3 Camera Shots Every Home Inspector Should Know

October 4, 2018 - 7 Comments

Photos are a huge part of all modern home inspection reports. Cameras are the most used tools we have. Photos do a great job telling the story of the home inspection. If they are good photos. Bad photos don’t tell the story because they can even cause confusion and initiate more questions.

After helping thousands of home inspectors I have seen a few trends and learned a few tricks myself.

Overview Shot

It is really important to document what we were dealing with at the time of the inspection. That is where overview photos come in super handy. The most important thing to remember is that an overview photo is not meant to show detail. They show an overview of the big picture.

When you look at a report from 5 years back you will know exactly what you were dealing with. If you get a call back almost always your overview photos will explain why something was not visible.

We take overview photos of the exterior of the home, basements, crawlspaces, attics, roof, and even garages. We get as far back as we can get to capture as much as possible in each photo. Sometimes we can get this in two shots. Other times it may be 4 or even 6 photos. More than 6 photos? Maybe you need to break it up into a few comments or items.

Closeup Shot

When you need to show details the closeup is you go to camera shot. Just remember to get close, really close. It seems like most home inspectors do not want to get close enough.

If you don’t get your closeup close enough you will be cropping photos or the reader will need to zoom in. So make sure what you want them to see is what makes up to whole photo.

Closeup enough that you can read the dataplate

Not closeup enough to read anything

Orientation Shot

While the closeup shows the details of what you are reporting the reader still needs to know where the detail is located. That is where the orientation photo comes in.

For years I meticulously described exactly where the detail was located with text of my comment. Then I realized a photo from farther away with an arrow could do a much better job.

Because an orientation photo with a closeup photo can tell the reader exactly where and what I was reporting, no long text description was needed. The photos could tell the story.

How to Use These Shots

These are the basics and we use them to make our reports simple to read and easy to understand. Maybe you could try to use them as well. Photos show what so many home inspectors struggle to describe.

Use these three shots in all kinds of combinations. Photos don’t just need to be of things that are issues. Photos are also great to show information and conditions too.

Our cameras are our most used and most valuable tool. Keep practicing and getting better. Your reports will show it.

3 Ways to Get Home Inspection Photos onto your iPad

March 26, 2016 - 6 Comments

Using an iPhone to take your home inspection photos and sharing via your iCloud Photo Library may be the easiest way to view photos on an iPad but not everyone likes using an iPhone.

A number of Tap Inspect’s home inspectors that either have an Android phone or still like to use a point and shoot camera or maybe even a high end DLSR. We are big believers in using the best tools for the job and the best tool is usually down to the preference of the person using it. Here are three ways that some of our users have told us about. Let us know if you have more.

Wifi Enabled Camera

Over the past few years many manufacturers have released point and shoot cameras with built in WiFi to let you share photos right from the camera. So what is the general consensus?

These camera are worth a look if you want a higher quality home inspection photo than you can typically get with your smartphone. Beware though. They can be pretty tricky to get setup right.

Once you do get them setup they work like a champ. Just install the camera’s companion app on your iPad . Then every photo you take is wirelessly sent from the camera for you to view on your iPad or add to a Tap Inspect report.

Fair warning. If setting up a wireless router forces you to call the Geek Squad these devices may be more trouble than they are worth.

Wifi Memory Card

Much like a Wifi camera there are WiFi enabled memory cards like the EyeFi memory card that can give your non-Wifi camera, Wifi connectivity.

Once you insert this gizmo into your camera and get it setup it works just like Wifi cameras. Each photo you take is wirelessly sent to a companion app you install on your iPad.

This is little less expensive than buying a new Wifi camera so that can be a plus. The downsides are that these things can burn through batteries. In my experience, I got about half the life from my batteries compared to using a non-wifi enabled memory card. The other downside is that, just like the wifi cameras, these devices can be a little tough to get setup or to troubleshoot if anything goes wrong.

Apple’s SD Card Connector

If you are looking for the simplest, most reliable method to transfer home inspection photos from a camera or even your Android phone, it is hard to beat the Apple Lightning to SD Card Camera Reader.

Just remove the SD card, plug it into this device, then plug the device into your iPad. The Photos app will launch and allow you to import all the photos on the card or select just the photos you want.

The biggest down side is that you have to remove the card from your camera or Android phone first. This is fine if you want to import all your photos at once. If you want to add and view photos as you take them the Wifi options may be better.

So there you are, three ways to get home inspection photos onto your iPad. There is no best way but there is probably the best way for you.

Markup Home Inspection Photos In Tap Inspect

February 29, 2016 - 5 Comments

Our most requested feature has been, hands down, the ability to add circles or arrows to a home inspection photo inside of the Tap Inspect iPhone and iPad applications. I have to admit, up to a little while ago I just did not understand what all the fuss was about. Now, I have to say I am sold and one of the believers.

There is just no substitute to being able to add an arrow to show the crack your are talking about or drawing a circle to highlight a stain. I can finally see how handy a feature like this can be and how much it can help clarify what I am trying to explain.

Starting with version 5 of Tap Inspect an Edit button has been added to the Photo Viewer and you can markup your home inspection photos inside the app. No more using another 3rd party app like Skitch or dealing with the extra fuss.

Two of the coolest features about the new Photo Markups are that it works across all the devices you have Tap Inspect installed on and it also saves the original, unmarked, photo.

That means you can take and add a home inspection photo from your iPhone and when it syncs over to your iPad you can add an arrow or circle or two. Then when it syncs back to your iPhone and you are still not satisfied you can change or remove those markups and add more.

It also means that you can always get the original unmarked home inspection photo from the Extract Photos screen of the app or from your web account if you need to use it somewhere else.

As a home inspector that has never used markups like this before, it has made my job even easier.

Give it a spin, markup some home inspection photos and let us know how it works for you.

How Home Inspectors can “Get Your Infrared On” with the Tap Inspect app

November 3, 2015 - 1 Comment

One of the more common questions we get from home inspectors is how to get infrared photos into a Tap Inspect report. The short answer is: Once you infrared image is on your device’s camera roll, you insert it just like any other photo. The next question is usually: How do you get them onto your camera roll?

When we started Tap Inspect, a home inspector’s only choice was to manually copy the photos. Since then it has gotten to be a no brainer. Now, it all depends on how old your equipment is and how much trouble you are willing to put up with.

Take a picture of the the camera with your device

This is the easiest, quickest method and seems to work for most people. Just hold your thermal camera up and take a photo of the screen with the object in the background (Just like the image above). While you do not get the resolution or the detail of the actual home inspection photo, it does do a good job helping make the point you are trying to make and does it quickly.

Use the FLIR One for iOS

The Flir One is an accessory that plugs into the lightning port on your iPhone or iPad. For about $250 you get a a FLIR camera, software and you get the images right on your device. Go to FLIR and reserve one. They seem to be going fast.

Upgrade to a Wifi or Bluetooth device

If you are a heavy FLIR user, use lots of thermal images, and need the full resolution you will likely want something like the FLIR E Series. These connect wirelessly to your mobile device and transfer the images for you. The will set you back several thousand but if thermal imaging is your read and butter its just a cost of doing business as a home inspector.

Manually copy images onto your device

If you have an older infrared camera, a lower end camera, and are unwilling to update to newer technology this may be your best choice. Take out the SD card and use a camera connector kit to copy the images from the SD card to your device. If you have a Micro SD card in your thermal camera, you may need one of these micro to SD adapters too.

This is basically the same process you must follow if you want to copy photos from an older point and shoot digital camera to your iPhone or iPad. Its not pretty but it works if you are on a budget.

Tag: photos