The front steps at a 1962 brick colonial in Tottenville had been patched three times before I saw them in February 2024, every patch a different shade of gray. The seller’s disclosure said the steps had been repaired. My footage said the second tread had dropped three-quarters of an inch relative to the first, the cheek walls had a horizontal crack wide enough for a dime, and freeze-thaw had spalled a dozen brick faces at the base. The buyer negotiated a rebuild, closed in April, and asked me to shoot the finished work in the same frames. That before-and-after set is now the model I use for masonry documentation.
Shooting the before so the after can match it
The mistake most people make with before-and-after photos is treating them as two separate shoots. They are one shoot, split by time. Everything about the first session has to be repeatable months later by someone who may not be you, so I plan the after while I am shooting the before.
For these steps I picked four tripod positions and marked each with a spray-painted dot on the sidewalk and a measurement to two fixed references: 11 feet 4 inches from the curb, 6 feet 2 inches from the fence post. Each position got a card in the frame with the number and lens focal length. I used 24mm for three wide frames and 50mm for the fourth — a straight-on elevation of the cheek wall crack. Tripod height 48 inches at every position. All of it went into a text file with the photos, because a year later nobody remembers.
Camera settings fixed: f/8, ISO 200, white balance locked at 5,500 K. Auto white balance is the enemy of comparison photos — brick that reads warm in one shot and cool in the next looks like different brick.
What goes in the before frames beyond the wide shots
Wide frames prove the steps existed. They do not prove the problems. For that I shot a separate set of close-ups, each with a scale in frame:
- A 4-foot level laid across each tread, photographed from the side so the bubble and the gap under the low end were both visible. The second tread showed the three-quarter-inch drop.
- A tape measure across the cheek wall crack at three points, shot at 50mm from about 3 feet so the graduations were legible.
- Each spalled brick face at the base, with a coin for scale.
- The joint between the top landing and the house foundation, where the sealant had failed and daylight showed.
- Ninety seconds of video walking up and down the steps with the camera pointed at my feet, which shows the rocking on the second tread in a way a still cannot.
Tottenville sits at the south end of the island and gets the full run of winter freeze-thaw off Raritan Bay. Spalling from salt and ice is the most common thing I see on front steps here, and it photographs best in flat light. I shot the close-ups on an overcast morning. Hard sun makes the pits disappear into shadow.
Shooting the after in the same frames
I came back in late April with the text file and a tape. The paint dots had survived. Three of the four positions set up within an inch of the originals; the fourth I matched by overlaying the before image on the camera’s live view. Same lens, same height, same white balance.
The close-up set repeated with the same level, tape, and coin — the part people skip. A level on a new tread with the bubble centered is a stronger document than a nice photo of new brick. I also shot the new joint at the house wall and a 60-second video walking the steps with no rock and no sound of loose material. The finished record: 42 stills and two videos, before and after paired in one folder with matching file numbers, plus a one-page text summary of positions, dates, and what changed at each.
Who the record is really for
The homeowner looks at these photos once. Future reviewers — a buyer’s inspector, an insurance adjuster after a slip-and-fall, a contractor honoring a warranty — will study them. The rebuild was done by a Staten Island mason who took the steps to the footing and rebuilt in brick over a new concrete core, and who asked for a copy of the before set for his job file. A five-tread, two-cheek-wall rebuild runs $6,000 to $14,000 on Staten Island depending on whether the footing has to come out and what brick matching costs.
Frequently asked questions
How do I take before-and-after photos that actually match? Mark each tripod position on the ground and record its distance to two fixed references, note the lens focal length and tripod height, lock white balance and aperture, and keep a text file with the photos. Shoot the after with the same gear in similar light, using the before image as an overlay if your camera supports it.
What should be in the close-up photos of damaged steps? A scale reference in every frame: a level across treads to show drops, a tape across cracks to show width, and a coin next to spalled brick faces. Add a short video of walking the steps to show any movement or rocking that a still cannot capture.
How long should I keep before-and-after documentation of masonry work? Keep it for as long as you own the property and hand it to the buyer when you sell. Workmanship warranties on masonry commonly run one to five years, and a dated record of the finished condition is what settles a claim.