How To Take Before & After Photos That Sell

If you’ve been following my work for a while, you know taking good before and after pictures of your work are VITAL if you’re serious about marketing your contracting business.

But what I’ve noticed is many contractors seem to struggle with identifying the difference between what “good or bad” actually is…

So today, I’m going to DEFINE what makes a before and after picture effective in terms of marketing your services to attract new clients.

Ready?

Okay… Here we go:

1) Always put the before picture on the left, and the after picture on the right. Some languages read right to left, but for the most part, your brain is trained to process information from left to right.

2) Put the words “before” on the left picture, and “after” on the right picture to make it even more clear for people to understand.

3) The “before” picture should always be darker than the “after” picture. If it’s the other way around (and I see this constantly) it takes away from the drama of the transformation. The lighting in your before picture should NEVER look better than the after picture.

4) Try your best to take the before and after picture in the same exact spot. If the after picture is taken at a different angle, it’s harder for people to see the difference. When you take the after photo, have the before shot handy, so you can compare before giving it the green light.

5) Remove any construction equipment (example: ladders, paint cans, tarps, cables, tools) from the after picture. Your goal is to make the after photo as visually appealing as possible. It should be the final vision that the homeowner has been dreaming of… unfortunately your tools aren’t included in that vision aha.

And those are the most common things I see.

Obviously it can be tough in terms of timing to follow this exactly, but before you take that after photo, take the extra 5-10mins to make it look as presentable as you can.

These before/after photos can be the difference between an ad that pulls like crazy, and a complete dud.

Cheers,

Matt

PS. If you’re a residential contractor looking for more qualified leads and a team to do all your marketing campaigns FOR you… Request your free strategy call today!