Every contractor takes job site photos. Very few can find the one they need eight months later, when a homeowner says the crack in the driveway was not there before. Photos are only insurance if they are organised, dated and captioned — otherwise they are 4,000 images on a phone.
Shoot in three passes
Before
The most valuable pass and the one most often skipped. Existing damage, the condition of the driveway and landscaping, the state of what you are replacing, access routes. Shoot wide first for context, then close for detail. Ten minutes here prevents the arguments that have no other resolution.
During
Anything that will be covered up: the rotted decking before new sheathing, the wiring before the drywall, the pipe before the backfill. Once it is hidden it does not exist, and this is the pass that pays for itself in change orders and supplements.
After
The finished work, the cleaned-up site, the model and serial plate of anything installed. The serial number photo alone will save you a phone call during a warranty claim.
What makes a photo usable later
- Context then detail. A close-up of a crack proves nothing without a wide shot showing where it is.
- Something for scale — a tape measure, a hand, a standard outlet.
- Real light. Use the flash in crawlspaces and attics; a dark photo is not evidence of anything.
- A caption. “North elevation, valley decking, approx 40 sq ft rot.” Written at the time, because you will not remember.
- Date and location, which your phone records automatically — leave location services on for the camera.
Where this pays off
- Insurance supplements. Adjusters approve documented items and argue about described ones.
- Change orders. A photo of the hidden condition turns a price increase into an obvious necessity.
- Damage claims. The before pass is the entire defence.
- Selling the next job. A clean photo report is the most persuasive marketing a trade business owns, and it costs nothing to produce.
Give the customer the report
Most contractors keep the photos and send an invoice. Sending a short, captioned, branded PDF of what you found and what you did changes how the work is perceived — particularly on jobs where the finished result is a closed wall or a buried pipe and the customer cannot see what they bought.
A report without the upload
Toolbelt’s Photo Report Builder assembles a branded, captioned PDF on your phone — the photos are never uploaded anywhere, the document is built client-side and shared straight from the device. Three free estimates, no card.
See also roofing supplements after a storm, where this matters most, and change orders.