The Plumbing & HVAC
Photoshoot Guide
How to get the right shot for your website
Learn professional photography techniques to capture images that build trust, showcase your brand, and convert website visitors into customers.
Why Great Photos Matter
Good photos of your team and trucks and even customer jobs are the pieces that bring everything together. They are what we refer to as the elements of conversion. How many times have you come to a website that seems bland and not very welcoming? For some businesses that may work, but for home services professionals like yourself, your website needs to portray trust.
You know the old saying, "people like to do business with someone they know, like, and trust." In today's digital world, your website is your company's first impression. This guide serves as a roadmap for getting the best photos for your website.
This is not a lesson in photography, but it is a reference for the types of photos we would like to use on your website. Along the way, you will see some tips on angles, lighting, and backgrounds, but for the most part, it's how to take the photos we need to make your website convert visitors into customers.
The Truck Shot
Showcasing Your Brand on Wheels
Basic Guidelines
- Shoot the entire van, bumper to bumper
- Take shots with a tech and without
- Try to shoot on a non-busy background
- Our designers will remove the background for a clean look
- Multiple angle shots always add a dramatic look
Pro Tip
A simple truck shot can be used in any situation. This is why it's important not to cut off parts of the truck. We can add your truck to any environment!
Truck Angles
Angles, Angles, Angles!
It helps to have multiple shots of your trucks. Getting creative with the position of trucks is always important. Avoid cutting the front, back, top or bottom of the truck. This allows us to use the photo in the best way possible.
Avoid Boring Shots
- • Avoid plain boring side shots or front shots
- • Don't shoot at a straight angle
- • Shoot high or low for dramatic effect
Use a Step Ladder
- • Turn the wheel in the direction of the truck
- • Step up and shoot down the side
- • Creates dramatic perspective
A Step Down
- • Similar to step up but from ladder
- • A little higher than standing on ground
- • Few feet back for nice dramatic effect
Up Close and Personal
- • Kneel down and shoot up
- • Move closer to the truck
- • Wheel turned in or out works great
Tech and Truck
Bringing the Human Element
Simply adding the tech to the truck photo adds a different layer to the image. It's always a good idea to show your team members on your site and in different situations.
THE WELCOME SHOT
One of my favorite shots is the welcome shot. It's called the welcome shot because it shows off the branding of the company truck along with the friendly relaxed shot of the technician.
Obviously your truck and tech will be fully branded — we just want to show you the setting of the photo by using the unbranded model and truck.
THE POWER SHOT
In some situations the crossing of the arms is an indication of shutting people out. But in the case of a Plumbing, HVAC or Electrical company it shows that the hero has arrived.
Arms crossed and standing to the side is the power shot. This shot shows the potential customer that you are armed and ready for the job at hand.
THE SPACE SHOT
Shots like this can be used as great backgrounds for important bullet points. Simply shooting off center allows our designers to add cool effects to the photo.
Example shows how the photo can be used with text overlay for maximum impact.
Points to Ponder
Remember every photo tells the story of your company. Clean trucks and uniforms tell the story of a reputable company who will respect a customer's home.
Service Page Shots
Capturing Your Work in Action
A bulk of the photos needed for your new website are the service page shots. These are the shots that appear on each service page of your website and should coordinate to the exact service. Keep in mind these are tough shots to get because a handful of these services don't really photograph well.
HVAC Service Photography
Technical photos can be boring to look at but if shot at the right angles they take on a dramatic effect. This shot is taken from an upper angle and off to the side.
Both shots are staged but to the person visiting your website they see a clean cut serviceman working on an HVAC system.
Pro Tip: We can take a somewhat ugly photo and add a graphic overlay to make it more visually appealing. Adding text takes this plain photo to a whole new level. This shot is all about the angle!
Drain Cleaning - No Ugly Photos
How many times have you seen a clogged drain page on a plumbing site with ugly photos? Photos like this are typical and ugly. Your customer is well aware of the problem, why not show them the solution.
The solution shot is shot at a wider angle just a little bit below the tech's head. This gives a dramatic effect, shows the clean cut tech working his magic and providing what the potential customer wants.
Points to Ponder
Ugly photos repel customers, nice clean photos attract customers.
Greeting the Customer
The arrival shot is a great customer service photo. It's often taken from behind the tech and that works as well in some places on the site. But if you take it over the shoulder from behind the customer you get a clear shot of the clean cut tech and your company branding on his uniform.
As you can see from these two shots the angle is everything.
The Job Completed Shot
Then there is the job completed shot. A very important photo that completes the story of a job well done, an organized company and great customer service.
The Team Shot
The team shot is a great photo for several reasons. First it shows stability and enforces your brand.
This shot works for companies large and small. Here are three shots showing a large company photo. Very impressive with the entire team together.
Medium Company
In this shot you have a medium size company but with the right positioning they look just as big as the first team above.
Both shots one and two are shot from above with either a ladder or even a drone.
Small Company
Even a small company can pull off a successful team shot. It's all in the positioning and the tight cropping of the photo.
The lining up of the trucks is another trick that makes them look organized.
First Impressions
Preparing your team for photos is so important. I've seen so many plumbing and HVAC websites that look like the company did their photoshoot after a day of working in crawlspaces. Image is everything all your techs should be wearing clean neat uniforms so they can be presentable to the potential customer.
Important
Don't take a single shot if your team is not perfect and ready for photo day. Dirty, wrinkled, sweat stained uniforms make for a bad first impression.
When potential customers see photos of dirty sloppy uniforms they won't call to let you in their house.
Photo Checklist
Use this checklist as a guide to keep track of the shots you will be taking. I have also added some blank spaces for additional services.
Ready to Get Started?
Need help planning your photoshoot or have questions about what images you need? We're here to help!