Measure from photo
Photograph it with a person standing beside it. Tap the top and bottom of each and the height fills in on your form, with the marked-up photo kept as evidence.
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Photograph the whole tree with a person standing right beside the trunk. In SiteSurvey, tap Measure from photo under the height question, choose A person and enter their height (6ft is the default), tap the top of their head and their feet, then the top and base of the tree. SiteSurvey scales one length by the other and fills in the height in the field's unit, keeping the marked-up photo with the answer. It is an estimate: the reference must be beside the tree, the same distance from the camera.
Last updated 20 October 2026.
Heights and widths, without the kit
A photo has no scale of its own, but anything of known size in the same spot gives it one. Stand a person beside the trunk, photograph the whole tree, and SiteSurvey compares the two lengths you tap. The same works for a sign beside a door, a window with an A4 sheet on it or a fence beside a person. It is quick and good enough for a condition survey, and the screen is honest that it's an estimate.
Capability 01
Number questions that name a length and a unit, such as Height (m), Crown spread (m), Stem diameter (mm) or Sign width (mm), get the button automatically. In the form builder a toggle turns it on or off for any number question.
Capability 02
A person, with their height typed in (6ft to start). A standard door at 1.98 m. An A4 sheet's 297 mm long edge. Or something else, like a 1.2 m survey pole, sized in m, cm, mm or feet and inches.
Capability 03
The answer arrives in whatever the question asks for: metres for Height (m), millimetres for Stem diameter (mm), feet for Clearance (ft). Tap Use and the number goes straight into the field.
Capability 04
The photo is saved with both lines and a caption such as ≈ 7.35 m from a person 1.83 m. It uploads to the project's Files, shows as a thumbnail under the field and prints after the measurement in the report.
On the form
Here it is on the Height (m) question of a tree condition survey, on SiteSurvey web forms, in any phone, tablet or desktop browser. The surveyor stands beside the oak, the photo goes in, and the height is ready to use.
Step 01
A person, with their height typed in. 6ft is filled in to start, and any unit works.
Step 02
The top of their head, then their feet. A yellow line shows what you marked.
Step 03
The top of the crown, then the base of the trunk. Tap again to re-mark it.
Step 04
7.35 goes into Height (m), with the marked-up photo as a thumbnail under the field.
Office and field, connected
Anyone reading the survey later can see how the height was worked out. The marked-up photo shows the reference, the tree and both lines, with a caption giving the answer and the reference size. It sits in the project's Files with the rest of the survey photos and prints in the report straight after the measurement.
✓Both lines and a caption drawn on the saved photo
✓Uploaded to the project's Files with the other survey photos
✓Printed after the measurement in the report you build
Getting a good answer
Measure from photo works by comparing two lengths in the same picture, so the reference has to be the same distance from the camera as the thing you're measuring. The screen says so every time.
✓Stand the person right beside the trunk, not in front of it
✓Step back until the whole tree fits without tilting the phone much
✓For an exact figure, measure with a clinometer or laser and type it in
More smart fields
Mark current location fills in latitude, longitude, OS grid reference and accuracy, or adds a point per tap for a boundary or route.
See how it works →Risk scores, totals, counts and days between dates, worked out from the answers as the form is filled in.
See how it works →Ask someone to stand right beside the trunk and take one photo with the whole tree in it, holding the phone fairly level. On the form, tap Measure from photo under the height question, choose A person and type their height (6ft is filled in for you), tap the top of their head and their feet, then the top and the base of the tree. The height appears in the field's unit. Tap Use to fill in the answer.
It is an estimate, and SiteSurvey says so on screen. It is only right when the reference stands beside what you are measuring, at the same distance from the camera. A person standing in front of the tree, a steep upward angle or a top hidden by the crown all make the answer less reliable. Where a decision depends on an exact figure, measure with a clinometer or laser and type it in.
A person (you type their height, 6ft is the default), a standard door (1.98 m tall), an A4 sheet (the 297 mm long edge), or something else of known size that you type in, such as a 1.2 m survey pole. Sizes can be typed in metres, centimetres, millimetres or feet and inches.
Number questions that name a length and give a unit in brackets get it automatically, for example Height (m), Crown spread (m), Width (mm) or Clearance (ft). That covers tree height, crown spread, sign width and window height on library forms without any editing. In the form builder, a toggle on the question turns it on or off for any number question.
With Keep the marked-up photo ticked, which is the default, SiteSurvey saves a copy of the photo with both lines drawn on it and a caption such as ≈ 7.35 m from a person 1.83 m. It is kept with the answer, uploaded to the project's Files, shown as a thumbnail under the field, and printed after the measurement in the report you build. Remove photo takes it off again.
Whatever the question asks for. A question titled Height (m) gets metres, Stem diameter (mm) gets millimetres, and Clearance (ft) gets feet. The reference size can be typed in any unit.
Measure from photo works on SiteSurvey web forms today, which open in any phone or tablet browser, including forms shared by link. The phone app version is on its way.
No. It works for any height, width or length you can photograph next to something of known size: a sign beside a door, a window next to an A4 sheet taped to the wall, a fence next to a person, a hedge, a canopy or a gate. Trees are the most common use.
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