How to Take a Photo for Crop Diagnostics
Elizabeth Buck, Extension Vegetable Specialist
Cornell Vegetable Program

Capturing diagnostically useful images is not as simple as snapping a picture of cute children or animals.
With the current push to work remotely, using pictures to quickly address production questions has a lot of appeal and utility. I love the idea of using grower-captured photos to hasten the trouble-shooting process, especially since it isn't always possible to make prompt farm visits. But in practice it can be quite tough to work out a problem using photos because of poor image quality. High quality diagnostic photos absolutely can allow us (and other ag professionals) to make pretty confident IDs and assessments of what is going wrong.
In How to Take a Photo for Crop Diagnostics, readers will learn:
- What makes a high quality image?
- Things you should know
- Different problems need different images
- Steps for taking a high quality image
- Pro tips
- ...plus there a several side-by-side comparisons of poor quality photos versus high quality images with tips on what changes the photographer made to take the better photo
How to Take a Photo for Crop Diagnostics (pdf; 676KB)

Upcoming Events
Vegetable Pest and Cultural Management Field Meeting for Auction Growers -- Chautauqua
July 14, 2026
Panama, NY
A field walk will demonstrate pest management in fresh market vegetables in both field and greenhouse (high tunnel) vegetables, primarily for those growing for wholesale auction. CCE Cornell Vegetable Program Specialist Judson Reid will identify weeds, insects and diseases in vegetables and will go over management options such as inter-row cover crops, grafting, and where appropriate, spray options.
DEC recertification credits will be offered.
Vegetable Pest and Cultural Management Field Meeting for Auction Growers -- Allegany
July 15, 2026
Fillmore, NY
A field walk will demonstrate pest management in fresh market vegetables in both field and greenhouse (high tunnel) vegetables, primarily for those growing for wholesale auction. CCE Cornell Vegetable Program Specialist Judson Reid will identify weeds, insects and diseases in vegetables and will go over management options such as inter-row cover crops, grafting, and where appropriate, spray options.
DEC recertification credits will be offered.
Pest Management for Small-Scale Growers
July 23, 2026
Rochester, NY
Join us for a hands-on field day exploring integrated pest management tools for small-scale growing spaces and the opportunity to build community with local growers! Learn the best practices for using row covers, biocontrols, trapping, and more.