Before and after photos and colour consultations on your site

Painting is bought on photos and stalled on colours. Before and after photos show a stranger the difference your work makes; colour consultations get a hesitant homeowner past "we can't decide", which is where plenty of bigger jobs sit for months. A painter's website should do both, and most do neither.

This guide covers how to photograph jobs so the comparison is convincing, how to handle permission and privacy in New Zealand, how to present photos on your website, and how to describe and book colour consultations so they turn into work.

Taking before and after photos that sell the next job

A good pair makes the change obvious at a glance. A poor pair, taken from different angles in different light, makes people wonder if it's even the same house. A few habits make the difference:

• Same spot, same framing. Stand in the same place for both shots. A mark on the footpath or a note of which window frame lines up with the edge of the photo helps.
• Daylight, no harsh sun. Overcast days are ideal for exteriors. For interiors, open the curtains.
• One wide, one detail. The wide shot shows the whole wall or room. The detail shows what customers can't see from the street: filled cracks, sharp cut-in lines, a clean ceiling edge.
• Hold the phone level. Tilted verticals make a straight weatherboard wall look wonky.
• Clear the clutter. Move ladders, drop sheets and bins out of the after shot.
• Landscape for exteriors, portrait for tall rooms. Match the shape of the subject.

Make "before photos" part of the first morning on site, before any washing or scraping. It's the step most often forgotten, and you can't go back.

Permission and privacy: the owner’s house, the owner’s say

A photo of someone's home, especially with a visible house number or a person in it, can tell strangers where they live. Treat it with care.

• Ask before you share. Add a line to your quote or job confirmation asking if you can use photos of the work on your website and social media, and keep the answer.
• Leave out identifying details. House numbers, letterboxes, faces, number plates and street signs.
• Name the area, not the address. "Weatherboard bungalow in Mount Eden" is enough.
• Respect a no. Some people don't want their home online at all, and that's their call.

The Privacy Act 2020 sets rules for handling personal information, and the Office of the Privacy Commissioner has guidance for small businesses. One recent change is worth knowing: information privacy principle 3A, in force from 1 May 2026 ² , deals with personal information collected from someone other than the person it is about. If a builder or property manager passes you a homeowner's details, for example, you generally need to take reasonable steps to let that person know. This is general information, not legal advice.

For builder and commercial work, ask the main contractor as well as the owner before posting photos of a project. The new-build painters page covers how to handle that.

Presenting photos on your website

Group by job type

Organise your gallery the way customers think: exteriors, interiors, roofs, fences and decks, wallpaper, commercial. Someone planning a bedroom doesn't want to scroll through roof photos to find one.

Caption every pair

One or two lines: what the building is, where it is (area only), and what the job involved. "1950s brick and weatherboard house in Tauranga. Soft washed, loose paint scraped back, primed bare timber, two top coats." That tells a homeowner more about your standards than any slogan.

Write proper alt text

Alt text is read aloud by screen readers and read by search engines. Google describes it as short, descriptive alt text ³ . For a before photo: "Weatherboard house before repainting, with faded and flaking paint on the gable." For the after: "The same house after repainting in a light grey with white trims." Avoid stuffing it with keywords.

Keep images light

Phone photos are large. Resize and compress them before they go on a website, so the gallery loads quickly on mobile data. On our plan we prepare every image for the web and write the alt text; see what you get.

Use the photos in more than one place

The same pairs can do several jobs. Put the strongest one at the top of the relevant service page, so a visitor reading about roof painting sees a roof. Use a finished exterior as the main image on your home page. Add a few to your Google Business Profile each month. Keep the originals in a folder by job, so you can find a good example quickly when a customer asks whether you've painted a house like theirs.

Colour consultations on your website

Many homeowners stall on a painting job because they can't decide on colours. A consultation removes that block, and the customer who has spent an hour choosing colours with you is likely to want you to do the job.

If you offer consultations, give them a clear section or page that answers:

• What it covers: interiors, exteriors, or both; how many rooms; whether you bring sample pots or swatches.
• How long it takes, roughly.
• What it costs, and whether the fee comes off the job if they go ahead.
• What to have ready: photos of furniture, flooring samples, any colours they already like.
• What they get afterwards: written colour notes and a quote or estimate.

Show the steps as a list

1. Customer books a consultation. From your website: date, suburb, rooms or exterior, any colours in mind.
2. You confirm what it covers. Length, fee if any, and whether the fee comes off the job.
3. The visit. Light, surfaces, existing finishes, samples and swatches on the wall.
4. Written colour notes. The colours and finishes agreed, room by room.
5. Written quote or estimate. Based on the agreed scheme, saying clearly which it is.
6. Job booked, photos planned. Take the before photos on day one.

Quotes, estimates and colour changes

Colour decisions often change the scope. A feature wall, an extra coat to cover a dark colour, or a different sheen all affect the price. Put the agreed scheme in writing, then price it clearly.

Say whether you are giving a quote or an estimate. Consumer Protection describes a quote as an offer to do a job for a specified price ¹ , while an estimate is a best guess and the final price should generally be within 10-15% ¹ of it. If the customer changes colours after you've quoted, confirm in writing whether the price changes before you start.

What to do next

1. Add a photo permission line to your quote or job confirmation template.
2. Set a reminder to take before photos on the first morning of every job.
3. Pick your best five pairs and write a caption and alt text for each.
4. If you offer colour consultations, write down what they cover, how long they take and the fee.
5. Decide how customers will book: a calendar link or a consultation request form.

Decorators who lead with consultations and design-led work will find more detail on the decorators and wallpaper hangers page.

Common questions

Should I charge for colour consultations?

That's a business decision. Some painters charge a fee that comes off the job if the customer goes ahead, which values your time without putting people off. Whatever you choose, state it plainly on your website.

Can I use paint company colour names in captions?

Yes, naming the colour you used is a fact about the job. Don't imply you are endorsed by or partnered with the paint company unless you are.

Is a before and after slider better than side-by-side photos?

A slider is engaging on a large screen, and side-by-side or stacked photos are simpler on a phone. Either works if the photos are taken from the same spot.

The short version

Photos taken from the same spot, with the owner's permission and a caption that names the prep, show your standard of work better than anything you can write about it. A colour consultation that is explained, priced and bookable gives a hesitant homeowner a next step that isn't "think about it". Put both on a website built to show them off: see the painter website plan.