Ep 309 - Photography Secrets For Electricians

0:01 Hello, hello, hello and welcome back my friends to another episode of Electricpreneur's Secrets, the Electrician's Podcast. I am your host, Clay Neumeier, With me, as always, my esteemed co host, and this time in the flash, In the same room. We're in the same room. Usually I'm over in the Pacific side, you're over on the Eastern, but we got this as we are, the Electricpreneurs just a couple of master electricians with business addictions, here and ready to serve, Serve, who Serve you if you're an electricpreneur looking to elevate your business, looking to master your sales, simplify your pricing, deliver premium level service, building relationships with your customers to also build a sustainable future for your team in your community.

0:44 Gosh, I love that man I know. Talk about bringing in the high energy right. We're trying, we do our best. We do our best. I love it. It's such an honor to be able to come here and be live. Joe is already out of maple cookies. You've been here two days. We've crushed two boxes. There's nothing in them. I have destroyed every box has entered this house. It is, it's not even fair. The dieting is going to start back on monday mel for a fact, but otherwise I'm coming back with some weight on me you're waiting. We're hitting the gym in the mornings, but I don't know if I'll be able to outlift ted just yet. Who is commenting, guys, if you're not on the inside, on our facebook entrepreneur secret scoop watching us live right now?

1:24 They're seeing us without the background, without any of this, and they were able to engage with us a good few minutes prior to going live. So if you're interested in being part of that group, that community, and discussing this stuff with us, engaging with us, then jump in there on Facebook. Otherwise, we've got a big topic today photography secrets for electricians, and the people in the Facebook group have been itching for us to get into this. It kind of starts with, it seems, joe, this work order process problem, and maybe you've encountered this. You make a big sale, hey, big celebration, get a 50% deposit, things are looking great, but then maybe it kind of drops the ball on the installer side, and that's something we've talked about it. But how important is the pictures?

2:05 Are the pictures to the success of that install team? So it's absolutely critical because, at the end of the day, you have to imagine this from the customer's perspective. Situation one was imagine the salesperson or the service tech who sold the job. They built the relationship, they connected, everything's solid, they love the person and they feel like they're very confident that this person knows myself, my home and my project. Then the installer comes and they're asking things like which way is the panel? What are we looking to do today? Is there asking certain rooms or even noticing that certain things aren't the way they were told on the work order process, such as like hey, I'm getting ready to do this panel, but I realize now that I'm getting ready to install it that it actually is not meeting the code requirement for clearances and therefore I need to relocate it.

2:57 And that wasn't talked to them by the salesperson. And now they're like what's changed? Where is John? Where is he supposed to be? That's what we're going to try and solve here, because that's where the disconnect happens. So if you can take good pictures and we're going to explain what good pictures look like, you're going to be able to prevent all of these drop the relationships as well as to improve your logistical concern. So, without further ado, can I just jump into it? Yeah, pretty much, man. The only thing I want to add is like now imagine, right, you know how the installer is supposed to like, pick up the material for the job. They're supposed to understand this project from the work order. They're supposed to go out there and lead the way and show up as a 10 and maintain your reputation.

3:38 I mean, think back to a time when you were that installer. You've been to the job, right, or maybe you only had two photos, three, I mean. As cell phones have progressed and technology has progressed, it's been more and more prevalent. But back in the day, a little flip phone, fido, right, maybe like a six pixel photo, that was hard and you're always wondering what's between the pictures. So I think this process is really going to help with that. And I can't wait. So, joe, let's kick it off. Brother, yeah, and believe it or not, you actually brought up a really good point, and the reason why I want to touch on that is that's actually why I started learning these things. It was actually to correct my errors where, when we had the flip phones and we I remember it was before even iPhones really it was like, all right, we're going to take pictures, but you know, you had to hold it longer because it didn't have the auto capture or the lighting wasn't the same way and it came out grainy, or you couldn't realize how to zoom in the right way.

