# What to photograph and log after a loss

Documentation is the highest-value, lowest-cost thing you can do after any property loss. What to photograph, in what order, what to keep, and what not to throw

> Source: https://servpronorhfremont.com/documentation/
> Last reviewed: 2026-08-21

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- What to photograph and log
 
 

# What to photograph and log

High value, zero cost, and the part most people skip because it feels less urgent than moving things out of the water.

 - Water
- Fire & smoke
- Mold
- Biohazard
 
 
 
Safe for homeowners Within the conditions described on this page. Photograph and film everything before you move a single item: wide shots of each room, then the source, then the water or smoke line on the wall, then close-ups of contents with model and serial numbers. Keep every receipt and every daily monitoring log, and discard nothing until the adjuster authorizes it.
 

## The order # Link to this section

 
- Wide shots of each affected room , from the doorway, so the extent is obvious.

- The source — the failed pipe, the appliance, the ceiling opening, the fixture.

- The water line or smoke line on the wall , which establishes how high it reached.

- Close-ups of damaged contents , with model and serial numbers where they exist.

- A walkthrough video with the date audible, narrating what you are seeing.

 

Do this before anything is moved. Photographs taken after a room has been cleared prove far less than photographs taken before it was touched, and there is no way to recreate the earlier ones.

## What to keep # Link to this section

 
- Every receipt, from the first night — hotel, meals, pet boarding, supplies

- The claim number, the adjuster’s name, and the date and time of every call

- Daily monitoring logs, if drying equipment is installed

- Moisture readings, with dates

- Every document you are asked to sign, including the ones you did not sign

 

## Daily monitoring logs are the ones people miss # Link to this section

If a contractor installs air movers and dehumidifiers, someone should be returning daily to take moisture readings and record them. Those logs are how anyone later establishes that the equipment was necessary, that it was doing something, and for how long.

Equipment running with no monitoring log is one of the red flags on this site, and it is also, practically, a hole in your own evidence.

## Do not throw anything away yet # Link to this section

Not even things that are obviously ruined. The ruined item is the evidence for the contents claim. Wait for the adjuster to authorize disposal, and photograph it before it goes.

 

## Related questions

 - The first hour after any loss
- After a house fire, hour by hour
- Water categories and drying logs
- Additional living expense receipts
- Mold and the 24 to 48 hour window
 
 
 

## Sources

Every source cited on this page

 - T1 State insurance departments (directory) — NAIC (accessed 2026-08-21)

- T1 The National Flood Insurance Program — FEMA (accessed 2026-08-21)

- T2 Insurance Information Institute — Triple-I (accessed 2026-08-21)
 
 
 Written by: PLACEHOLDER — Claims Reviewer Reviewed by: PLACEHOLDER — Claims Reviewer Last reviewed: 2026-08-21