¿Why white backgrounds?

Our white background photos make the animal the center of attention. The animal is the main subject and the viewer has no obstacle to appreciate the animal’s essence. On each image, the animal to occupies most of the photo’s space, avoiding elements that may distract the viewer.  

White background photography is very flexible in terms of formats. It makes it possible to produce graphic pieces using one or several images simultaneously without affecting the aesthetic of photographs.

Unlike in-situ (in the wild) photography, white background photos are produce under constant flashlight conditions. This guarantees color accuracy across species photographed, which is of vital importance to allow the identification of animals.

Besides, multiple studies endorsed by biologist, veterinarians and wildlife photographers, reaffirm that the use of flashes has no effect on animal’s health or behaviour. A proof of this is the most recent work performed by ExSitu for more than two years, where over 789 species have been photographed without adverse effects produced by light exposition coming from flashes and the evidence of this is that animals under human care have not showed behaviours nor diseases from photo shots, in addition to this, in some works with researchers we had recaptures several days later of animals that have been manipulated by researchers for samplings, this manipulation was later used for in-studio photography making. If you want to know more about the existing scientific-based evidence of how flash light does not harm animals, please write to us and we will kindly explain.


When starting this project, we asked ourselves about the best way to create a photo bank of as many species in the fastest and most inexpensive way. We have to consider how expensive it is to go into the field and make high-quality photographs of animals in their environment. Even though in-situ photos provide ecological information, the cost and time needed to create high-quality photos in the wild is much higher than that needed for a studio photo. Additionally, ExSitu works with animals that are under human care. This means that the animals photographed are never pulled out of their habitat only for the purpose of photography if there are no research, educational, or conservation purposes.