Photo report: what goes in, in what order, with a template

Updated November 6, 2026

Short answer: a photo report is a cover page, a photo list, and then the photos in a fixed order, each with a caption that says what it shows, where, and when. A folder of 60 images named IMG_4471.jpg is not a report. The reader has to open each one, guess the room, and hope the file date is right.

The order that works: cover (job or reference, address, date range, prepared by, company, scope and notes), numbered photo list, photos with captions, before/after pairs side by side, signature. Use 1 or 2 photos per page for a phone, 4 for print. The template at the end can be pasted into any document.

What is a photo report, and how is it different from a folder of images?

A folder of images is raw material. The order is whatever the phone decided, the dates live in file properties nobody opens, and nothing says which wall or which pallet you are looking at. A photo report is the same pictures arranged for one reader who has five minutes: every photo numbered, captioned and in sequence, with a cover that answers which job, which address, which dates.

The report is usually one PDF. The original files stay with you, untouched. The PDF is for reading; the originals are for checking.

What goes in, in what order?

The order is the same for an adjuster, a property manager, an inspector or a carrier. Only the captions change.

Section	What goes in	Common mistake
Cover	Job or reference number, full address, date range of the photos, prepared by, company, scope, notes	No reference number, so the reader cannot match the report to their file
Photo list	One line per photo: number, short description, date taken	Skipped entirely, so nobody knows a page is missing
Photos	Wide shot first, then close-ups; one caption each with what, where, when, and where the date came from	Close-ups with no wide shot, so the damage has no location
Before/after pairs	Same angle, same framing, side by side, both dates stated	Different angles, so the pair does not compare
Signature	Name, date signed, and a one-line statement of who took the photos	Left blank, so the report has no owner
Originals	Untouched files kept separately, offered on request	Screenshots or re-saved copies sent instead of originals

What should each caption say?

A caption has three parts, in order: what the photo shows, where, and when. Then add the thing most people leave out: where the date came from. "Phone clock" and "read from the photo file" are different claims, and the reader should not have to guess.

Example: Photo 7. Water stain under kitchen sink, left cabinet. 1240 NW 7th St, Unit 3. 2026-11-04 09:12, phone clock. Arrow added.

A stamp printed on the photo does the same job and stays with the image when the page is forwarded. Be honest about its limits: pixels and EXIF can be edited, so a stamp does not make a photo unchallengeable. It shows the date without opening file properties and says where that value came from. That is all, and it is more than a bare JPG offers.

How many photos per page?

On a phone, 4 per page shrinks each photo to a thumbnail and the captions need zooming. Use 1 or 2 per page for anything opened from an email. For a printed binder, 4 per page keeps the page count down and still shows detail on letter or A4 paper. Before/after pairs are 2 per page by definition. If you do not know, pick 2; it reads on both.

How do I name files and number pages?

Rename the originals first, so the list and file names agree. The Network of the National Library of Medicine's file-naming guidance says to use the ISO 8601 date format (YYYY-MM-DD or YYYYMMDD), to make sequences extendible with leading zeros (001, 002, 003), and to avoid spaces and special characters other than underscores and dashes.

So: 2026-11-04_1240NW7th_unit3_007_kitchen-sink-stain.jpg, not IMG_4471.jpg. Number every page as "Page 3 of 14", so a partial print is obvious. Photo numbers in the list, captions and file names should match.

What do readers check first?

Adjusters check date, address and context. FEMA's adjuster training for flood claims says photos must be adequately labeled, including the date taken, the room location and a description of the damage; that the adjuster should take as many photographs as necessary to depict the damage, including pre-existing damage; that it is just as important to photograph undamaged property; and that blurry photos or photos taken at night are not acceptable.

Property managers and tenants check the move-in versus move-out comparison. In California, AB 2801 (Chapter 280, Statutes of 2024) amended Civil Code section 1950.5 so that, for tenancies beginning on or after July 1, 2025, the landlord must photograph the unit immediately before or at the start of the tenancy; and from April 1, 2025, must photograph it after it is returned but before any repairs or cleaning charged against the deposit, and again after the work. If a deduction is made, those photos go out with the itemized statement. That is a before/after pairs section. Our guide on move-in inspection photos that hold up in a deposit dispute covers what to shoot.

Carriers check that the damage photo was taken at delivery, not later, with the label and pallet in the same frame. See why freight claim photos get rejected for the timing rules.

How do I build the report in 15 minutes?

Collect the originals into one folder. Copy, do not move.
Rename them. Date first, then address or job, then a sequence number, then a short description. Leading zeros. No spaces.
Fill the cover. Reference, address, date range, prepared by, company, scope, notes. If anything was drawn on or cropped, say so here.
Make the photo list. One line per file, in order. Wide shot before close-ups.
Place the photos and write captions. What, where, when, source of the date. Pair any before/after shots side by side.
Add page numbers and a signature line. "Page X of Y" on every page.
Export to PDF, keep the originals. Send the PDF, zip the originals. An app like Asof builds steps 3 to 7 from stamped photos on the phone, but the structure is the same in any word processor.

Which mistakes make a report unusable?

Photos without context. A close-up of a crack with no wide shot could be any wall in any building.

Cropped so no landmark is visible. Cropping out the door frame, the pallet label or the house number removes what ties the photo to the address.

Screenshots instead of originals. A screenshot is a new file made when you take it. Its date is that moment, not when the photo was taken, and the original EXIF is gone.

Missing originals. If the only copy is the compressed one inside a PDF, nothing can be checked against the file.

What does a finished report look like?

Download a sample report (PDF, 7 pages). It is a seven-photo roof inspection laid out the way this guide describes: a title page with the time range and a clock check, a photo list with map links, then two photos per page, each followed by its note, capture time, clock comparison, GPS position with accuracy and camera direction, address and where the address came from. Photo 5 shows how a photo is marked when the phone's clock was off. The house, address, names and times in the sample are invented.

The template

Paste this into any document and fill it in.

PHOTO REPORT

Job / reference:   ____________________
Address:           ____________________
Date range:        from ______ to ______
Prepared by:       ____________________
Company:           ____________________
Scope:             ____________________
Notes:             ____________________
                   (drawings or crops? say so here)
Originals:         kept, available on request

PHOTO LIST
No.  Description                          Date taken
001  ______________________________       __________
002  ______________________________       __________
003  ______________________________       __________

PHOTOS
Photo [No.]. [What it shows]. [Where: address, unit, room or spot].
[When: YYYY-MM-DD HH:MM]. Date from: [phone clock / photo file / typed].
Markings: [none / arrow added / circle added].

BEFORE / AFTER
Pair [No.]. [Spot]. Before: [date, source]. After: [date, source]. Same angle.

SIGNATURE
Photos taken by: ____________________
Signed:          ____________________   Date: __________
Page __ of __

Questions people ask

PDF or JPG?

Send one PDF as the report and keep the original JPG files for anyone who asks. A PDF keeps your order, captions and page numbers; a folder of JPGs does not.

How many photos should a photo report have?

As many as it takes to show the whole room or item, each problem up close, and the parts that are fine. FEMA adjuster guidance says as many as necessary to depict the damage, and that undamaged property matters just as much. Cut duplicates, not context shots.

Do I include the original photos with the report?

Keep them and say in the cover notes that they are available. Those who ask want the original file with its EXIF, not a screenshot or a re-saved copy. A ZIP next to the PDF is the simplest way to hand them over.

Can I add a photo to a report later?

Yes, but as a new version: new date on the cover and a line in the notes saying what was added and why. The added photo's caption states when it was taken and where that date came from, so nobody reads it as part of the first visit.