A landscaper photographing a finished sandstone patio on his phone

You did a cracking job last week. New roof valley, neat leadwork, tidy finish. The customer was delighted. And the only photo you’ve got is a blurry shot of the skip, taken from the van window.

Photos of real work do more to win enquiries than almost anything you can write about yourself. They show a stranger what you actually do, how tidy you are and whether you work on houses like theirs. The good news is that taking useful ones doesn’t need a fancy camera or much time. It needs a habit and a few simple rules.

JEREMY’S VIEW:

"An ordinary phone photo of a real job in a real West Yorkshire street beats the glossiest stock image every time. People can tell the difference, and they trust the real thing."

1. Why job photos matter more than you’d think

When someone finds you on Google, they’ll usually look at your photos before they ring. They’re trying to answer a few quiet questions:

  • Is this a real business? A van, a person and real jobs say yes.
  • Do they do my kind of job? A photo of a stone chimney in Holmfirth speaks to someone with a stone chimney in Marsden.
  • Will they look after my home? Dust sheets, a swept drive and a tidy work area tell them more than any promise.
  • Is the work any good? Neat finishes and straight lines show quality to people who couldn’t describe it.

Before and after pairs are especially useful, because they show the problem the customer recognises and the result they want.

2. The before shot: take it before you touch anything

This is the one most people forget. Once the dust sheets are down and the old units are out, the moment has gone. Make it the first thing you do on arrival, before the tea.

  • Pick a spot and remember it. Stand somewhere you can come back to, such as the doorway, the end of the garden or the pavement opposite. Note it mentally, or take a quick wider shot showing where you stood.
  • Get the whole problem in. The cracked render, the sagging gutter, the tired bathroom. Then take one or two close-ups of the worst bits.
  • Hold the phone level. Turn on the grid lines in your camera settings, and keep verticals straight. Wonky photos look careless.
  • Shoot landscape for rooms and buildings. It suits websites and Google better. Take a portrait one as well if you post a lot on Instagram or Facebook stories.

3. The during shot: show the work customers never see

A lot of the skill in a job ends up hidden. The membrane under the slates, the new joists, the cable runs before the plaster goes on, the flue route, the drainage under a patio. These are the photos that separate careful firms from quick ones, and hardly anybody takes them.

One or two "during" photos per job is enough. Pick the stage that shows you did it properly. For a landscaper that might be the compacted sub-base before the slabs. For an electrician, a neatly dressed consumer unit before the cover goes on. For a pest control firm, proofing work around a pipe entry.

TRY THIS:

Make three photos part of every job, like checking your tools: one before you start, one of the hidden work, and one from the same spot when you finish. Set a recurring phone reminder for the first week until it sticks. It takes less than two minutes a job.

4. The after shot: same spot, best light, tidy site

  • Go back to your before spot. Same angle, same distance. That’s what makes a pair work.
  • Clear up first. Move the ladders, tools, bags and offcuts out of frame. Wipe down surfaces. Thirty seconds of tidying makes a huge difference.
  • Wipe the lens. A phone that lives in a work trouser pocket is often the reason a photo looks hazy.
  • Use the light you’ve got. A bright, overcast Pennine day actually gives soft, even light with no harsh shadows. Avoid shooting straight into the sun. Indoors, turn the lights on and open the blinds.
  • Don’t over-edit. A little brightening is fine. Heavy filters make work look fake, and Google’s own photo guidelines ask for images that are in focus, well lit and represent reality, without significant alterations or excessive filters.

5. A shot list for your trade

Every trade has a few photos that do the heavy lifting. Some ideas:

  • Roofers: ridge and valley close-ups, leadwork, chimney before and after, the full roofline from the street. Only take photos from somewhere it’s safe to stand.
  • Heating engineers: the old boiler, the new installation with tidy pipework, the controls, the flue outside.
  • Electricians: old and new consumer units, outdoor lighting at dusk, EV chargers fitted neatly to stone walls.
  • Builders: the shell, the steel going in, the finished room, and how well a new extension ties into the old stonework.
  • Landscapers: wide shots of the whole garden, plus close-ups of paving joints, walling and planting.
  • Cleaners: the before and after of a washroom, kitchen or carpet, with nothing that identifies the client unless they’ve agreed.

Don’t forget yourself. One friendly photo of you or your team, and one of the van, helps people feel they know who’s turning up.

6. Keep customers’ privacy and trust

A photo of someone’s home is personal. Handle it with care and you’ll rarely have a problem.

  • Ask permission. A quick "Do you mind if I take a few photos of the work for my website? Nothing that shows your house number" is all it takes. Most people say yes.
  • Keep people out of shot, especially children. If someone can be identified, their image is likely to be personal information, so follow the ICO’s approach to personal data and don’t use it without clear agreement.
  • Hide the details. Avoid house numbers, car number plates, post, family photos, alarm panels and key safes.
  • Be vague about exact locations. "A stone terrace in Brighouse" is plenty. Never post an address.
WATCH OUT:

Only show your own work, and only show it honestly. Since 2011 the ASA’s remit has covered marketing claims on businesses’ own websites and social media pages, and its advice on before and after photos says they must be genuine and not exaggerate what can be achieved. Never use another firm’s photos, stock images presented as your jobs, or edits that hide flaws.

7. Store them so you can actually find them

Good photos are no use if they’re lost among thousands of pictures of receipts and the dog. A simple system is enough:

  1. Make an album on your phone for each job, named with the town and job, such as "Ossett boiler swap".
  2. Once a week, move the best three or four into a shared folder, so they’re backed up and someone else can use them.
  3. Add one line about each job while you remember: what the problem was, what you did, and anything the customer was pleased about.

That one line is gold. It turns a photo into a short project write-up for your website or a Google post.

8. Put them to work

Once you have a steady flow of photos, use each one in several places:

Your checklist for this week

  1. Turn on grid lines in your phone’s camera settings.
  2. On your next job, take a before, a during and an after from the same spot.
  3. Ask the customer’s permission, and keep house numbers and people out of shot.
  4. Make an album named with the town and job.
  5. Upload your three best recent job photos to your Google Business Profile.
  6. Delete any stock photos that pretend to be your work.

On the Driving Sales Locally monthly plan, you send the photos and a line or two about each job, and we turn them into Google posts, project write-ups and website updates. It’s £225 a month with the website included. Book a free call if you’d like to see how it works.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need a proper camera for job photos?

No. A modern phone is fine. Clean the lens, turn on the grid lines, hold it level and take the before and after from the same spot. Good light and a tidy site matter far more than the camera.

Do I need a customer’s permission to photograph their home?

It’s good practice to ask every time, and most people say yes. Keep people, house numbers, car number plates and anything personal out of shot, and never post an address. If someone can be identified in a photo, treat it as personal information.

Can I edit my before and after photos?

Light brightening or straightening is fine, but don’t use heavy filters or edits that hide flaws. Google asks for photos that represent reality, and the ASA’s advice says before and after images must be genuine and not exaggerate results.

Where should I use my job photos?

On your Google Business Profile, on the matching service page of your website, in short project write-ups and on social media. One good job can provide material for all four.

Written by Jeremy Dent

Principal for West Yorkshire · Driving Sales Locally

Jeremy is based in Huddersfield and has a background in corporate communications and marketing. He works with small businesses across Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale and Wakefield, looking after their websites, Google profiles and reviews. More about Jeremy.