How to Photograph Your Floor for a Quote: A Proper Preliminary Assessment

The first contact with a company about a polishing or repair job often starts with a few photos. However, a large share of the photos received do not show the real problem with the floor: the glare of a ceiling light hides a scratch, a shot taken from far away loses the stain, and a close-up without any measurement does not show how big the problem is. In this article, we explain step by step how to photograph your floor with a phone, without any special equipment, so that an expert can assess it. You will find overall, medium and close-up shots, the side-light technique, how to show stains, cracks and level differences, how to add a measurement, and what to watch out for when sending the files through the form.

In short: For a good preliminary assessment, one overall photo, one medium photo and a few close-ups of each area are enough, plus one side-light photo taken with the phone held close to the floor, facing the window. Adding a scale with a tape measure or an object of known size, and writing down the approximate area and the type of stone, largely clarifies the scope of the job before we come for an inspection.

Can a Photo Replace an On-Site Inspection?

No, but it makes the inspection far more efficient. From a photo, the type of stone can often be guessed, it becomes clear whether the problem is on the surface or deeper, and a preliminary view forms on whether the job requires polishing, stain removal or only a maintenance polish. This preliminary view means we arrive at the inspection with the right equipment and the right questions.

There are also things a photo cannot show. The void under a tile, the moisture in the stone, the thickness of an old coating or the source of a stain can only be understood on site, by touching the stone. That is why an assessment based on photos is preliminary information; the exact scope and duration are determined after the inspection. The better the photos, the smaller the gap between the preliminary assessment and the inspection.

Before You Start Shooting

A few minutes of preparation before taking photos directly changes the result. Remove rugs, mats and small items from the floor as much as possible; if furniture cannot be moved, at least try to uncover part of the area beneath it. The difference in color and wear between the stone that was under a rug and the stone that was exposed is very valuable information for the assessment.

Clean the floor with a dry mop or broom before shooting, but do not wipe it wet. Wet stone looks darker, hides matte marks and scratches, and creates reflections on the surface. Wiping the phone's camera lens with a soft cloth is also a simple but often forgotten step; a lens with fingerprints gives all your photos a hazy look.

The general rule for lighting is to shoot in daylight and without flash. Flash creates a white glare on polished stone and hides the problem area right in the middle. Yellow-lit chandeliers make the stone's color look warmer than it is; if possible, open the curtains and turn off artificial lights.

The Three-Distance Rule: Overall, Medium, Close-Up

Photographing each area from three different distances lets the viewer see the problem both in context and in detail. A single close-up does not show whether the stain is in the middle of the living room or at the doorway; a single overall shot does not show the stain itself.

The shooting order we recommend for each area is as follows:

1. Overall shot: From the door or a corner of the room, take a photo that covers the entire area with the phone held at chest height; this shows the shape of the area, the doors and the furniture.
2. Medium shot: Step two or three paces closer to the problem area and take a shot that includes a few tiles and the joints between them; the spread of the problem can be understood from this shot.
3. Close-up: The stain, scratch or crack itself, taken as close as the phone can focus, tapping the screen to select the focus point.
4. Close-up with scale: Repeat the same close-up with a tape measure unrolled next to it or an object of known size; this shows how big the problem is.

The phone's wide-angle second camera is useful in small rooms but distorts the image at the edges; tiles and joints may look crooked. This is not a problem in an overall shot, but if you want to show a level difference or a joint line, shooting with the normal camera gives more accurate information. Also avoid digital zoom: instead of pinching the screen to enlarge a detail, take a few steps closer, which preserves the sharpness of the image. Deleting a blurry shot and retaking it is easier than trying to explain it afterwards.

Side Light: A Way to Reveal the Invisible

On marble and granite floors, scratches, matte walking paths and acid marks are often invisible at a straight look. The most effective way to bring them out is side light: looking from an angle where the light hits the floor almost horizontally. Experts do this with a flashlight during an inspection; you can easily do something similar with your phone.

For a side-light photo, hold the phone very close to the floor, low enough to almost touch it, and point the camera toward the window. The light from the window will reflect on the floor, and scratches and matte areas will appear as dark lines and dull patches within this bright reflection. If there is no window or it is evening, you can hold the flashlight of a second phone horizontally to the floor and let the light glide across the stone.

