Greater Emphasis on Construction Photos with the Enforcement of the Revised Building Standards Act
With the enforcement of the revised Building Standards Act in April 2025, the number of construction phases requiring photography during final inspections of single-family homes is increasing. The volume of construction photographs required will also be enormous. In particular, by documenting the construction status of areas that will be concealed after completion, these photographs serve to verify consistency with the design documents and attest to the quality of workmanship. I believe construction photographs will become increasingly important in the future.
Altering photos of public works projects is not allowed.
In 2005, in the field of civil engineering, “Falsification of Construction Photographs"This" became an issue. It was discovered that the contractor for a road construction project commissioned by the Kyushu Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism had altered photographs taken with a digital camera in an attempt to make the slope look better.
In response to this incident, the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism stated, “To ensure the authenticity of the photos, photo editing is not permitted."In the following year, 2006, the company implemented strict anti-tampering measures that even prohibited rotating or adjusting the brightness of digital photos."
Since then,All of the following modifications are not allowedThat is the case.
- Rotate the image.
- Since the shaded areas were hard to see, I adjusted the brightness.
- Since the entire image looked blurry, I adjusted the contrast.
- Since the writing on the blackboard was incorrect, I used software to correct it.
- Since the subject was too small, I cropped the image to include only the necessary portion.
A Study on How to Handle Situations When Construction Photos Are Forgotten
It seems that new employees are often assigned the task of taking construction photos, partly as a way for them to learn about the construction process. Of course, they might occasionally forget to take a photo. I think the best way to handle this is to just take the photo anyway.
Attempt to take the photo as early as possible
First and foremost, the most basic step you can take is to take photos as soon as possible after you notice the issue. Even if construction is already underway, you may still be able to document areas of the site that haven’t been altered yet or certain parts of the construction work. To ensure the photos serve as strong evidence, it’s best to record the date and time you took them, as well as the reason for taking them.
Search for photos I took previously
I'll look for any photos that show that place, no matter how far away they were taken.
Thoroughly check to see if anyone else is filming
If you realize you’ve forgotten to take construction photos, immediately check with all project personnel and subcontractors. Someone else may have taken photos. If there’s a construction supervisor on site, they may have photographed the areas you missed. There might even be a proud craftsman who takes photos to document the quality of their own work. If there are photos at the site, ask to see them. This is a situation where you need to take responsibility and do everything in your power to resolve the issue. It’s also necessary to contact the client honestly and ask if they have any photos taken during their site visits.
Check the locations of the security cameras
If you appear in footage from surveillance cameras installed at the site or in videos recorded during work, it is highly likely that we can extract the relevant portion and save it as a photo.
We'll go ahead with the shoot even if it means redoing it.
If it is still possible to restore the work to its original state, you might decide to proceed with the photography even if it means having to redo some of the work. Although redoing the work may cause delays in the process, it is more cost-effective than having to redo the work after completion because the client or supervisor pointed out an issue. Furthermore, this approach not only helps control costs but also has the potential to prevent a loss of trust from the client and subcontractors.
Prepare a report, provide an honest account, and explore ways to address the issue
- Which places did I forget to take pictures of?
- Which step did I forget to take a photo of?
- The Reason I Forgot to Take a Photo
- If similar construction work has been carried out in the past, use that historical data to create data that is likely to be persuasive.
- Explore whether the construction plans before and after the work, inspection records, daily work reports, material delivery slips, and on-site notes can be supplemented with photographs, documents, or sketches.
Preparing for Problems
For construction projects where the submission of construction photographs is required by law, it is also necessary to take precautions against potential disputes. If you face issues such as a breach of contract, denial of subsidies, or a reduction in compensation due to failing to take photographs, you should consider seeking the assistance of a legal expert. This is particularly important for large-scale or public works projects, as such situations can escalate into major disputes; therefore, it is crucial to prepare early.
