creating beautiful before and after photos
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Creating Beautiful Before and After Photos
You know you do awesome work, but you want to let your prospective customers know.
The easiest way to show this is through before and after photos.
Here are some tips to taking photos using just a smart phone.
More details on how to take beautiful photos with your phone.
1. Fill the Frame with What You Like
Fill the frame with as much of your intended subject as possible (those
perfect stripes on the lawn, or a recently vacuumed bedroom)
2. Landscape vs. Portrait Mode
landscape
portrait
Most of the time you will take photos in landscape mode—such as a big lawn.
But, if you need a tall, long shot (maybe you just installed a really
nice pool), you’ll want to
take it in portrait mode.
3. Blurry pictures?
• If your photos are blurry, your phone is probably moving too much.
Hold the phone with both hands. Keep your elbows tucked in against your body.
If you’re trying to snap a photo of your ride-along mowers zipping across the lawn, put your phone in ‘sports’ mode or ‘action’ mode.
4. Lighting is Everything
Too little lighting, and your shots are going to be muddy, dark, and unfocused.
Too much lighting, and your shots will look overly-dramatic. You’ll get all of these dark shadows, and frequently your subject will
be bathed in darkness.
The best lighting for outdoor photography:
• Morning or late afternoon, when the sun is not too high in the sky
• Partially cloudy or in the shade
• If the sun is high overhead, face AWAY from the sun
For indoor photography you need as much light as possible. Open all the windows and
turn on ALL the lights.
5. Use the Natural Lines
See those perfect stripes running down the lawn?
Compose your picture so that it follows along those lines.
How to get your techs and crews to increase their quality level.
Our eyes are trained to naturally
follow lines.
For residential cleaners—long hallways are great for putting interesting lines
into your pictures.
6. Use the Rule of Thirds• Think of your camera’s
screen as a 3 x 3 grid.
• Easy mode: most smart phones have a setting that overlays your screen with a grid. Use it!
Examples for using the rule of thirds:
• Put the horizon in the bottom or top third of your shot.
• Put that perfect flower on the right or the left instead of in the center.
• If you’re shooting a tree line, maybe you want to line it up so there’s a tree in each third
Try to fit different elements into the “thirds” of your shot.
7. Make your Images Pop with Contrast
• Big vs. Small• Bright vs. Dark• Background vs. Foreground• Color vs. Color
If taking a picture of a lush, green
lawn, try to get a burst of white
flowers in your shot.
If you want a picture of
those huge, spotless
windows, put a small vase in
the foreground to give it
perspective.
Contrast elements make your images stand out.
8. Change Your Focus
• Tap on your screen to focus on different parts of the image
This change in focus can emphasize other aspects of your work, like that perfect trim
on the sidewalk, or those immaculately squared bushes.
Whether you’re in Lawn Care, or Residential Cleaning, before and after
pictures are a necessary part of the job.
What to do if your marketing isn’t working!
Use them for Marketing (on door hangers, your website), or in case a client has a
problem with your work.
How unreported damages can be costing you clients.
Using the Service Autopilot
mobile app, you can send the photos to the
office immediately!
Learn more at serviceautopilot.com