Photographing work in progress for clients: a shot list by craft

This guide is for makers who send clients photos while a commission is under way: the jeweller showing a setting before casting, the potter sharing test tiles, the luthier with an instrument in the white, the saddler with a cut pattern, the smith with a gate on the bench. A good progress photo shows the client their piece taking shape, records what was approved and, later, shows the work to future clients.

We cover what to photograph at each stage by craft, phone camera basics, keeping photos consistent, privacy (including location data hidden in image files), and consent before using a client's piece in your marketing.

The privacy and consent sections touch on data protection law. They are general information, not legal advice.

Key takeaways

• Photograph stages the client can recognise, and the stages where they need to approve something before it is fixed.
• Use the same light, background and angles each time, so the client sees the piece change, not the lighting.
• Apple and Google both document that phone photos can carry the location where they were taken; Google Photos notes that a camera-added location is shared when you share the photo.
• Under the GDPR, location data is one of the identifiers that can make information personal data.
• Keep faces, addresses, delivery labels and other clients' work out of frame.
• Ask before using a client's piece publicly; where you rely on consent, the GDPR requires you to be able to show it and to stop if it is withdrawn.

Why progress photos matter

Clients who commission a piece pay a deposit and then wait. Photos give them something to see, and the client updates guide covers why that matters and how often to send them.

Photos also do a quieter job. They are dated evidence of each stage: what the setting looked like when the client approved it, which glaze tile they chose, how the joinery looked before glue-up. If a question comes up later, the photo answers it. That makes them part of how you handle change requests and staged payments.

What to photograph, by craft

One or two clear photos per stage are enough. Focus on stages where something visible changes or where the client must approve before you continue.

Craft	Stages worth photographing
Jewellery	Design sketch or CAD render; chosen stone next to a scale; wax or setting before casting; piece after casting; stone set; finished piece, including any hallmark or maker's mark
Ceramics	Test tiles in the chosen glaze; thrown or built forms at leather-hard; bisque-fired ware; glaze applied; finished set after the glaze firing
Glass	Colour samples; piece during or straight after making, when safe; cold-working; finished piece in transmitted light
Leather and textiles	Chosen hide or cloth; pattern laid out; cut pieces; stitching under way; edges finished; first fitting if any
Instruments	Tonewoods selected; top and back joined; bracing; box closed; neck fitted; instrument in the white; finish; set-up
Metalwork	Drawing on the bench; stock cut; forging or bending; parts fitted; finish applied; installed piece
Furniture	Boards selected; joinery; dry fit; glue-up; first coat of finish; finished piece

Two notes on specific crafts. In ceramics, warn clients that what they see at leather-hard is not the final size: Cerritos College's ceramics course notes put total shrinkage from wet clay to glaze-fired ware at about 12%, and it varies with the clay. In jewellery and glass, photograph stones and coloured glass in daylight as well as studio light, because colour can look different under each.

For the approval stages, photograph exactly what the client is approving and say so in the message: "This is the setting at actual size, before casting."

Phone camera basics

You do not need a dedicated camera. A recent phone is enough for progress photos if you look after a few basics:

• Clean the lens. Phones live in pockets and workshops. Dust and fingerprints make photos look soft and hazy.
• Get the light right first. Light matters more than the camera (see below).
• Tap to focus on the piece, not the background, and check the photo is sharp before you move on.
• Keep the phone level and square to the piece for overview shots, so proportions look right. Shoot details from closer rather than zooming in digitally, which loses quality.
• Give scale. A ruler, a coin, a hand or a known object helps a client read size, especially for jewellery and small ceramics.
• Do not over-edit. Crop, straighten and fix exposure. Do not change colours or smooth away tool marks the client will see in person.

Light and consistency

The aim is that the client can compare one update with the last. That means the piece should change between photos, and the light and setting should not.

Use soft, even light. A large window out of direct sun, or a lamp bounced off a white wall, gives soft shadows that show form. Direct sun and bare bulbs make hard shadows and glare on metal, glaze and finish.

Do not mix light sources. Daylight and warm indoor bulbs in the same shot give the piece two colours at once. Turn one off.

Pick a spot and a background. A plain board, a sheet of paper or a clean bench, in the same place each time. A neutral background keeps attention on the piece.

Repeat the angles. Choose two or three standard views for the piece, such as front, three-quarter and a detail, and use them at every stage. A series of photos from the same angle shows progress better than any description.

The Crafts Council's guide to working with galleries quotes Yvonna Demczynska of Flow Gallery: do not "underestimate the power of beautiful photography of your work". The same care pays off with clients.

Privacy: what the photo reveals

A progress photo can show more than the piece. Before you send or post one, check three things.

