Photos and Markup

Markup turns a photo into evidence. Circle the cavity. Arrow the included bark union. Label the target zone. The marked-up version is what shows up in the PDF — your client sees exactly what you saw.

Quick Start

• Open a tree. Tap the photo.
• Tap Edit (pencil icon).
• Pick a tool: arrow, freehand, shape, or text.
• Draw on the photo. Save.
• The marked-up version replaces the original in the report.

Why markup matters

The original photo proves the tree exists. The markup explains why you flagged it. Without markup, a co-dominant-stems defect is just a tree photo — the client has to take your word for it. With markup, the included-bark union is circled, the failure plane is arrowed, and the recommendation makes immediate sense.

For risk assessments specifically, markup is non-optional in most insurer-accepted formats.

Tools

1. Arrow

   Tap to start, drag to the target, release. Good for pointing at specific defects (a hanging limb, a basal wound, a soil heave).

2. Freehand

   Draw any shape. Good for circling a large area (a whole crown section that's deadwood-heavy) where a precise shape isn't worth the effort.

3. Rectangle / Circle

   Tap one corner, drag to the opposite corner. Use for clean outlines — the trunk crack, the cavity, the canker.

4. Text

   Tap where you want the label. Type. Drag to reposition. Use sparingly — labels compete with the photo for attention. Two or three per photo, max.

Color and weight

Each tool has a color picker and a stroke weight selector. Defaults are tuned for visibility against most bark and foliage:

• Red — defects, recommendations, hazard markers
• Yellow — measurement annotations
• White — labels (high contrast against any background)

You can change the color per stroke. Color choice is preserved per markup, so a single photo can carry multiple-color annotations.

Editing existing markup

1. Tap the photo to open the viewer

   The photo shows with all existing markup overlaid.

2. Tap Edit

   Markup becomes interactive. Tap any element to select it.

3. Move, resize, or delete

   Drag to move. Drag the corner handles to resize. Tap the trash icon to delete.

4. Save

   Saves a new version. The original photo is preserved underneath — markup is a separate layer.

Multiple photos, multiple markups

Each photo on a tree carries its own markup. A trunk shot can carry one set of arrows; a canopy shot can carry a different set. The carousel preserves them all.

The PDF report uses the current photo (the one displayed in the carousel) for that tree. So if you want a markup to appear in the report, set the marked-up photo as the current one.

Common Questions

Can I add markup later (back at the office)? Yes. Open the photo from the web dashboard at app.treeinventory.ai. The markup tools work the same way on web as they do on mobile.

Can I export the marked-up photo separately (without the report)? Yes — long-press the photo on mobile and choose Save to share. On web, right-click and save.

Does markup work in voice notes? Voice notes are for the tree, not for individual photos. If you describe a defect by voice, the audio is preserved on the tree; you can also mark up the photo to show it visually.

What if I want to start over? Tap Edit, select-all (long-press the canvas), tap trash. Or just delete the photo entirely and re-take it.

Related

• Capturing Trees — taking the photo in the first place
• Generating Reports — what the marked-up photo looks like in the PDF
• Hazard Rating (TRAQ) — markup conventions for formal risk assessments