4:32 So when you went back to look at the model number, you couldn't zoom in, it was all blurred. So what we're going to be teaching you here prevents that. So, without further ado, just jump into it, just jump in man. Okay, you got it Sweet. So the very first thing that we're going to want to go through is let's go through first what images you need, and then we'll describe how you should take those images for maximum effectiveness. So the very first thing is let's start with the one thing you know for a fact that you need to see on every installation, and that is the main electrical control system, as we call it, or the main panel. I thought you were going to say the selfie. Well, that's right, I was going to be like me with the thumbs up.

5:12 Yeah, all right, so yeah, but the thing is is why the main electrical system, the reason being is in our process. It's the very first thing that you've gone to look at. Now it also communicates with the client. The importance behind it where, when you're taking, it also communicates with the client. The importance behind it, where, when you're taking, first thing you're going to do is you're taking a picture when you're opening the covers and you take a picture of the panel. That's something to say that's almost like well, what are you doing? So we're not going to take them when we're doing our initial open. All these pictures are going to be taken afterwards. But why are we starting with the panel? We're starting with the panel because not only is it the first spot that we, as a technician, to look at, but it's where everything else is connected to and from. There's nothing in the home that you would electrically service without needing to go to that panel first.

5:57 It's the heart, exactly. So imagine you're the installer and you're told you have to do a ceiling fan upstairs in the master bedroom, but then, when you get down to the panel, you realize that's all twinned out. And now you're like I need a quad, murray, and I don't have one with the deep knife cells, so now I need to go and order something. I can't even start getting this run. Or you find out that all the breakers themselves are all rusted out and you realize wait a second, this isn't going to be really safe. Did we even offer options for improvement? So the first thing you're going to need to do is say I need to know where the panel is. I want to take a 10 foot back, get the whole panel utility room area so I can see three feet to the left, three feet to the right.

6:41 So I know I made my clearances. Then what you're going to do is you're going to open the panel cover, take the cover off and take the inside. Then you're also going to make sure that you take a picture of the model number and the spec of the panel. Any questions so far, or should I just keep going? No man, I think you're nailing it, and I would also point out that these great photos from this consistent perspective, as you're recommending, also help us with being able to consistently explain and justify after the fact any heat stress, pitting, et cetera that was experienced when we looked into that panel in the first place. Yeah, and you know someone that I know is particularly I'm going to give a shout out Alan.

7:23 Alan is phenomenal when it comes out to picking up on heat and thermal connections when it comes to your main electrical systems. So imagine being able to go to your before picture and be like here's what we saw. You can see the cobwebs in the system, you can see the burn marks on it, you can see the annealing on the bus and, as a result, then when you show them the new one, you can have a before and after. Now this is really really impactful when you think of the exterior of the service, like how many times have you ever gone to a home and you see the exterior meter and there's all these different cable management wires or phone data lines and just cobweb. And then you take a picture of that. And then the after picture is the meter with a cable management system and PVC coming down to the grounding bridge and a straight conduit up the top of the beautiful mast, and you're like this is what you had, this is what you have.

8:13 So not only is this something that protects you and allows your technician to better understand it, but it's also going to be a value builder at the end and could also be used in your marketing. Yeah, and Levine's with us, live in the Facebook group saying I used to be a photographer. It's all about the details. Like you mentioned, there's some some really good reinforcement there. You guys, thank you. Taking the photos really like the first thing, and it seems so many missed that, but why not have a structured approach to doing that? So after the panel, joe, what's next? Okay, so the after the panel doesn't matter what the job is. There are going to be certain things that I'm going to check out just to prevent the oh shit moments.

8:55 Now, the reason why I say that is because there's going to be the occasional town that you work with that's like I need some obscure bit of information that you didn't prepare for. A good example is this there was one municipality that I worked with that, in order to change something inside the home, I needed to report the utility poll number. It was not really like I was not doing a service change, but they're like we're not going to authorize your permit without the utility poll number, cause that's a question on our permit authorization form. If you don't have it, it's currently incomplete and therefore we won't allow you to submit it. So we had to drive 45 minutes back, wait for the customer, like, literally be like hey, just so you know, we had to get this picture and we had to kind of explain ourselves of why we didn't know the first time.

