When a contractor quotes a repair, the photos matter. They show the customer what you saw, and they protect you later if someone asks what the wall looked like before you started. But phone photos create two practical problems: they are huge, and they often contain more than you meant to share.
Take photos that support the quote
- One wide shot, then close-ups. The wide shot shows where the problem is. The close-up shows what it is.
- Put something in the frame for scale, like a tape measure or a hand.
- Shoot the same angle before and after so the change is obvious.
- Keep the number small. Six clear photos beat forty similar ones.
Shrink them before sending
A modern phone photo is often several MB. Four of them can bounce an email or choke a text message on a weak connection. Resizing to a width of around 1600 pixels keeps them readable on a phone and brings each one down to a few hundred KB. Most phones and free desktop tools can do this, and the quote tool you use should do it for you.
Check what is in the picture
- Photos can carry location data in their metadata. Strip it if you share outside the job.
- Look for the customer's mail, documents, family photos and screens in the background.
- Keep job photos private to the job. A public link to an image is a link anyone can forward.
Tie the photos to the estimate
The best place for the photos is the estimate itself, so the customer approves the work with the evidence next to the price. One record per job also means you can find the pictures again when a change order comes up.
I build JobNeatly, which lets you attach resized private photos to an estimate and send it as a link the customer can sign from their phone. Estimates are free; the first three approvals are free, then $9 per approval or $19 a month. It does not send automatic reminders. (Disclosure: I'm the maker.)
What do you photograph that most people forget?
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