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A Site Visit Is Only as Good as Its Record

Writer: Jonathan G. Browning
Jonathan G. Browning
Oct 7
4 min read

Most site visits produce a pile of photos. A month later, someone needs to know what the back fence looked like in March, and nobody can find the right file. The photos exist. The record does not.

A useful record answers four questions without anyone having to call the person who took the pictures: what is this, where is it, when was it taken, and who took it.


Start with what the camera already knows

Digital cameras and drones write information into each image file as they shoot. The common format is Exif. The Library of Congress format description for Exif explains that compressed Exif files are baseline JPEGs with metadata stored in application marker segments inside the file, and that Exif includes tags that record camera settings.

In practice, that means most images already carry the capture date and time, and many carry GPS coordinates. The first rule of a good record is simple: do not strip that information out. Some export settings and some messaging apps remove metadata to save space. Deliver original files, or exports that keep metadata, whenever the record matters.


Add what the camera does not know

The camera knows when and where. It does not know why. That is where descriptive metadata comes in.

The IPTC Photo Metadata standard gives photographers and organizations a common set of fields for things like captions, keywords, location names, and copyright. The IPTC describes its standard as the most widely used photo metadata standard, and says the schema defines metadata structure and fields so images are described and easily accessed later.

You do not need to fill in every field. For a property record, three are enough:

  • Caption. One plain sentence: "North side of the barn, roof panel damage near the ridge."

  • Location. The property name or address, plus the area of the property.

  • Creator. Who took it, so questions go to the right person.


Camera on a tripod set up on open ground in front of a rocky ridge

Use file names people can read

Metadata travels with the file, but people still sort folders by name. Pick one pattern and use it every time. One that works:

YYYY-MM-DD_property_area_view_##.jpg

For example, 2026-10-07_smithfarm_barn-north_01.jpg. Dates in year-month-day order sort correctly in any folder. The area and view tell you what you are looking at before you open the file.


Organize by how the record will be used

Before the visit, ask who will use the files afterward. A realtor needs the best twenty images. An owner tracking repairs needs every angle of the problem area, grouped by date. A contractor needs before, during, and after.

A simple folder structure covers most cases:

  1. /raw for original files, untouched.

  2. /selects for the images chosen for a purpose.

  3. /report for the summary document and any marked-up images.

Keep the raw folder. It is the evidence. Everything else can be rebuilt from it.

If the same place will be visited more than once, plan for that on the first visit. The USDA Forest Service's Photo point monitoring handbook describes quick, effective methods for documenting change in vegetation and soil through repeat photography. The core idea carries over to buildings and land: mark where you stood, note the direction you faced, and shoot the same frame next time. A record that can be repeated is worth more than one that cannot.


Back it up before you leave the driveway

A record that exists in one place is one dead phone away from gone. Copy files off the card or phone the same day. Keep at least two copies in two different places, such as an external drive and a cloud folder. Check that the copy opens before you format the card. It sounds basic because it is, and it is still the step most often skipped.


Write a one-page summary

Photos show. A summary explains. A short report should include:

  • Date, time, and weather during the visit.

  • Who was present and who took the images.

  • A list of what was documented, in plain language.

  • Anything that could not be captured and why. "Attic not accessible" is useful information.

  • A note on any edited or annotated images, so nobody mistakes a marked-up photo for an original.


Practical takeaways

  1. Keep the capture date and location data that your camera already writes.

  2. Add a caption, location, and creator to the images that matter.

  3. Name files with a consistent, date-first pattern.

  4. Keep raw files separate from selects and reports.

  5. Write a one-page summary for every visit, including what you could not document.

If you have a property or project that needs a record you can rely on later, contact 48 Pegasus, serving properties within 75 miles of Macon County, Tennessee, across Middle Tennessee and South Central Kentucky.


Sources

Photos: cover by Compagnons / Unsplash; inline by Ryan Ancill / Unsplash. Free to use under the Unsplash License.

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