9:40 And then I had to take a picture and then drive away. It's a bad look, it really is. So there are going to be certain things like that that I'm going to instruct you to start taking pictures of, and I'm just going to start listing off the top. That's okay, let's go, all right. So we're in the panel. We're going to take a full picture of the service so I can understand what it looks like. I'm going to take a picture of the meter number, like the physical meter enclosure, so that I can see what utility it is, what the meter number is and I'm not likely ever going to need to know the amount of power being used but at least, if you have it, it could be more information you use.

10:26 The next thing I'm going to do is I'm going to get utility pole number. I'm going to make sure that's listed, as well as if there's any sort of underground transformer. Now, I don't suspect that we're going to need this on every call, but let's look at it from the customer's perspective as well. Hey, john, I understand that. I want to make sure this is something where you don't have to stress about it at all. So to make sure that we're taking care of every sort of redundancy, just to prevent us from ever having to come back unnecessarily, I'm going to be going above and taking measurements and pictures of the entire infrastructure of the home, going to be going above and taking measurements and pictures of the entire infrastructure of the home. Now that means that when I take care of your permit, you don't have to stress about a single thing, because I know any question they'll have I'll be prepared for, so you can just sit back and relax and not have to worry about anything on this project.

11:11 So we've not only got your address as the mailman sees it, but we also have your address as the utility see it, and that reflects premium service. I mean, again, it shows a difference, not just for you and the convenience of having it and not having to come back, but as that homeowner, and I think that's kind of what you're leaning into. I mean, you've got one electrician on one hand who doesn't go the extra mile for the details, and on this hand we've got you who do service loop, goes in, takes the extra photos. They've got all all the details, they've got everything they need, and that all inspires confidence in our customers that we're going to continue to show up as a 10 and deliver, hopefully, as a 12. That's the goal show up as a 10 delivers a 12. I love that.

11:52 So there's only two other things I'm going to recommend you look at before we start really digging into it, which is then if you're doing any sort of generator or infrastructural equipment for a backup system. Right, the reason why I say that is they require, often, exterior fuel systems, meaning that you're either going to need to have a natural gas line or you're gonna have to have propane. Now imagine you want to do a full turnkey coordination, but you, as the electrician, didn't think to get this information and the plumber comes to you and says all right, what size line are you planning on tapping off of? Or, currently, what's the CFM of the current meter? Like, well, I have no idea.

12:34 I have no idea what kind of cubic we're moving. Okay, well, I'm going to need to go back in order to give you a quote, or I can go and I can charge you a fee for that. It's like, no, I'll go, don't worry. So if you have a picture of the meter, I know how much it's sized for, I know the utility number that's on it and I know the general infrastructure of the connections. Do of the connections? Do I need to bring a tee. Are there going to be additional struts that I need to support? So I know the meter. The second is the propane lines. If they don't have a meter, they're likely going to have a propane tank. If you don't know who the provider is, you're playing a lot of guesswork, because imagine saying hey, I'm going to do something turnkey for you, I'm going to coordinate, I'm going to make sure the whole thing goes smooth, and then you don't know their propane company.

13:20 So therefore you can't coordinate with the propane company in order to get that exterior line run. Now you have to call back the customer and be like hey, I didn't get the number or the name. Can you go back actually to the meter or can you go out to your propane company? Just take a picture of that or that little green enclosure in the back of your yard. Can you take a picture of that for me? I don't want you to do anything. So even if I never need this information, I'll definitely have it on file. That way, I'd rather have it and not need it than need it and not have it. We trade pictures the same way we treat our wires. And if they want it in the future, it's there. You're the expert. We actually have that information on file already, unless something's changed at your home. Yeah, it makes a lot of sense.

