Hail damage is a sneaky category: dents are only visible to the naked eye in good light – and even harder to catch on camera. Yet how smoothly the assessment runs depends on your photos. This guide gives you the technique: what to shoot, when, in what light, and how.
- Dents show up in raking light: a low sun or side-on light is your friend – flat midday light is the enemy.
- The sequence rule: overview → panel shots → close-ups, always in the same order, with a scale reference (a coin, a magnetic ruler).
- Photograph the hailstones too, with a scale reference, and save the weather report – these are your evidence of the loss event.
When and in What Light Should You Shoot?
The best time is early morning or late afternoon, when the sun sits low: raking light draws a shadow along the edge of every dent. If the sun won't cooperate, make your own raking light: a phone torch held to the side, shining flat across the surface. Avoid flat midday light and a wet body panel – the glare hides everything. Under cover, the striped reflection of garage strip-lights shows deformations especially well: move your viewpoint so the light stripe "breaks" right at the dent.
The Sequence Technique
- ☐ Overview shots from all four sides, plus a view down onto the roof (from an elevated position if possible).
- ☐ One shot per panel: bonnet, roof, boot lid, wings – using the light-stripe technique.
- ☐ Close-ups of the typical dents, with a scale object (a coin) next to the dent.
- ☐ Damaged trim, mirrors and glass on their own separate shots.
- ☐ The scene: hailstones with a scale object, and the surroundings (other cars, damaged vegetation) – these support the fact of the loss event.
- ☐ A photo of the odometer, and a note of the date and location.
What Should You Do with the Photos?
Upload them to the insurer's online claim form when you report the loss – good material speeds up scheduling the inspection, especially during a mass-claim event: see the hail-claim reporting article. Keep the original files (the metadata – time, place – has evidentiary value), and avoid having the car repaired before the inspection if at all possible. If the assessment comes back disputed despite your photos: we proceed as described in the article on how the broker helps.
Did hail just hit your car? We can also talk through the reporting steps – book a free 20-minute consultation →
