What to photograph on a job for your website

Real photos of your work outperform stock photography on a trade website, consistently and by a wide margin. You do not need a photographer. You need to remember to take a before shot, stand in the same place for the after, and shoot when the light is not directly overhead.

Why this matters more than the design

A customer looking at two trade websites cannot judge your workmanship from the layout. What they can judge is the photos. Stock imagery of a model in clean overalls is recognisable at a glance and it quietly signals that you had nothing real to show.

A slightly imperfect photo of an actual switchboard you actually tidied is worth more than a perfect stock image, every time.

The one habit that changes everything

Take the before shot. Almost nobody does, and it is the difference between a photo of a tidy job and a photo of a transformation. Stand somewhere you can stand again, take the shot before you start, and take the after from the same spot at the end.

Same position, same height, same orientation. That is the whole technique.

What to capture on a job

• Wide before. The whole area, showing the problem.
• Wide after. Same position, finished.
• A detail shot. The bit you are quietly proud of — the cable management, the joint, the edge.
• Something in progress. Work actually happening. These are the most convincing photos you will take and the ones most often forgotten.
• The van or a person, occasionally. A little humanity between the technical shots.

Getting them usable

• Light: avoid midday sun. Early morning or late afternoon is much kinder. Indoors, turn the lights on and open the blinds rather than using flash.
• Hold it level and steady. Landscape for wide shots, which suits how websites lay out.
• Tidy the frame. Move the coffee cup and the rubbish bag. Ten seconds, noticeably better photo.
• Get closer rather than zooming.
• Take more than you need. Storage is free; going back is not.

Permission

Ask before photographing inside someone's home, and ask again before publishing it. Most people say yes if you explain why. Keep faces, house numbers and anything identifying out of shots you intend to publish, unless the client has specifically agreed. On commercial sites, check whether there is a policy before you start.

What to do with them

Send them through as they are — we handle resizing, compression and format. Do not crop or filter them first; we would rather have the original. A folder per job, named by suburb and job type, makes it far easier to put the right photo on the right page later.

John Ocello

Founder, PC Madness Web Services, Midland WA