14:00 Perfect. Now it goes a little bit further, because there are things that are saying and honestly I'd love your perspective as a photographer as well is if we're going into it and say, yep, if we're going in, saying we have that bit of information Now. Also, the quality of the pictures are very important. Now let's start at the panel. Starting from the panel, I would always recommend taking a 10 foot back, or as far back as you can. What I mean by that is there are some areas where you can barely get the cover off and have space. I completely understand where you're coming from. In those circumstances, I switch it to 0.5 zoom on my phone. That way I can see it almost as if I was further back. But the goal is is I want to see three feet to the left and right.

14:43 Now, how many times are we in a panel utility room and there's proper lighting? I know, right Few. Yeah, that's why they called us in the first place. They call the electricians because they don't have lighting, not because they do. So. The factor is, you'd want to also make sure you have the flash on. But if you're going to have the flash on, look at the picture afterwards and make sure that it doesn't blow out any of the nameplates. Could you imagine going over to a nameplate motor, taking a picture and be like I got it, and then you look at it later and it's blurry? Or you look at it and it's like too reflective and you can't see anything, or you look at it and it's like too reflective and you can't see anything. Yeah, so also going through and checking those things. Yeah, my input on that, if I can just quick, is like okay, so photography has come a long way and what cell phones have done is tried to make cameras and the software feeding those cameras as kind of user friendly and forgive my language, but kind of dummy proof as possible, because very few of us have professional training in photography, which makes sense.

15:39 But to really reflect on an old photography term, there's something called tack sharp. Now, how important do you think it is to have sharp photos that are well lit so that you can actually read that model number information, actually see the pitting and reflection, later be able to use your two thumbs and peel right into it, right? I? mean it would literally be critical because, like, imagine, imagine taking a picture of a job and not realizing there's an issue and being like oh man, I didn't get a picture of the meter, what kind of panel is this? And zooming in to be like, oh, I see the square D, homelike homeline sign. Okay, it's a homeline panel. Great, I know what I'm ordering. But if it was a blurry picture you wouldn't have been able to.

16:19 Yeah, you should have known that information in advance. But sometimes the pictures save your butt. Yeah, so what are the kind of tech you think we could use for this? Hey, great question, brother. I've really got two big pointers that will help you with, like, the quality of these photos. And if you really think about it, you know how when you pull out your cell phone, maybe your iPhone 12? Yeah, all right. So if you hold that up at a dark time, like night, let's say, you go to take a picture and you know how sometimes it'll show like a little fuzzy and there's a countdown, yeah, and it's actually what it's doing is kind of a long exposure. One of the reasons for that is because, really, there's a couple factors it's trying to combat. One is handshake, right, because we all have these shaky hand syndromes going on and the distractions like squirrel, squirrel, I know.

17:05 Every time my night mode comes on, I go to take a picture and I'm distracted to go to the next one and I'm like dang I didn't wait the three seconds. I think everything's all like distorted yeah exactly looks like a ghost in the background, so it's trying to combat your handshake. I mean, smartphones are smart, right? They want to do this for you by letting in more of the second piece, that's light. So handshake light. If we could hold still and have the right lighting, we wouldn't have to depend on those features and we'd have tack sharp photos every single time. And so there's a couple of devices we can actually use to cheat this, joe. All right, what do we have? Our friend on Amazon, mr Jeff Bezos, helps with this. You can do this for like 50, 60 bucks.

17:45 It'll up your game big time, which is huge, because some of these photos end up on your Google profile. If you're doing your marketing consistently right, they'll end up on your Facebook feed and your other social. They're helping build your organic presence and helping people connect, and there's nothing like a shitty photo to make someone to scroll right past you. You know what I mean, oh my. God, or you know. It's not an angle. You look at it as like, at a skewed angle, and you're like why do I have to turn my head to see and even read the labeling? Later on you need that tack sharp photo. So here's the couple of things you can grab what's known as. Remember we talked about the selfie.

18:26 Yeah, First thing, here you can grab what's known as a selfie stick and many of them have upwards of a six foot tripod now built right into the handle that you can fully just expand and literally set up and have a remote easily Bluetooth to your phone so you can literally have your phone extended on this thing or sitting on this tripod and, at the click of a button, take an absolute shake free photo. I mean that sounds pretty amazing because if it's not wiggly or shaky or anything, you're going to be able to be able to zoom in a little bit better, which is, as we mentioned earlier, an absolute superpower. Plus, you know how you go to take a selfie and you can't quite get the whole van or the logo in Got to go out.

