Photographing car damage for an estimate
An estimate can start on a phone. A customer sends a few photos, we look at them, and we reply with what the repair involves. Good photos make that estimate closer to the final bill. Poor photos mean we have to guess, and a guess on a body repair is usually low. Here is how to take the six that help most.
Start wide. Stand three or four steps back from the corner of the car where the damage is, so the photo shows the whole side or the whole end. That one picture tells us where the damage sits on the car and whether the panels around it line up. Gaps that are wider on one side than the other often mean something behind the panel moved.
Then get closer. Take one photo from about an arm's length away, straight on to the damage, and a second one from an angle. A dent that is invisible straight on shows up clearly when the light rakes across it at a low angle. Scratches are the opposite: they show best straight on.
Light matters more than the camera. Overcast daylight is ideal. Direct sun makes glare that hides dents, and a dark parking garage makes everything look like a shadow. If you can only shoot at night, park under a street light and turn off the flash, because a flash flattens the panel and hides the shape of a dent.
Show us what is around the damage, not only the damage itself. If the bumper is pushed in, take a photo that includes the headlight and the fender next to it. If a door is creased, include the handle and the mirror. Parts next to the damage are often scuffed or cracked too, and they belong in the estimate.
If anything looks bent underneath, crouch down and take one photo under the bumper or behind the wheel. A hanging splash shield or a wheel that sits at an odd angle can mean the repair is bigger than the outside suggests, and it is better for everyone to know that before the car is booked in.
Leave some things out of the frame. You do not need to photograph your licence plate, your driver's licence, your insurance slip or the inside of the car. Those details come later, if they are needed at all. Photos of the damage are all an estimate needs, and keeping personal information out of them is simply good practice.
Six photos are usually enough: one wide, two close, one angled, one of the parts around the damage, and one underneath if anything looks out of place. Our estimate form takes up to six, and it works on a phone, so you can send them from the parking lot. If you cannot take photos at all, send the form anyway and we will call you to talk it through.