Location data in the file

Phone cameras can record where a photo was taken and store it in the image file's metadata, often called EXIF data. Apple's personal safety guide describes location metadata gathered from cellular, Wi-Fi, GPS networks and Bluetooth, and warns that people you share photos with may be able to see where they were taken. Google's Photos help says that a location added automatically by your camera cannot be updated or removed in Google Photos, and that the camera-provided location is shown when you share that photo. It also notes that people can still guess a location from landmarks in a photo.

If your workshop is at home, or you photograph a piece in a client's home, that location can reveal an address. What you can do:

• Before sharing on iPhone, Apple's guide describes turning off Location under Options in the share sheet; "Location Not Included" then appears.
• For photos already taken on iPhone, Apple describes removing location through Adjust Location and No Location.
• On Android and in Google Photos, Google describes turning off "Share photo locations" for shared albums and conversations. Camera-added locations stay with the file when it is downloaded and sent elsewhere.
• Stop it at the source. Turn off location access for the camera app if you never need it for work photos. Menu names vary by phone and system version.

Under the GDPR, location data is one of the identifiers listed in the definition of personal data (Article 4(1)). Treat it with the same care as a name or address.

What is in the frame

Look at the edges of the photo before you send it:

• Faces, including the client's family during installation and anyone in the workshop.
• Addresses and names: delivery labels, invoices, cut lists with a client name, post on a table.
• Other clients' work, which they have not agreed to show.
• Views from windows that identify a street or building.
• Screens showing emails or orders.

Crop, move the item or retake. It is faster than explaining later.

Where photos are stored

Progress photos of a client's piece, especially in their home, are part of that client's record. Keep them in one place with the order, not scattered across a personal camera roll, chats and social media drafts.

Consent for marketing use

Sending progress photos to the client is one use. Posting them on your website or social media is another, and needs its own agreement.

A photo of an object on your bench may not identify anyone. A photo that shows the client, their home, their name, a tag, or a piece so personal it identifies them, such as an engraved name, can be personal data. This section is general information, not legal advice.

If you rely on the client's consent to use such photos, the EU GDPR sets some basics (the UK GDPR is based on it; check the UK text if you work there):

• Consent must be a real choice. Article 4(11) defines it as a freely given, specific, informed and unambiguous indication of the person's wishes, by a statement or clear affirmative action.
• You must be able to show it. Article 7(1) says the controller must be able to demonstrate that the person consented.
• It can be withdrawn. Article 7(3) says consent can be withdrawn at any time, and that withdrawing must be as easy as giving it.

UK Department for Education guidance for schools on photos, written under UK GDPR, makes two points that apply just as well to a workshop: once consent is withdrawn, you must stop using the person's data and delete it unless you have another lawful basis, and if you plan to use images for a new or different purpose, check whether the original consent covers it.

In practice:

• Ask at the start, separately from the order, what the client is happy for you to show: the finished piece only, progress photos, photos in their home, their first name, a tag.
• Record the answer with the order, in their words or as a ticked list they confirmed.
• Ask again before using a photo for something new, such as a printed brochure or an advert.
• Remove photos promptly if the client changes their mind.
• Describe the piece, not the person, unless the client wants to be named.

In Poland, the copyright act (ustawa o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych) adds a separate rule on images of people: Article 81 says distributing a person's image requires their permission, with limited exceptions. The Polish version of this guide covers it.

Close with a record

The last set of photos is the one the client keeps: the finished piece, in good light, with details of materials and marks. It belongs with the care instructions and any maker's mark or serial number record. Taken consistently through the commission, your photos become a history of the piece.

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Laws change, and how they apply depends on the facts of each case. Before a decision about your own contract, product or business, check the current text with the relevant authority or ask a lawyer.

Sources

• Manage location metadata in Photos, Apple Personal Safety User Guide: what location metadata is, that recipients may see it, turning Location off in share Options, removing location from existing photos
• Understand, find and edit your photos' locations, Google Photos Help: camera-added locations cannot be removed in Google Photos and are shared with the photo, share photo locations setting, landmarks revealing location
• Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), EUR-Lex: Article 4(1) location data as an identifier in the definition of personal data, Article 4(11) definition of consent, Article 7(1) and (3) demonstrating consent and withdrawing it at any time
• Taking and using photos and videos, and using CCTV in schools, Department for Education, GOV.UK (updated October 2026): lawful basis before taking or using photos, stopping use after withdrawal, checking consent for a new purpose
• How to work with galleries, Crafts Council craft business resource: Yvonna Demczynska on the value of good photography of work
• Art 150 Beginning Ceramics: Basic Ceramic Technology, Cerritos College: approximately 12% total shrinkage from wet clay to glaze-fired ware
• Ustawa o prawie autorskim i prawach pokrewnych, consolidated text Dz.U. 2025 poz. 24, Sejm RP: Article 81, permission needed to distribute a person's image in Poland