What photos to take after a car accident

Take them in this order

Order matters because the scene degrades. Positions disappear as soon as a car moves; damage and documents can be photographed any time.

1. Wide shot from behind your vehicle, showing both cars and the road.
2. Wide shot from the opposite direction, showing the same thing.
3. The gap between the vehicles and how they are angled.
4. Every registration plate involved.
5. Damage to your vehicle — each side, then close-ups.
6. Damage to the other vehicle — same again.
7. Traffic signals, give-way and stop signs, speed signs.
8. Lane markings, arrows, skid marks and debris.
9. The general conditions — wet road, glare, darkness, roadworks.

What people forget

• The inside of your own vehicle if an airbag deployed or a child seat was in use.
• Your odometer, which fixes the vehicle's condition at that moment.
• Anything obstructing the view — a parked truck, an overgrown hedge, a temporary sign.
• The other vehicle's tyres, if tread or pressure looks relevant.
• A short video, walking slowly around the whole scene once.

Keep them safe

Back the photos up the same day. Claims can run for months, and phones get lost, wet or replaced. Keep the originals rather than compressed copies sent through a messaging app — original files retain the capture time, which occasionally matters.

You can upload accident photos into your Crash Guide accident record, where they are stored privately against your accident rather than scattered across your camera roll.