How to photograph your work with a phone

Ask first

Before you post a photo of someone's home, get the owner's OK. The simplest way is a line in your contract or a quick text: "Mind if we use photos of the finished job on our website? We won't show your address." Keep the reply. If they say no, respect it. On builder jobs, ask the builder too.

Protect their privacy

• No house numbers, mailbox names or street signs in the frame
• No license plates
• No people, especially children, unless they agreed
• No views through windows into the home
• No street address in the caption; the town or part of town is enough

Phones can also save the location inside the photo file. Turn off location tagging in your camera settings, or ask whoever runs your site to remove that data before photos go up.

Set up the shot

• Wipe the lens. A phone that lives in a tool pouch has a dusty lens. This one step fixes a lot of hazy photos.
• Clean up the site. Move ladders, buckets, trash and the truck out of frame. Sweep or hose off the surface.
• Turn the phone sideways. Wide photos usually fit websites and galleries better than tall ones. Take one tall shot too if you post to social media.
• Hold it level. Turn on the grid in your camera settings and line up a roof line, slab edge or the horizon.
• Use the main lens. The extra-wide lens bends straight lines, and pinch-zooming makes photos grainy. Step back or forward instead.

Pick your light

Harsh midday sun throws hard shadows and washes out color. Early morning, late afternoon or a bright overcast day is easier to work with. Keep the sun behind you or to the side, not behind the house. Indoors, turn on every light, open the blinds and leave the flash off.

Three shots per job

1. Before: from a spot you can find again, like the end of the driveway or a corner of the yard.
2. During: one photo of the work nobody sees later, such as base prep, underlayment, flashing or framing.
3. After: the same spot as the before photo, plus one close-up of a detail.

Matching the before and after angle is what makes a pair work. See before-and-after galleries for how to use them.

Trade notes

• Roofing: shoot from the ground. Don't take risks on a roof for a photo. If you want to use a drone, check the rules for flying one first.
• Concrete: wet concrete looks darker, so shoot it dry or say so in the caption. Low side light shows the finish.
• Siding and paint: shoot the whole side of the house, then one corner or trim detail.
• Landscaping: come back after things have grown in, if the owner agrees.

Keep it honest

Cropping and straightening are fine. Brightening a dark photo a little is fine. Editing out cracks, changing colors or adding things that weren't there is not. And only post work your company did.

Make it a habit

Make photos part of the final walkthrough. Save them to one album per job, named by job type and month. When it's time to update your site, everything is in one place. Before they go on the site, photos should be resized so pages stay quick; see fast websites on phones.