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1. Set the purpose and requirements
Before visiting, write down why the record is being made, who will use it, which parts of the site are in scope, and what the finished record must include. A basic visual condition record does not necessarily need the same detail as a measured baseline or a formal archival submission.
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Check whether an owner, local authority, consent condition, or archive specifies a format or deliverables. Requirements vary by jurisdiction and project. Historic England’s Understanding Historic Buildings: A Guide to Good Recording Practice, published on 24 May 2016, offers practical advice on survey, photography, and report writing for practitioners and non-specialists. The National Park Service (NPS) likewise connects documentation methods and level of detail to a property’s significance and the purpose of the work.
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2. Identify the site and orient the record
Give another reader enough information to distinguish the site from similar places and relocate the record. Include the site name, address or geographic location, date of visit, recorder, resource type, and a concise description of its physical characteristics and setting. Add a legal property description where relevant. Ontario’s heritage-property guidance recommends capturing address, legal description, resource type, physical and contextual observations, and photographs; it notes that an electronic database can make records easier to cross-reference and update.
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Assign each image a stable identifier and a short caption. If the project needs locations and directions of view, mark them on a site plan or annotated sketch. Check the project brief for any required numbering or mapping convention.
3. Plan and make the photographs
Build a sequence that shows the site as a whole before moving to significant parts and details. A practical order is:
- Setting and overall views: show the site in its surroundings and its relationship to nearby features.
- Main areas and elevations: document principal faces, spaces, and circulation routes.
- Relationships between features: photograph connections that may be hard to understand from isolated close-ups.
- Condition and significant details: capture visible changes or defects and features relevant to the record’s purpose.
Where future comparison matters, choose viewpoints that can be found and repeated; note their locations and directions. Record when, where, and by whom the photographs were made. Retain original files and relevant technical metadata under the project’s storage rules.
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4. Write condition observations that can be checked
Connect each observation to a specific location or feature and, where useful, to one or more image identifiers. Describe what is visible rather than presenting an interpretation as fact. A clear entry identifies the feature and material, the visible change or defect, its location and extent, and any relevant environmental or access context. State what could not be inspected.
Separate direct observation from interpretation or diagnosis. Do not assign a severity grade or claim a cause unless the project has an agreed method and the recorder has appropriate expertise. Ontario guidance supports recording physical characteristics and general observations; the NPS requires reliable sourcing and clear limitations so that another person can independently verify the information.
A project may find a table useful, but no universal condition-report form, taxonomy, or grading scale is established by the cited sources. Adapt fields to the brief:
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| Field | What to record |
|---|---|
| Feature and location | The part of the site being described, using a plan reference or other consistent locator if available. |
| Observed condition | Visible material, change or defect, and its apparent extent; keep diagnosis separate. |
| Image IDs | Identifiers for photographs that show the observation. |
| Date and recorder | When the observation was made and by whom. |
| Limits and confidence | Access, visibility, or other constraints, plus uncertainty where relevant. |
| Follow-up | Any agreed next step, such as a specialist referral; do not imply a diagnosis that has not been made. |
5. Decide whether photographs need to be supplemented
Photographs convey appearance and visible condition, but they may not provide the spatial accuracy needed for measured plans, repeatable change monitoring, repair design, or conservation planning. Choose a method according to the question the record must answer, the coverage and access available, and the precision required.
Historic England’s Surveying and Recording Heritage guidance covers measured building and topographic survey, laser scanning, structure-from-motion photogrammetry, and low-level aerial imagery. It emphasizes fit-for-purpose specifications and describes processed survey outputs as accurate, scalable base documentation that can support condition survey, structural monitoring, and conservation-work planning. The page was published on 23 June 2021 and identifies a fourth-edition geospatial specification published on 31 January 2024; check the current linked specification before commissioning work.
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For a project comparing methods, assess:
- Purpose and precision: Is a visual orientation and condition record enough, or is a measured spatial baseline needed?
- Coverage and access: Can the relevant areas be reached and photographed safely, or are high, complex, fragile, or restricted locations involved?
- Repeatability: Can the same viewpoints or spatial data be revisited and compared over time?
- Processing and preservation: Will the deliverable be images alone or also survey files, point clouds, photogrammetric models, and associated metadata?
- Project constraints: Consider expertise, cost, permissions, site sensitivity, time, and specified deliverables.
Selecting a survey approach for a particular site requires a project brief and a competent practitioner.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.6. Check, package, and preserve the record
Before sign-off, check that every image has a stable identifier and caption, can be matched to a location, and supports the written account where relevant. Confirm that the report names its information sources, distinguishes observation from interpretation, and discloses gaps and limitations. Package the files so another reader can interpret and reproduce the record later, following applicable archive, records-management, and data-protection rules.
The NPS Standard II states: “Documentation Shall be Prepared Accurately From Reliable Sources With Limitations Clearly Stated to Permit Independent Verification of the Information.” The NPS standards also call for documentation that is reproducible, durable, and in standard sizes. These are U.S. program standards; apply the requirements relevant to the project rather than assuming they govern every heritage record.
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Check local rules before visiting or submitting
The New South Wales Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water published its Guidelines for preparing archival recordings of heritage items as a condition of consent on 6 May 2025. It reflects Heritage Council of NSW requirements for State Heritage Register items, focuses particularly on commonly used photographic recording methods, and replaces the 1998 archival-recording and 2006 photographic-recording guidance. It is not a universal standard for sites elsewhere.
Before work begins, confirm site-specific access, consent, safety, privacy, drone, and archival-deposit requirements with the relevant authority and project owner. These rules can depend on the place and the purpose of the record.
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Further official guidance
- U.S. National Park Service: SOI Standards & Guidelines for Documentation.
- U.S. National Park Service: Heritage Documentation Programs.
- Government of Ontario: Identifying heritage properties.
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