How to photograph a door or gate so we can quote from the photos

How to photograph a door or gate so we can quote from the photos

Mount Everest Automatic Doors team5 min readUpdated 17 Oct 2026

A photo quote works when the photos answer the questions a technician would otherwise ask at the door. This guide lists those questions and shows how to answer them with a phone camera in about ten minutes.

Why photos help

A technician needs to know the size of the opening, what it is made of, what is already fitted and what condition it is in. Most of that is visible in a photo. When it is, we can tell you the likely scope and send a written quote without you waiting for a visit. When it is not, we ask for the free site visit. Either way, good photos shorten the conversation.

Before you start

• Clean your phone lens. A smudge turns a clear photo into a guess.
• Switch on the grid lines in your camera settings. They help you keep the door straight in the frame.
• Choose a time with even light. Direct sun behind the gate hides the details; early morning or evening light is kinder.
• Move parked cars out of the frame if you can.
• Have a tape measure or a metre rule at hand, or ask someone to stand beside the opening.

The four photos

1. The whole opening from outside. Stand back far enough to see the full width and height, the ground in front and the wall or pillars on both sides. Keep the phone level. If the opening is wide, take a second photo from an angle.
2. The same opening from inside. Show what is behind the door: the driveway, the garage floor, the ceiling height and any shelves or pipes near the track.
3. The motor and control box. For a repair, photograph the operator with the cover closed, and any label on it. The label shows the maker and model, which decides parts. If the cover needs removing, leave it to us.
4. The surroundings. Take the wall or fence beside the opening, and the ground where a track or hinge would sit. This tells us about space for a sliding leaf, a swing arc or a post.

Scale: the part people forget

A photo of a gate with nothing next to it could show a pedestrian gate or a warehouse door. Add scale in one of three ways. Hold a tape measure vertically against the opening. Ask a person to stand beside it. Or lay a known object, such as a standard sheet of paper, against the wall. If you already know the width and height, send them as a message with the photos. Rough numbers are fine; we measure properly at the visit before we order anything.

The short video for repairs

For a fault, a ten-second video is worth more than any number of photos. Record the door or gate from a safe distance while someone presses the remote or the button. Capture the noise. Say what you see out loud: for example, that it stops halfway, or that the lights flash three times. Do not hold the camera inside the gate's path, and never reach into a moving door.

What not to do

• Do not open the control box or the motor cover. Mains voltage can be inside.
• Do not climb on a gate or a garage door to take a picture.
• Do not lift a garage door by hand if a spring has snapped, and do not touch the springs or cables at all. They hold heavy tension.
• Do not send photos of people, especially children, near the moving part. Frame the equipment only.

What to write with the photos

Photos plus three lines of text make the best message:

1. The area or building name, so we know where we are going.
2. What you want: a new gate, a replacement, a repair or a service.
3. What is wrong, in your own words, and when it started.

If you have a drawing or a document from the building, such as a design guideline from a community, add it. If the building needs approval before work, say so.

What happens next

We review the photos and reply on WhatsApp. One of three things follows. If the photos are enough, we send a written quote that names the equipment, the safety devices and what is excluded. If we need more detail, we ask a specific question, such as a close-up of the label. If the job needs a closer look, we book the free site visit. In every case, the quote is written, and any figure comes only in the written quote, never in a chat reply.

Common mistakes

Photos taken too close hide the surroundings. Photos taken in strong backlight turn the gate into a silhouette. Photos of the remote instead of the motor do not help a repair. A single photo for a job that has two parts, such as a gate and a pedestrian door, leaves one part unquoted. Send a set for each opening.

A five-minute routine

Walk to the gate. Take the outside photo. Walk through, take the inside photo. Photograph the motor label. Photograph the sides. Record a short video if there is a fault. Write the three lines. Send it all in one message. That is the whole job, and it saves time on both sides.

For several openings

If the job covers more than one opening, such as a main gate, a pedestrian gate and a garage door, make a set for each and name them in the message: main gate, side gate, garage. Send them in order, with the label photo of each motor. It saves us asking which photo belongs to which opening, and it lets us quote each part separately so you can decide what to do first.