse is warm (red, orange, brown), use a cool (blue, purple, green) background and vice-versa.

A medium, neutral gray can be used for most colors of mouse, but some varieties like dove and silver can blend into it.

I use fabric bought from a craft store for this purpose and have about a dozen different shades and colors. Natural light (even through a window) can do wonders that artificial light can't, and I have found that if you put the mice on top of a box of oats or pasta (for example), they don't have much room to move and tend to sit still. Hold the camera between 1-3 feet away and take lots of pictures. For every good picture I get, I usually take at least ten or twenty which are discarded.

Sometimes if you position the fabric in the background (tacked to a wall, for example), and put the oatmeal/pasta box about a foot in front of it, so that the mouse doesn't actually touch the fabric, that helps. I used to know why, but I forgot. This is also what they teach you when you learn to photograph flowers. 

This thread has some good tips (and of course I'm biased, since I wrote it! Hah!): viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3917

BTW, for fabric, using a regular t-shirt will often work.


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## zany_toon (Apr 3, 2010)

:thx Jack!! That really helps - and I feel a photo shoot coming on


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## Elven (Apr 18, 2010)

I have gotten some great pictures when the mice are on their own cage, so the bedding is sort of the background. But, usually im really terrible at taking mice-pics, so you wont have to listen to me. :mrgreen:


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## zany_toon (Apr 3, 2010)

Elven said:


> I have gotten some great pictures when the mice are on their own cage, so the bedding is sort of the background. But, usually im really terrible at taking mice-pics, so you wont have to listen to me. :mrgreen:


:lol: I've some good photos of them running around the outside of their cages but they were no good for identifying because every cage was a different colour so there was no way to compare each mouse!!


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