A simple photo and video checklist for home service businesses
You don't need to become a content creator.
If you own a home service business, you're already surrounded by things worth showing people. The problem is that most of it never gets photographed.
Then the job is finished, you leave, and suddenly you're trying to figure out what to post with one picture of the final result.
You don't need professional photography or a fancy camera. Your phone is enough.
You just need to get in the habit of documenting a few things while you're already on the job.
You don't need every photo on this list every time. Even getting 4 to 6 of them gives you a lot more to work with later.
Before you touch anything, take the picture.
Show what the customer called you about.
Take one photo from far enough back that someone can understand what they're looking at. Then grab a closer photo if there's an important detail.
The before photo gives you the beginning of the story.
Show people what you found.
Sometimes the most interesting part of a job isn't the finished project. It's why the work needed to be done in the first place.
Photograph things like:
What would I explain to the homeowner about this?
If there's something worth explaining, there's probably something worth documenting.
Show the people behind the business actually doing what they do.
Hand your phone to someone for 10 seconds or grab a quick photo of your team while the work is happening.
It doesn't need to be posed. Actually, it's usually better if it isn't.
People want to see the people doing the work, not only the finished project after everyone has disappeared.
Don't jump straight from before to after. Get something from the middle.
Depending on the trade, that could be:
Progress photos help people understand how much actually goes into the finished result.
What did you do on this job that the customer might not know to look for? Take a picture of it.
That might be:
This is the stuff that shows people how you work, not just what you sell.
You did the work. Make sure you actually document it.
Take more than one finished photo.
You may never be back at this job again. Spend another 30 seconds getting a few options before you leave.
Before you leave, get in one photo.
Stand next to the finished project. Have someone on your crew take it. Get a photo with the team. Whatever feels natural.
It doesn't need to look like a professional photoshoot.
A finished project photo shows people what your company did. A photo with you in it gives them a person to associate with the work.
If you have employees or a crew, don't forget about them.
Over time, try to capture:
You don't need a team photo on every job.
The goal is simply to build up a library of real people doing real work.
If a customer is comfortable being included, you may also capture:
Always get permission before photographing, recording or publicly sharing a customer. Nobody should ever feel pressured to take part.
You don't have to talk to the camera to get useful video.
Grab 3 to 5 short clips, around 5 to 10 seconds each:
Hold your phone steady, avoid unnecessary zooming and let the action happen in front of the camera.
That's enough to give you useful video material without turning the job into a production.
Forget the whole checklist and get these five things:
What did you start with?
What were you fixing, changing or solving?
Get one shot of the work happening.
Get yourself or someone from your team in the frame.
Show the finished result.
Before. Problem. Process. People. After.
If you make those five things a habit, you'll already leave your jobs with a much better library of real content to work with.
Take a quick look before sharing anything publicly:
Don't overthink it.
Your photos don't need to look like they came from a magazine. Real photos of real work and real people can be far more useful than trying to make everything look perfect.
You don't need to constantly invent things to post.
You're solving problems, answering questions, building things, fixing things and helping customers every day.
Start documenting more of it.
The next time you pull up to a job, remember:
Before. Problem. Process. People. After.
I'm creating a simple one page version of this checklist that contractors can save to their phone and pull up while they're on a job.
One page downloadable checklist coming soon.
You handle the work. I can help turn what's happening inside your business into consistent social media content that helps people get to know who you are and what you do.
