How to organise job photos so you can find them later

The short answer

File photos by job, not by date: one album for each customer and job, named so you’d find it in a year. Take before, during and after shots, especially of anything about to be covered up, add a word about what each one shows, and make sure they’re backed up somewhere other than your phone.

Why it’s worth two minutes

The question comes months later: what was there before you started, what’s behind the tiles, which model you fitted, what the customer chose. A photo you can find settles it in seconds. One lost in the camera roll is no help at all.

What to photograph

Before you start: the state you found it in, including any damage that was already there.
Anything about to be covered up: under floors, behind boards, inside walls and ceilings, under tiles.
Labels, serial numbers and data plates, so you’re not going back to read them.
The finished job, from where the customer will see it.
Anything you might be asked about later: a problem you pointed out, an extra they agreed.

File by job, not by date

Make one album for each job, named the same way every time: customer, street, what the job is. “Patel, Park Road, kitchen rewire” is still findable in three years; “Tuesday” isn’t.

On an iPhone: In the Photos app, albums are under Collections, and you can put albums in folders, such as one for each year. Apple’s guide to albums.
On Android: Google Photos makes albums the same way. Google’s guide to albums.

When the job’s done, the album is the record of it.

Say what each one shows

A photo of pipework means little in a year without a word: which room, what it shows, before or after. On an iPhone, a photo’s information has a caption field, and a search in Photos finds captions and text in photos, such as a serial number. Or keep a note on the job saying what its photos show.

From Apple Support: photo information and captions and searching for photos, checked 28 September 2026.

Back them up off your phone

A phone dropped in a bucket takes its photos with it, unless they’re somewhere else too. Check your photos are going somewhere else, and that there’s room.

On an iPhone: iCloud Photos stores your photos in iCloud and keeps them in step across your devices: a change on one is reflected on the others. Apple’s guide to iCloud Photos.
On Android: Google Photos backup saves your photos to your Google Account. Google’s guide to backup.

Their home, their photos

Photos of someone’s home are for the job. Ask before you use one anywhere else, such as on social media, and leave out anything that shows who lives there or where.

Sources

Each source was read on 28 September 2026.

How to organise job photos