A good install photo set tells a story in twelve frames: where the old equipment sat, what condition it was in, the key steps of the work, and the tidy result. Most of those frames take seconds, and they fit into pauses that already happen on every job. This guide lists the frames in order, explains why each one earns its place, and shows how to adapt the list for boilers, heat pumps, ductless systems and maintenance visits.
It assumes the homeowner has already said yes to photos. If your team does not ask yet, start with our consent and privacy workflow and the consent guide before using this list.
Before you take a single photo
The answer is three phone settings and one habit. Get these right once, and every photo afterwards is easier to use.
- Turn off location tagging in the camera app's settings, or make sure your upload process removes it. A published photo with GPS data embedded can reveal a customer's address.
- Use the main camera, not the ultra-wide. Ultra-wide lenses bend straight lines, making ductwork and venting look warped.
- Clean the lens. A thumb smudge is the single most common reason a photo set gets rejected. A wipe on a clean shirt takes two seconds.
- The habit: clear the frame. Move the tool bag, the empty box and the shop vac before you shoot.
Shoot in landscape for website use. A square crop for Google can be taken later from a landscape original, but a vertical photo cannot be widened.
The twelve frames for a typical install
Each frame has a job. Take them in this order and the set will practically caption itself.
Arrival
- The space, wide. Stand in the doorway of the mechanical room and capture the old equipment in context. Keep the frame to the room; avoid hallways, laundry and anything personal.
- The old unit, straight on. Chest height, whole unit in frame, centred. This is the "before" half of your gallery pair, so remember where you stood.
- The problem. Whatever explains why you are there: rust at the base, a cracked heat exchanger cover, scorch marks, water on the floor, an undersized flue. One clear close-up.
- The nameplate. Internal use only. It records model, serial and age for the job file.
During the work
- Removal. The old unit disconnected or halfway out. This frame shows the scale of the job, which homeowners rarely see.
- Preparation. New pad, new base, cleaned floor, or new supply plenum before the unit goes in.
- A craft detail. The step your best technicians are proud of: clean brazed joints, neatly supported venting, a properly sloped condensate line, labelled wiring.
- The new unit going in. Positioned but not finished, ideally with the technician's branded sleeve or gloved hands in frame, if they agreed to appear.
Finish
- The new unit, straight on. From the same spot as frame 2. Same height, same distance. This is the "after" half of the pair.
- The space, wide. From the same doorway as frame 1, after clean-up. This frame proves you leave a home tidy.
- Commissioning. A gauge, combustion analyser or thermostat screen showing the system running. Internal or public depending on what it shows; avoid screens that display the household's name or Wi-Fi network.
- The exterior. Venting termination, outdoor unit, or line set entry on the outside wall, framed tightly enough that the house number and street are not visible.
Frames 2, 9 and 10 are the minimum. If a technician only manages three photos on a busy day, those are the three.
Variations by job type
The twelve frames stay the same in spirit, but the details shift by equipment.
Boilers and combi boilers
- Frame 3 often shows a corroded relief valve, an old cast-iron sectional, or near-boiling discharge evidence.
- Frame 7 is the near-boiler piping: primary-secondary layout, low-loss header or neatly insulated runs.
- Add a frame of the wall-hung unit with clearances visible, which makes the space saving obvious next to an old floor-standing boiler.
Heat pumps
- Frame 12 matters most. Photograph the outdoor unit on its stand or wall brackets, with snow clearance visible if you have it. In much of Canada, a heat pump in snow is the most persuasive photo you can publish.
- Add a frame of the line set cover running up the wall, because homeowners worry about how it will look.
- For dual-fuel installs, take one frame showing both the heat pump coil and the furnace, so the system is clear.
Ductless mini-splits
- Frame 2 becomes the empty wall, or the baseboard heater or window unit being replaced.
- Frame 9 is the indoor head, level and centred, with the room kept out of frame except for the wall.
- Add an outdoor frame showing the condensate route.
Water heaters
- Frame 3 is usually the leak or the rust line at the base.
- Frame 7 shows the expansion tank, venting or the new drain pan.
- Keep the frame tight: water heaters often sit next to laundry and storage.
Maintenance visits
Maintenance does not need twelve frames. Three is enough: the system before cleaning, the filter or burner you replaced or cleaned, and the system afterwards. These sets are ideal for Google profile posts in early autumn, when homeowners start thinking about heating.
Naming, filing and selection
A photo nobody can find is a photo you did not take. Use one shared folder or your field-service app, and name files with a pattern like:
2026-11-03_saskatoon_boiler-replacement_job5120_09.jpg
The date sorts the folder, the city helps with local pages, the job type helps with galleries, the job number links back to the consent record, and the frame number tells the office what each image is.
Once a week, someone reviews the new sets and picks three to five for publishing. The selection test is short:
- Is the consent recorded for this job?
- Is anything personal in frame, including reflections?
- Are frames 2 and 9 taken from the same spot?
- Is the image sharp, level and well lit?
- Would Google's standard that profile photos represent reality be met without heavy editing?
Worked example: how many sets do you need?
Suppose you run three technicians doing two installs a day each, four days a week, plus maintenance on the fifth day. That is about 24 installs a week, or roughly 1,100 a year after holidays.
If one in four installs ends with a homeowner yes and a clean space, you have about 275 publishable install sets a year. Your website gallery needs perhaps four new projects a month, which is 48 a year, and your Google profile needs two or three photos a week. You can afford to publish only the clearest, most typical work and keep the rest as internal records.
Where these photos go next
Frames 2, 9 and 10 become before-and-after gallery pages. Frames 8, 11 and 12 are strong candidates for your Google Business Profile. Frames 4 and the internal half of 11 stay in the job file.
If you want this list adapted to your exact job mix and tools, that is the core of our job-site photo system. Call, text or email with a few recent photo sets and we will mark them against the twelve frames.
Frequently asked questions
Do technicians need a better camera than their phone?
No. Any phone from the last few years is enough for website and Google use. Light, framing and a clean frame matter far more than the camera.
How long does the full shot list take?
About three minutes spread across the job, because most frames are taken at moments when the technician has paused anyway.
Should we shoot video too?
A ten-second walk-around of the finished install is useful for social posts. Keep it to the equipment and follow the same consent and do-not-shoot rules as photos.
What do we do with the internal frames?
Nameplates, readings and wiring photos belong in the job record for warranty and service history. Tag them internal so they never get published by accident.