Progress photos serve three purposes: showing progress to the owner, bank or buyers; evidence for billing and claims; and proof of the quality of work that will later be covered, such as rebar before a pour. Random photos from a foreman’s phone are rarely usable. Photos you can compare need a few simple rules.
Rules for taking photos
- Mark fixed photo points on the site plan, for example each block corner and each unit from the front. Photograph them every week from the same point, height and angle.
- Take one wide photo (the whole building) and a few detail photos (joints, rebar, dimensions).
- Include a small board or note in the photo: date, location, work item code.
- Photograph work that will be covered before it is covered: rebar and formwork before the pour, pipes before walls are closed, waterproofing before tiling.
- Turn on date and location in the phone camera, and never edit evidence photos.
File names and storage
| Part of the file name | Example |
|---|---|
| Date (year-month-day) | 2026-06-23 |
| Unit or location | C5-07 |
| Work item code | III-1 |
| Short description | besi-sloof |
| Sequence number | 01 |
| Result | 2026-06-23_C5-07_III-1_besi-sloof_01.jpg |
Store them in a folder per week (for example Week-08), with subfolders per unit or block. File names that sort by date make before-and-after photos easy to compare, and can be referred to directly from the weekly report or the MC.
Common mistakes
- Photos from a different angle every week, so progress does not show.
- No photos of covered work, so quality cannot be proved.
- Photos kept on the foreman’s phone and lost when the phone changes.
- Default camera file names (IMG_2041.jpg), so nothing can be found.
The full guide is in How to create a weekly construction schedule report in Google Sheets. It has a free template (Excel or Google Sheets) and a checker that reads your own workbook.
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When your workbook is complete, apply for a pilot: we help connect your project data to the Finance, Cost and Scheduler agents and review the first reports with you.
Send to melwani@komander.ai. Your workbook check result is included when there is one; the workbook itself is not sent.
Common questions
How do I photograph construction progress well?
From fixed points with the same angle and time every week, labelled with the date, location and work item code.
Which work must be photographed before it is covered?
Rebar and formwork before the pour, pipes and cables before walls are closed, and waterproofing before it is covered.
How should project photo files be named?
Date, location, work item code, description and sequence number, for example 2026-06-23_C5-07_III-1_besi-sloof_01.jpg.