Timestamped photos settle arguments: when the pallet arrived, what the site looked like at handover, whether the repair happened before or after the leak. The value depends entirely on the timestamp being the capture time, which means reading it out of the photo rather than typing today's date.
Capture time versus file time
A file's "date modified" changes when it is copied, edited, or synced. EXIF DateTimeOriginal is written once by the camera and stays put. Any timestamping workflow that uses the file date will eventually stamp the wrong day — usually the day someone tidied up the folder.
Format for work photos
Use ISO date plus 24-hour time: 2026-08-19 14:32. It sorts correctly, it is unambiguous across regions, and it never reads as a different day depending on the reader. Add a job number on the same plate and the photo becomes self-describing.
Placement and size
Bottom-left, monospace, on a translucent dark plate, around 3% of image width. Inset it from the edge so a report template or a portal crop cannot clip it.
Keep the chain intact
Archive the unmodified original next to the labeled export. The visible timestamp is for humans reading the photo; the untouched EXIF is what backs it up if anyone asks. Overwriting the original destroys the proof the label was based on.
Handling stripped metadata
Photos sent through chat apps usually arrive with no EXIF at all. Ask the crew to share originals — as files, not as chat images — or to label on site before sending. A timestamp typed in later is a note, not evidence, and should be worded as one.
Do it now: open the free photo labeler, drop in your image, and drag the label where you want it. Everything runs in your browser — the photo is never uploaded.