Photo requirements that keep a work order from bouncing

A work order is not judged on the work. It is judged on whether the photographs prove the work. A crew can do a perfect job and still have the order returned because the set does not tell the story in the order a reviewer reads it.

The four states every job needs

• Identification — the property, so the reviewer knows this is the right address before anything else is assessed
• Before — the condition as found, wide enough to establish context, close enough to show the problem
• During — the work actually happening, which is what separates a completed job from a claimed one
• After — the same angle as the before shot, so the two can be compared without effort

Measurement shots

If you are bidding a quantity, photograph the quantity. A tape measure held against the trim, in the frame, legible. A measuring wheel on the lot. The debris pile with something of known size beside it. A number in a write-up that has a photograph behind it is very hard to decline.

What each work type demands

• Initial secure — every entry point, the lockbox installed and its placement in context, the key in the lock, the securing sticker close up and at distance
• Winterization — the water heater, the main shut-off, every toilet and trap treated, hose bibs, and the dated winterization tag on each fixture
• Debris removal — wide shots establishing total volume, per-area shots, and the load itself empty, half and full
• Grass and grounds — the growth height with a measure in frame, the full lot, and the cut result including edging and cleared hard surfaces
• Roof and exterior — the damage from the ground and from the roof where safe, plus the interior evidence if there is a leak

The mistakes that cost the most

• No identification shot, so nothing else in the set can be trusted to be the right property
• After photos only — proving a finished state but not that you were the one who produced it
• Damage photographed too close, with no wide shot to place it on the building
• A bid written for work with no photograph attached to that line at all

That last one is the most common and the most expensive. Every line you bid needs its own evidence. A general gallery of the property does not support a specific claim about a specific piece of work.