Home / Outdoor living & hardscape
The before is worth as much as the after. Most crews only have one.
Pavers, travertine, pergolas, outdoor kitchens, turf, fire features and lighting. The sale is the transformation, and the transformation only exists if someone photographed the starting point. We do that for East Valley and Phoenix hardscape crews on a monthly cadence.
Shot on day one, before the demo
The first visit on a hardscape retainer happens before anything is torn out. Bare dirt, tired concrete, a yard nobody uses. It takes twenty minutes and it is the single highest value frame in the whole project.
Then we come back while the base goes in, while the pergola goes up, and once the lighting is set at dusk.
Where it goes
Instagram and Facebook Reels, Houzz project galleries, your Google Business Profile, the website portfolio, and the tablet your estimator hands across a kitchen table.
Same shoot, five placements. That is why a retainer costs less per asset than a one-off project shoot.
What a hardscape retainer includes
- Pre-demo captureEvery project starts with a documented before, shot from the angles the after will be shot from.
- Mid-build visitsBase prep, cuts, setting stone, framing. The craft shots that prove the work is not subcontracted out and rushed.
- Finished daylight and duskTwo passes, because landscape lighting is half the product and it does not exist at noon.
- Matched before and after pairsSame lens, same position, same height. The side by side only lands if the frames actually line up.
- DroneOverhead layout of the full yard, which is the only way to show a large hardscape design as a design.
What a month looks like on a hardscape contractor plan
Visits run on a set schedule, not around your construction milestones, so nobody on your side has to coordinate a photographer. A Growth month across two or three active sites runs like this.
- Week 1Pre-demo beforesEvery new job gets a before from the angles the after will be shot from, before anything is torn out. Twenty minutes per address.
- Week 2Base and cutsBase prep, setting stone, pergola framing. The craft content that proves the work is not subbed out and rushed.
- Week 3Matched aftersFinished jobs shot from the marked before positions, same lens and height, so the side by side actually lines up.
- Week 4Dusk lighting passA second finish pass at dusk on anything with landscape lighting, because that is half the product and it does not exist at noon.
Which tier fits a hardscape contractor
Every plan and the $900 content day are on the pricing page. A visit is a half day covering up to four addresses in one trip, so the coverage below is what one, two or four of those a month actually reaches. The short version for this trade:
Where we shoot
Hardscape and outdoor living work is heaviest in the East Valley, and that is where we are based. Gilbert, Chandler, Queen Creek, Mesa, Tempe, Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Arcadia, Anthem and across Phoenix. Most routes cover three or four addresses in one trip, which is what keeps the per-project cost low.
Related: pool builders, before and after pairs on the Work page, and the bundle for a site that adds a project page every month.
What a scheduled visit produces
Two landscape projects, each shot before the work started and again when it was done. This is the before and after film your crew should have for every yard.
More films and photo sets on the Work page.
What customers say
Seeing the transformation from the beginning to the finished pool is amazing. It's more than a video of construction. It's the story of how we created our own little paradise.
NicolePool owner
Having professional documentation of our projects gives us something tangible to share with future customers. It highlights our work, our process, and the details that set us apart.
BrandonGeneral contractor
Questions
We do ten small jobs a month, not two big ones. Does this still work?
Yes, and it works better. High job volume means more befores and afters per visit. We route several addresses into one trip, which is how the per-project cost stays low.
What if we forgot to call before demo started?
Call anyway. A mid-demo frame is still a usable before. Going forward, the fix is standing permission to shoot any address on your active list without a call.
Can you match photos to the designs we sold from?
Yes. Send the renderings and we will shoot the finished work from the rendering's viewpoint. Rendering next to reality is persuasive content and almost nobody produces it.
From the notes: Why the before photo is the one that sells · What a pool builder's Instagram should look like
Where we work: Gilbert · Chandler · Mesa · Tempe · Queen Creek and San Tan Valley · Scottsdale · Paradise Valley and Arcadia · Cave Creek and Carefree · Phoenix · North Phoenix, Anthem and Desert Ridge · Fountain Hills · Peoria · Glendale · Surprise · Goodyear, Avondale and Buckeye