Photos that win jobs: how to photograph your work with your phone

If you ask customers what made them pick one tradesperson over another, “the photos of their work” comes up a lot. People cannot judge your standards from words. They can from pictures.

And you do not need a professional photographer. A modern phone and a few habits will do.

The basics of a good job photo

Clean the lens. It sounds silly, but a smeary lens is the biggest cause of poor phone photos. Wipe it with your sleeve.

Shoot in daylight. Natural light flatters almost everything. Avoid photographing into the sun, and avoid flash indoors.

Hold the phone level. Crooked photos make straight work look crooked. Use the grid lines on your camera to line things up.

Turn it sideways. Landscape photos fit websites far better than portrait ones.

Step back, then get close. Take one wide shot that shows the whole job and one close-up that shows the detail and finish.

Before, during and after

The most convincing set is:

1. Before: the problem, so people understand what you started with
2. During: a couple of shots showing the work in progress
3. After: the finished job from the same angle as the before photo

Same angle is the trick. When the two photos line up, the transformation is obvious.

Tidy before you shoot

Move the bins, bags and tools out of frame. Sweep up. A tidy photo suggests a tidy worker. Leave the site as you would want to find it.

Always ask permission

Check with the customer before using photos of their home, and avoid showing house numbers, number plates or anything personal. Most people are happy to say yes.

Make a habit of it

The best time to take photos is at the end of the job, while you are still there. Take them every time, and in a few months you will have a library to draw on for your website, Google profile and social media.

Where they go

Your photos are the heart of your website. We build galleries and project pages that show them off properly. See what is included or send us your photos.