Estimating
How to photograph damage so the estimate holds up
Most bad photo estimates are bad photographs. One wide angle of the accident, then close-ups, taken in that order every time, is the difference between a number that survives review and one that gets argued.
Wide first, then close-ups
One wide angle of the whole accident, then close-ups of each damaged panel. The order matters because the wide frame establishes how far the damage runs and the close-ups establish what each panel needs. A close-up with no context is a photograph of a scratch on an unknown vehicle.
- Wide angle: step back until the whole accident is in frame
- Close-ups: right up to each damaged panel, filling the frame
- Close-ups: the crease, the tear, the break line
Stand further back than feels right
The instinct is to photograph the damage. The useful photograph is of the damage and the two panels either side of it. A fender that is creased at the rear edge is a fender job. A fender that is creased at the rear edge and sitting against the door is a fender, a door, and an alignment problem, and only the wider shot shows it.
Shoot the gaps
Panel gaps are where a hard hit announces itself. A hood that sits proud at one corner, a door that has gone tight at the top and open at the bottom, a bumper cover pulling away from the fender. Those tell you about structure, which is the part that is expensive and the part nobody can see in a close-up.
What ruins a shoot
Direct sun on a dark car, which blows out the highlight and hides the crease. Standing so close the lens distorts the panel. Shooting a wet car, because water fills a dent and flatters it. And photographing a car that is still on the truck at an angle nobody will ever see it from again.
The VIN is a photograph too
Scan it off the door jamb rather than typing it, and if the jamb is crushed or repainted, photograph the dash plate instead. Trim level changes the part number and the part number changes the price, sometimes by four figures on a European car. It is the cheapest thirty seconds in the whole job.
Before you ask
How many photographs is enough?
One is enough to get a first number. Four is enough to get one worth sending. More than about a dozen rarely improves the estimate and does slow the shoot down.
Does it matter what phone I use?
Not really. Every phone made in the last five years has more camera than this needs. Light and distance matter far more than the device.
What about damage I cannot see?
It stays invisible, and it is not in the estimate. Photographs cannot see behind a bumper cover. That is what teardown and the supplement are for, and an estimate that quietly guessed at hidden damage would be worse than one that did not.
The app walks you through this shot list
Open a new estimate on your iPhone and it asks for each shot in order: one wide angle of the whole accident, then close-ups of every damaged panel. Free for four estimates a month, no card.