Photographic documentation allows for visual, simple and inexpensive means of documenting and assessing changes in landscape over time. This user’s manual has been developed to support land use researchers and practitioners in establishing a time-series photographic database. Contained in this four part manual are the capabilities and challenges of the Ground-Based Photo-Monitoring (GBPM) programme, guidelines for developing and implementing a GBPM survey and case studies of GBPM surveys in Kenya and Ethiopia.