Construction · Crew hand-offs

How to annotate construction photos so the crew fixes the right thing

Number each problem, point at it, and say in words what to do. One fix per photo. Then nobody tiles over the wrong valve.

By Andre Gaz, developer of InspectCam™ · Published 18 October 2026 · Last updated 18 October 2026

You send the tile setter a photo of an open shower wall with a red scribble across it. He fixes the blocking. You meant the valve depth. Now the wall is tiled, the trim kit won't reach, and somebody is cutting tile back out.

That's not a rare story. In a 2018 survey of nearly 600 construction leaders by FMI, reported by Construction Specifier, miscommunication and poor project data accounted for 48 percent of all rework on US jobsites. Each project team member spent more than 14 hours a week on conflict, rework and other issues, about 5.5 of them searching for project data.

A marked-up photo is the cheapest fix for a bad hand-off, but only if the person on the other end can read it without calling you. This guide covers how to mark up jobsite photos for a crew, a sub or a client: the marks, the words, voice notes, and the mistakes that send people to the wrong spot.

What goes wrong with a photo sent to the crew?

Most bad markups fail the same few ways. The person who drew them knew exactly what they meant. The person reading them wasn't standing there.

• The scribble hides the problem. A thick loop drawn with a finger covers the crack, the screw or the gap it was meant to show.
• There's no context. A tight close-up of drywall could be any wall in the house. The crew walks in and has to guess which room.
• Five problems, one photo, no list. The crew fixes the three they understood and the other two come back on the punch walk.
• The color carries the meaning. “Red means redo, blue means check” falls apart on a black-and-white printout, and for a lot of readers. The National Eye Institute says about 1 in 12 men have color vision deficiency, and the most common type makes red and green hard to tell apart.
• It lives in a text thread. Photos stuck in text messages are fine for today. Weeks or months later, when someone has to retrieve the right image for a dispute or a warranty call, they're scrolling, and somebody is reconstructing job details from memory.

How to mark up a jobsite photo, step by step

1. Shoot wide first, then close

Stand where the crew will stand when they walk in, the doorway or the corner of the room, and take the whole wall. Then go close enough to see the problem itself. The wide shot answers “where?”; the close-up answers “what?”. A mark on a close-up with no wide shot is an X with no map.

Get the close-up lit and sharp before you draw anything. No arrow fixes a dark, blurry photo. Tap to focus on the thing you're about to point at.

2. Put a number on every issue

Numbers are the most useful part of a markup. You can say them on the phone (“number 2 on the shower wall photo”). They read the same on a black-and-white printout and to someone who can't tell red from green. And numbers let the crew tick things off: “1 and 3 done, 2 needs the electrician.”

Start at 1 on each photo, and number in the order the work should happen if the order matters.

3. An arrow for a point, a circle for an area

Use an arrow for something small and exact: a fitting, a screw that missed the stud, the end of a crack, the box that sits proud of the drywall. Use a circle for something spread out: a stain, a patch of missing caulk, a sagging run of duct. Don't scribble, don't fill, and don't draw over the thing you're pointing at. Put the arrow's tail in empty space and stop its head just short of the defect, so the defect is still visible.

4. One fix per photo, or one trade per photo

If the plumber, the electrician and the drywaller each need something on the same wall, take the photo three times and mark each one for its trade. Each sub gets only their numbers, and nobody fixes somebody else's item. A useful rule: if a photo needs more than three marks, take another one closer.

5. Write a line for every number

Under the photo, one line per number: what's wrong and what to do. This is where most markups fall down, so it gets its own section below.

6. Add a voice note when a line isn't enough

Some fixes need a reason or an order of steps. Talk it through in a short voice note and keep it with the photo. More on that below.

7. Keep the original, mark up a copy

The unmarked photo is your record of what was there. The marked-up copy is the instruction. Keep both. If a dispute comes up later, an original nobody drew on is worth more than one covered in arrows.

8. Send it where the job lives

Put the address and the room in the message, and keep a copy where the rest of the job's photos are. A marked-up photo that only exists in one person's texts is gone the day that person changes phones. Our guide to organizing construction photos by job sets up that place.

What should the words under the photo say?

