How to photograph your parked car and the signs to appeal a parking ticket

• If you think the ticket is wrong, photograph while you are still at the car or as soon as you are back. A missing sign, a faded marking or a meter that is out of order may be fixed or removed a day later.
• If you are already home, go back and photograph the spot as it is now, and say in your appeal that these photos were taken later. Never present later photos as if they showed the moment of the ticket.
• Photograph the ticket itself, front and back, sharp enough to read the reference number, the time and the location it names.

1. The ticket or notice, flat and readable.

2. Your car as it was parked, from the front, the back and the side, so the wheels, the kerb and the lines around it show.

3. Each sign that applies to the spot, one at a time and readable, then a wider shot that shows the sign and the car together.

4. The markings on the road or kerb: lines, bays, painted text. Also anything that hides a sign, such as a tree, a van or a poster.

5. A long shot of the whole street or car park, from one end and then the other, to show where the signs are in relation to your spot.

6. Anything that supports your case: a broken meter or machine, a payment screen, a permit on the dashboard, an unclear or contradictory sign.

Stand square to signs so the text is not skewed, keep your thumb out of the frame and check the words are legible before you move on.

• The ticket reference, the date and time on it, the address or street name and your plate number.
• When you arrived and left, and any payment or app receipt for that time.
• A plain account of why you think the ticket is wrong, written the same day while you remember it.
• The photos' originals on your iPhone, not only copies sent through a chat app.

The iPhone Camera saves the time and, if Location Services is on for the Camera, the coordinates in the photo's hidden data. A reviewer may never open that, and a chat app, web form or email client can remove it. Printing the date, time and place on the picture makes them visible to whoever opens it.

Without an app, include a street name sign or a house number in a wide shot, and a phone screen showing the time and date. The coordinates of the exact spot can be read in Maps by long-pressing the point. Never edit a photo in a way that changes what the signs or markings look like.

• Use the appeal form or the channel on the ticket, and check any limit on the number or size of photos. Some authorities want a specific format or printed copies, so read their page.
• Number the photos and refer to the numbers in your account, for example "photo 3 shows the sign was covered".
• Your plate number and the location are personal details. Share them with the authority that asked for them, and not in a public post.
• Photos do not decide an appeal by themselves. The authority applies its own rules, and clear, honest, well-ordered photos only make your case easier to assess.