Installers ask “how many photos?” because they want a number to work to. The honest answer is that the Regulator specifies what the photos must show, not how many frames to take. A good set for a typical rooftop solar job runs to a few dozen images. A battery adds its own required set.
Why the checklist beats the count
Photos have two jobs: prove the work was done to the standard, and prove the accredited installer was there. An auditor does not count them. They look for gaps: a missing stage, an unreadable label, a timestamp that does not fit the story. So work from a checklist of subjects.
A working solar checklist
Before work starts
- The site and roof from the street and the roof edge.
- The switchboard before work, with the door open.
- The installer on site, with the vehicle or ID visible where practical.
During installation
- Mounting rails and flashing in place, before panels go on.
- DC cabling and isolators.
- The installer working at the array, in more than one stage.
- Panel serial labels. See capturing serial numbers.
After installation
- The completed array, from enough angles to count the panels.
- Inverter, with compliance plate and serial legible, and its wiring.
- AC isolator and main switch labelled and in place.
- Switchboard after work, with labels and signage.
- Any required warning signs.
Before and after, explained
“Before and after” is shorthand for the start, middle and end of the job. A before photo that is a different angle from the after photo shows less than a pair taken from the same spot. The point is to demonstrate the change and the sequence. Match them to the installation type, because a replacement or an addition needs the old equipment shown too.
Batteries
Battery jobs have a required set of labelling and installation photos, in addition to the usual on-site verification photos, and since 1 March 2026 they must be geotagged and timestamped. The files have to match the install timing, in JPEG, PNG or HEIC. The detail is in the battery photo guide and the battery submission guide.
Practical rules
- Shoot in landscape and keep the label in focus. Use flash or torch in shadow.
- Take extra. Storage is cheap; a re-visit is not.
- Do not edit, crop or filter. See geotag and metadata rules.
- Name the folder by job number straight away.
From the desk: do a two-minute photo review on site before you leave. Scroll through the set against the checklist. A missed label costs you a return visit, or a failed claim.
What this means for installers
Make the checklist a one-page job card, and have someone other than the photographer check it. For the Regulator’s detail, see the STC photo requirements and what photos are needed for solar STCs. Energy Merchants’ compliance desk pre-checks photos before lodgement; see how it works, STC trading and the resources hub.