Start each line with the number, then the problem, then the action. Write it for someone who wasn't on the walk with you and will read it on a ladder.

• Lead with a verb for the fix: tighten, reset, cut out, check, leave.
• Give measurements with units, and say what they're measured from.
• Say how they'll know it's done. “Dry after 5 minutes” is a test; “fixed” is a hope.
• Ask for an after photo from the same spot. Same angle, same numbers. That closes the item without a site visit.
• Add one note for the whole photo when there's something every number shares: “Hall bath, east wall, before insulation.”

On a commercial job this is the punch list in small. The AIA's summary of its G704 form describes the contractor preparing a list of items to be completed or corrected after substantial completion. A numbered photo with a line per number is that list, with a picture attached to every item.

When is a voice note better than text?

Use a voice note when the fix needs a reason, a sequence, or a warning: “Number two, don't move that diverter, the owner wants it reachable from the door. Talk to me before you close this wall.” That's a paragraph to type with gloves on and ten seconds to say.

• Say the number first, so the note ties to the mark.
• Keep it under a minute. Nobody replays a four-minute note on a ladder.
• Still write the line. The written line is what people scan; the voice note is the detail behind it.
• Mind who's around. The phone records everyone near you, the homeowner included. Step away from a running saw, too: if the crew can't hear it, it didn't help.
• Check any written-out words. If your phone turns speech into text, read it before you send it. “Two inches” and “to inches” are not the same instruction.

Mistakes that send the crew to the wrong spot

1. Scribbling over the problem. If the mark hides it, the photo no longer shows it.
2. Letting color carry the meaning. Use numbers and words. Color is for contrast, so the mark shows up against the wall.
3. Too many marks on one photo. Past three, split it into another photo or go closer.
4. No wide shot. The crew finds the right problem on the wrong wall.
5. Marking up the only copy. Keep the original. It's your record of what was there before anyone touched it.
6. Notes nobody can find. A thread of photos stuck in text messages works until somebody needs to retrieve the right image weeks or months later.
7. No after photo. Without one, “done” means someone said so.
8. Marking a dark, soft photo. Light it and focus it first. Arrows on mush are still mush.

How to mark up photos with the phone you have

You don't need a special app to start doing this today. On Android, Google Photos has a Markup tool. Google's help page gives the steps: open the photo, tap Edit, then Markup; tap Pen to draw or Text to add words; tap the checkmark, then choose how to save. Pick Save as copy, which keeps the original untouched.

It works, with limits. You draw the numbers by hand, the words sit on top of the photo instead of in a list under it, and the copy lands in your camera roll with everything else, so finding it later means scrolling.

The bigger problem is usually the photo itself: taken one-handed in a dark cavity, with the flashlight in the other hand. InspectCam™ is free on Google Play (I build it). One tap and the light stays on while you look, take photos and record video.

• Tap to focus on the fitting or the crack you're about to mark.
• Pinch to zoom, or use the wide and close presets your phone supports: wide for the “where” shot, close for the “what”.
• Reach in with the timer (3 or 6 seconds), or press a volume button to take the shot when the screen is out of sight.
• A short video from wide to close does the job of the wide shot and the close-up in one take.

Free photos save to your phone's gallery by default, so you can open one in Google Photos and mark up a copy. They carry a small, faint InspectCam™ mark in one corner. The light turns off after 10 minutes untouched, with a warning first, or if the phone gets very hot; tap it to turn it back on.

For home inspectors and client reports

A client reads your report at the kitchen table, without you. The same rules hold, with one more: the marks should match the written finding, not replace it. If the finding says “standing water on the vapor barrier, liner loose at the wall”, the photo should carry a 1 and a 2 that say exactly that. Mark only what you reported, so a stray circle doesn't read as a defect you didn't call.

Our home inspection page covers how findings, photos and the report fit together in Pro, and the guide to documenting water damage for an insurance claim covers which photos an adjuster asks for.

Pro, coming soon: markup that stays with the job

For contractors, crews and inspectors who mark up photos every day, InspectCam™ Pro is coming soon. It does everything on this page inside the job, on your Android phone, so the marks, the words and the voice notes stay with the photo instead of in a text thread. None of this is in the free app on Google Play today.