19:06 You got an extension pole now, right. So this is a huge game changer but really solidifies. Something I love taking pictures of on the side is I'll go out in nature and take photos of, like tiny little mushroom, blades of grass, little insect there, right, this selfie stick, even held by hand, will help you do that in a much more controlled fashion. Huge, huge savings because it's cheap, but also, again, level up, big game changer here. The second thing that most people you might feel nerdy bringing this into a job. But if you grab one of these ring lights, they have like a rheostat on the back almost to dial them up and down that brightness. But the more you can rely on good lighting and not rely on as Guillaume said in the chat the flash of your phone, you'll actually have more consistent photos and you'll be able to place the lighting where you need it, so the phone doesn't have to do the work.

19:59 So imagine you've got your lighting and it's nailed right, and then you've got your selfie stick, this tripod to hold your phone completely still and you get able to step back and click a button. Pretty darn amazing. How much better your photo is going to be now. I really think that's going to be an absolute game changer, because, you know, I'm very big on making sure that when we can take a picture, we can reference it later. So I think there's also one additional piece of tech that we can use that's based on the iPhone, yeah which is the 0.5 zoom. Now, the reason why I say 0.5 zoom is, as a service electrician, we don't always get to have good working space on the equipment we're working on. Yeah, we're all supposed to have three feet, but how many times have you had to shimmy into a closet only for them to have, like, your back against the wall and you're opening the panel like this?

20:43 Yeah, I mean, obviously, if you had to relocate, that's what you have to do, yeah, so in those situations, if you're holding it, you're trying to take a picture, you're not. So I found that you can use 0.5 zoom and it actually zooms you out as if you were further away of what it was. Yeah, so now, even if I was point blank, I have the ability of going a little bit further. So it just gives you that extra level of control and you're better able to do those things, a hundred percent. That's built right in your phone and that ties perfectly in with what you said earlier about seeing three feet on either side of the panel, having those photos for your work order and your installers to nail it. Brother, we've gone a bit long on this one. It's very clear that photography secrets are going to need, well, a sequel. Yeah, I would agree with that.

21:23 There's going to be a lot more, because I'm literally have so many things that I want to say and I think it's going to be too long to go into it. Let's crank out a or all-star brother. I could take either one. Uh, I could take basic, if you want, um, or I think all you got a basic right now. Yeah, let me hit the basic. Go for it, because we mentioned this earlier. I want you to take the pictures. Follow what joe said. Follow what we talked about here. Just take the photos. It's got to be number one, but number two I mean I'm biased. I like what I said. Grab some cheap equipment that will help you elevate your picture game and make sure you're taking good quality photos to you. My brother. All-star action is going to be actually a little more inception. Now, the thing is is I recognize with me is that I'm really good at remembering homes and I was really poor at remembering faces or names or things like that.

22:13 So let's say, you went to a call and two weeks later you had to remember them. What I found was really helpful for me is I would also take an addition to these photos. I would be at the front door let's say, I'm getting ready to leave the call. Just as I'm getting ready to pull out, I go to the front of the driveway and I take a picture of the home. The reason being is have you ever been in a situation where you pull into the driveway and suddenly you're like, oh, I've been here before, and just your brain downloads all the data from what you previously saw? That will help you in a huge way. So my all-star action is if you're taking the pictures, you can also take pictures of things that'll jog your memory of this customer, the connections and the things that they've mentioned in particular.

22:54 So you're not only knowing the project, but you're knowing who you're serving. That's expert level, man, awesome. This has been a great podcast and another effort to help you guys master your sales, simplify your pricing and deliver premium level electrical service. Of course, we're gonna keep streaming these bomb episodes every day of the week but, more importantly, we'll be back next week live again to serve you guys at the highest level.