The same method is used to show a level difference. Look at the junction of two tiles with the phone held close to the floor and parallel to the joint line; the edge of the raised tile creates a shadow line. Adding a shot taken with a ruler held upright across the junction next to this photo shows the size of the difference more clearly. We covered why level differences occur and how they are eliminated in the lippage article .

Showing Problems One by One

Each problem on the floor calls for a different way of shooting. The edges of a stain, the length of a crack, the sound of a hollow tile or the crumbling of a joint are shown more clearly from separate angles and with separate methods.

The table below summarizes how to photograph common problems and the most frequent mistake:

One extra piece of information is very useful for stains: when the stain appeared and what caused it. Coffee, oil, rust and moisture stains can look alike; knowing the source of a stain determines which method will be used to remove it. We have explained ways to tell whether darkening is caused by moisture or oil in our article on darkening As for cracks, it matters whether a crack stays within a single slab or runs across several slabs in the same line; the latter often points to movement in the screed or structure beneath, not in the stone itself.

A hollow slab is the one problem that a photo cannot show. A video of a few seconds, recorded while lightly tapping the slab with the handle of a key or a knuckle, clearly lets us hear the difference in sound between hollow and solid slabs. You can find how hollow slabs are repaired in our article on hollow slab injection .

Scale and Area: Adding Numbers to the Photo

A photo shows what is wrong, while measurements show how big the job is. An exact area calculation is not required; approximate values are enough for a preliminary assessment and will be measured on site during the survey anyway. What matters is that the stone-covered area is listed separately by room or section; the title deed or project square meterage does not show the area covered with stone.

The information that helps with a preliminary assessment is briefly as follows:

• Square meters by area: The width and length of each area, such as the living room, corridor, kitchen and bathroom, are measured approximately; irregularly shaped areas are divided into rectangles and added up.
• Stair details: The number of steps, step width, landing dimensions and whether the risers will also be treated are written separately; stairs are not assessed by square meter.
• Countertops and pieces: The length and depth of kitchen and bathroom countertops, the sink and hob cutouts, and pieces such as windowsills, fireplaces or columns are noted separately.
• Floor and access: Which floor the area is on, and the elevator and parking situation, directly affect how the equipment will be carried and the work plan.

A simple hand-drawn sketch also gives a lot of information. Roughly drawing the rooms on a sheet of paper, writing the measurements on it and photographing the sheet is clearer than many separate explanations. For large buildings with many sections, a more organized form of this work is preparing a natural stone inventory .

When Is a Video Useful?

A video presents as a whole the information that photos show one by one. A video shot while walking slowly from one end of the area to the other, close to the floor and facing the window, can show dullness on walkways and waviness at slab joints better than individual photos. The sound of a hollow slab and the general look of a staircase are also clearer in a video.

The drawback of video is its size. A long, high-resolution video can easily reach tens of megabytes. For this reason, it is more practical to send photos with your first request and share a video separately if one is needed once we contact you. When filming, move the phone slowly, avoid sudden turns and pause for a few seconds at problem areas.

Submitting via the Form: Files, Format and Description

Our service request form accepts up to three files; each file can be up to 10 megabytes and must be in JPG, PNG, WebP or PDF format. The three-file limit requires you to choose the most informative shots. Usually a general shot, a side-light photo and a close-up where the problem is most clearly visible make a good set of three. If you want to send more shots, you can combine the photos into a single PDF file using an app on your phone.

Photos taken with an iPhone are saved in HEIC format by default, and this format does not open on every system. If you select the "Most Compatible" option under Settings, Camera, Formats on your phone, new photos will be saved as JPEG. It is also possible to send photos you have already taken by using a method that converts them to JPEG when sharing.

The short description you write alongside the photos affects the assessment at least as much as the photos do. The information that is useful to include in the description is as follows:

• Stone type and age: If you know it, write the name of the stone and the year it was laid; if not, write the age of the building, and also add whether it has been honed or coated before.
• Expectation: State clearly whether you want a glossy, semi-glossy or matte look, or whether only certain stains and repairs will be addressed.
• Use and schedule: Write whether the area is empty or furnished, whether it will continue to be used during the work, and whether there is a fixed date such as a move or an opening.

Finally, think about your privacy as well. Make sure personal details such as family photos, documents or door numbers are not visible in the photos; they are not needed for the assessment. If your phone adds location information to photos and you do not want to share it, you can turn off location tagging in the camera settings.

Once you have prepared your photos and area information, you can send them through the service request form ; we will carry out the preliminary assessment and, if necessary, contact you for a site survey.