• Numbered arrows and circles. Each new mark gets the next number, in five colors: yellow, red, blue, white or black. Tap a number in the list under the photo to move that mark, change its color or delete it. You can also place a text label on the photo.
• A line of words for each number, plus a note for the whole photo, typed right under the marks.
• Voice notes kept with the photo. Hold Talk to record up to 2 minutes; the recording stays with the photo and plays back from its row. Where the phone can, it writes the words out too, and you can fix misheard words before they print. Holding the last-photo square records a voice note onto that photo without leaving the camera.
• Send a marked-up copy. Send shares copies with the arrows, circles and words drawn on, through your phone's share sheet: text, email or any app. The photo itself is never changed.
• Into the report. The PDF draws the marks on each photo and prints what each number means under it, “1 Rust at the drain fitting”. Voice notes print as numbered words. A crew member's voice notes stay out of the client's report unless the owner or an admin turns them on.
• Internal photos. Mark a photo internal and it stays in the job for the crew but never prints in the client's report.
• Before and after. Pick the problem photo and the fixed one and they print as a pair, the Before above the After.
• The office sees the crew's photos during the day, each with the name of whoever took it. Small copies go up over mobile data; full-size photos and videos wait for Wi-Fi.
• Stamped photos. Every photo and video taken into a job carries the date, time, street address and GPS position the phone reports, in one thin line along the bottom: a record of when and where it was taken, not a certificate. With location off, it's the date and time only. Dual videos, with both cameras at once, don't carry the stamp.
• The right job, picked for you. With location allowed, the camera picks the job you're standing at. When several jobs are close by, it asks “Which job?” instead of guessing.
• A PDF report under your name, with your company name, logo and license number, and a small “Generated with InspectCam” credit on the last page.

Builders and remodelers can see how jobs, rough-in photos and draw reports fit together on the construction photo app page. Pro comes in three plans, all coming soon: Duo for up to 2 people at $39.99 a month, Team for up to 5 at $89.99, and Business for up to 10 at $159.99. On Duo and Team, paying yearly gets you a year for the price of ten months; Business is monthly only. US prices, plus any tax, charged by Google Play. On Team and Business, your subs can send their own photos into the job from their phone's browser, by QR code or link, with no app. For now, each person on your crew needs an Android phone; the iPhone app is coming soon, with Pro included. At launch, Pro is sold in the United States; the free app is available everywhere. The details are on the Pro page.

Questions people ask

What is the best way to annotate construction photos?

Take a wide shot that shows where, then a sharp close-up of the problem. Put a number on each issue, with an arrow for a point and a circle for an area. Under the photo, write one line per number saying what to do. Keep one fix or one trade per photo, add a voice note when a line isn't enough, and keep the original unmarked.

Should I use arrows or circles on jobsite photos?

Both, for different things. An arrow points at something small and exact, like a fitting, a screw or the end of a crack. A circle goes around something spread out, like a stain or a run of missing caulk. Don't draw over the defect itself, and don't scribble.

How many marks should one photo have?

As few as possible. One to three numbered marks keeps a photo readable. If you need more, take another photo closer, or split it into one photo per trade so each sub sees only their items.

Can I draw on photos on an Android phone without an app?

Yes. Google Photos has a Markup tool: open the photo, tap Edit, then Markup, and use Pen to draw or Text to add words. Choose Save as copy to keep the original untouched. You'll have to draw the numbers by hand.

Does InspectCam™ let you mark up photos?

Not in the free app on Google Play today. There, one tap keeps the light on while you look, take photos and record video, so the photo is lit and in focus. InspectCam™ Pro, coming soon, adds numbered arrows and circles, a line of words for each number, voice notes kept with the photo, and a PDF report that prints the marks.

Should I keep the original photo before marking it up?

Yes. The unmarked original is your record of what was there; the marked-up copy is the instruction. Save your markup as a copy, and keep both with the rest of the job's photos.

This page is general guidance for passing work between people on a job. Your contract, your code official and your own trade's practice decide what has to be fixed and how. If something here didn't match your jobsite, tell us and it may help the next person.