The crew finishes a bathroom. You say, "Take a picture before we pack up." The photo is dim, the tile line leans, and a ladder and a bucket sit in the corner.
It joins hundreds like it in the camera roll. When a homeowner asks to see your work, you've got nothing to send. Nobody ever told you what a useful one looks like.
What does Google ask for in a Business Profile photo?
The file rules are short: JPG or PNG, between 10 KB and 5 MB, with 720 by 720 pixels recommended.[1] The quality rule is one line: in focus, well lit, and not heavily edited or filtered.[1][2]
Google says it may swap a low-quality cover photo for one someone else uploaded.[1] It may also remove low-quality photos, and you can't appeal that.[3] Our 20-minute profile check covers the rest of the profile. The local SEO checklist for home service companies puts photos in the context of everything else.
What makes a job photo worth posting?
Your own finished work, in daylight, from far enough back that the whole job fits. A review that says "great job" doesn't show a straight tile line. A photo does. Start with the jobs you want more of.
Then the detail a tradesperson would check and a homeowner can't judge. An electrician in Columbus shows a labeled panel. A plumber in Tampa shows the new connections on a water heater.
And the same corner before and after, from the same spot. On your profile, upload the two as separate photos, because Google's tips say to avoid collages and text added on top.[3] Save the side-by-side collage for your website.
Which photos should you take on every job?
Wide, medium, detail and the crew at work, about a minute per job.
Five photos for a bathroom remodel in Round Rock
- Before, wide: from the doorway at chest height. Remember where you stood.
- During: the crew at work, from behind or hands only, unless they've said yes.
- After, wide: the same doorway, blinds open, every light on, ladder and bucket gone.
- After, medium: the shower wall, straight on.
- After, detail: the tile line where the wall meets the tub, and the new valve trim.
Illustrative example
Shoot a few of each and delete the extras before you leave the driveway.
How do you get a decent photo out of a phone?
Wipe the lens, hold the phone sideways and turn the lights on. A wide photo can be cropped to a square later, but a tall one can't be widened. Turn on the camera's grid so the tile line doesn't lean.
Open the blinds, skip the flash, and move the ladder, bucket and cord. I'd skip filters. Google's tips say straightening a tilt or brightening a dark room can help, and to avoid heavy filters and very dark or rotated shots.[3]
When do you ask before posting a photo?
Whenever a customer's home, family or crew is in the frame. Google's content policy covers the photos you add to your profile, and it says not to post another person's face or name without consent.[4][5] A house isn't a face, but I'd ask anyway. A quick text works, and it leaves a record.
Keep house numbers, license plates, children and family photos on the wall out of the frame. If you hide your home address on Google, keep your own front door out too. If someone asks you to take a photo down, do it. You can delete any photo you added from your profile.[1]
Where do the photos go once you have them?
Your Google profile first, then the website page about that kind of job. I'd put one clear photo next to the words that describe it, not a gallery nobody opens. For a siding or window company, a page per finished job with the town and the scope does the same work; what homeowners can verify about you shows how. Google uses a page's text, captions included, to work out what an image shows.[6]
Name the file for what it shows, like water-heater-replacement.jpg and not IMG_4021.jpg. Google says filenames give only light clues. Alt text, the short description a screen reader reads aloud, matters more. Describe what's in the picture, and don't stuff it with keywords.[6]
With the homeowner's OK, attach two photos of a similar job to every estimate.
What a good photo won't do
It won't replace reviews. In one 2026 survey of US consumers, people did look at photos of a business's work while researching. But the best photos landed near the bottom of what decided whom they contacted, behind complete information, reviews and pricing.[7]
That's a reason not to spend a week on photos. Here's how to ask for Google reviews.
Google lists photos among its local ranking tips but doesn't say how much they count, and you can't request or pay for a better ranking.[8]
When the photos are good and the phone's still quiet, the cause is somewhere else. Our local SEO audit checks your profile, listings and reviews, and our website clarity audit checks what a first-time visitor sees on your site.