Photographing meter

danco

Best advice seems to be to take a photograph when making a meter reading.

But I am wondering what the easiest way to take a readable photo is (I currently have an iPhone 7). Whether I use the flash or not I get a photo in which the figures can't be read. Fortunately I have some fancy image manipulation programs and adjusting the levels considerably gives a readable image. But there must be a simpler way to get things readable.

GingerTim

Don't take it head on with a flash, but from an angle so you don't get the full reflection on the glass.

Farway

Use a torch to illuminate the reading, and at angle as suggested above

dunstonh

Best advice seems to be to take a photograph when making a meter reading.

Only by those with tin foil hats.

Nebulous2

dunstonh said:

Best advice seems to be to take a photograph when making a meter reading.

Only by those with tin foil hats.

I don't have a smart meter. My energy provider recommends taking photos.

A previous supplier went burst, another one took over, and I had a dispute over meter readings. The new supplier asked if I had photos to back up my readings. 

So as far as I'm concerned photos are eminently sensible. Besides my electricity meter is in a small dark cupboard, and is impossible to read without crawling in beside it. Holding my mobile at arm's length and taking a photo is the easiest way to get the figures.... 

fjh

After a knee replacement only way I can read meters under stairs is to take photo’s.
during a recent complaint with British Gas matter was resolved quickly when I posted them the photo’s of the meter .

Spoonie_Turtle

And then there are situations like this …

https://twitter.com/phillipcaudell/status/1575763567441510400?s=20&t=g5Rss2gwQgdo-AW6v94_pA

Image description: a highlighted excerpt from an e-mail, which reads "Hi Phill, Thanks for the photo, the issue here is that this is actually your water meter"

imeach

Spoonie_Turtle said:

And then there are situations like this …

https://twitter.com/phillipcaudell/status/1575763567441510400?s=20&t=g5Rss2gwQgdo-AW6v94_pA

Image description: a highlighted excerpt from an e-mail, which reads "Hi Phill, Thanks for the photo, the issue here is that this is actually your water meter"

That's hilarious

And completely believable.
The amount of people that tell me that's the gas meter and that's the electric.
Usually the wrong way round!

ariarnia

dunstonh said:

Best advice seems to be to take a photograph when making a meter reading.

Only by those with tin foil hats.

i always say it's not a bad idea to take a photo. the basic reason we do is because we enter the readings on the laptop and the meters are in an award place so taking a picture is easier than finding pen and paper or chanting the numbers so we don't forget until we can type them in. but having the pictures has also been useful if we've wanted to check our annual usage estimates when we've changed suppliers mid year or when there was a problem with the closing reading after we had smart meters installed and the old meters were decommissioned. not taking them is probably not a problem but it costs nothing to take them and when you do need them they're priceless. 

nottsphil

How can they tell it's not an old photo using much lower figures (such a fraud would be pretty dumb currently!). 

GibbsRule_No3.

nottsphil said:

How can they tell it's not an old photo using much lower figures (such a fraud would be pretty dumb currently!). 

My iPhone photos have dates they were taken on.