Tips for using your smart phone to take before and after photos to showcase your work and improve your marketing.

1. Creating Beautiful
Before and After Photos

2. 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.

3. Here are some tips to taking photos
using just a smart phone.
More details on how to
take beautiful photos with
your phone.

4. 1. Fill the Frame with What You Like

5. Fill the frame with as much of your
intended subject as possible (those
perfect stripes on the lawn, or a
recently vacuumed bedroom)

6. 2. Landscape vs. Portrait Mode
landscape
portrait

7. Most of the time you will take photos in
landscape mode—such as a big lawn.

8. 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.

9. 3. Blurry pictures?
• If your photos are blurry, your phone is
probably moving too much.

10. Hold the phone with both hands. Keep
your elbows tucked in against your
body.

11. 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.

12. 4. Lighting is Everything

13. Too little lighting, and your shots are
going to be muddy, dark, and
unfocused.

14. 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.

15. 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

16. For indoor photography you need as much
light as possible. Open all the windows and
turn on ALL the lights.

17. 5. Use the Natural Lines

18. 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.

19. Our eyes are
trained to
naturally
follow lines.

20. For residential cleaners—long hallways
are great for putting interesting lines
into your pictures.

21. 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!

22. 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

23. Try to fit different elements into
the “thirds” of your shot.

24. 7. Make your Images Pop with
Contrast
• Big vs. Small
• Bright vs. Dark
• Background vs. Foreground
• Color vs. Color

25. If taking a
picture of a
lush, green
lawn, try to get
a burst of white
flowers in
your shot.

26. If you want a
picture of those
huge, spotless
windows, put a
small vase in the
foreground to
give it
perspective.

27. Contrast elements make your images
stand out.

28. 8. Change Your Focus
• Tap on your
screen to focus
on different
parts of the
image

29. This change in focus can emphasize other
aspects of your work, like that perfect trim
on the sidewalk, or those immaculately
squared bushes.

30. Whether you’re in Lawn Care, or
Residential Cleaning, before and after
pictures are a necessary part of the job.
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31. Use them for Marketing (on door hangers,
your website), or in case a client has a
problem with your work.
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32. Using the Service
Autopilot mobile app,
you can send the
photos to the office
immediately!
Learn more at
serviceautopilot.com