Digital Tips: Smartphone Photography

As state legislators, you juggle many hats, and sometimes have to be your own photographer.

These five tips will help you capture high-resolution photos using your smartphone:

Smartphone Photography Tips

1) Avoid zooming; instead, move closer to the subject. Most smartphones have a "digital zoom" that enlarges the image artificially, which decreases the resolution. The more you zoom in, the more resolution you lose. So when it's safe to step closer, move towards your subject rather than pressing zoom.

Split-photo of lifesaver ring; on the left side, the photo is low-resolution. On the right side, the photo is high-resolution.
Example: The photo on the left was taken approximately 40 feet away, using the iPhone 7's digital zoom. The photo on the right was taken from about 5 feet away, using no zoom. Notice the difference in photo quality.

2) Stabilize your shot with a tripod or by simply leaning up against a wall.

3) Hold down the shutter button until the photo is complete. If you move your finger away too quickly, the image may be blurry. On an iPhone, you can reduce motion by using the volume controls instead of the shutter button.

4) Find the best lit setting for the photo. Most smartphones can take pictures in low-light conditions, but the photo's quality will suffer as a result. Where possible, use a window or the sun as your primary light source. Generally, you should not shoot facing the main light source. (That's why sunset pics are so hard to nail!) Instead, position the light source behind the person shooting the picture. 

5) Finally, don't text that photo! Ever wondered why pictures you receive via text message look grainy? The likely culprit isn't the phone itself but the method used to send the photo. Most text messaging apps highly compress images sent via cellular networks. (The same issue holds for videos.)

Instead of texting, save the photo to Google Drive, Dropbox, SendAnywhere, or your preferred file storage or photo app, and then share the link with others. You can also use AirDrop or e-mail, but be careful: some e-mail programs also significantly compress images.  

With all that being said, rules are meant to be broken. Sometimes, the best photos are unintentional or gloriously blurry. But when you're taking a professional picture for use in press, print, or the web, be sure to reference the recommendations above.

Digital Tips: Using Instagram Highlights

This resource is adapted from our Digital Tips e-mail series. To sign up to receive these resources in your inbox regularly, join our network.

Did you know you can see how many people visit your Instagram profile each month? Every visitor may not opt to follow your Instagram, but each visit is a valuable chance to introduce yourself to constituents and shed light on your current priorities.

Instagram Stories Highlights are an easy way to ensure new visitors can easily find updates about you and your work. You can use Instagram Stories Highlights to highlight legislative updates, break down important issues, and share your personal story.

Screenshot of Kansas Rep. Haswood's Instagram Stories Highlights
Kansas Rep. Haswood's Instagram Story Highlights

Below, find three steps to create a quick Instagram Highlight. I did all of the following steps on my iPhone 7 in a few minutes. 

Creating a quick Instagram Highlight 

1. Find visuals: Start with an app like Unsplash (also available on desktop) to find free, high-quality photos related to the theme of your Instagram Story. 

If the subject matter is difficult or inappropriate to visualize, use a photo of your legislature instead, or search "texture" on Unsplash to find an abstract background.

2. Create the first Story: In the first Story, add a photo and a large title to introduce the topic.

Instagram Stories Example

3. Add details in consecutive Stories: You can use the same background photo or a different one in the next set of stories. Break up your explanatory text across multiple stories, so the information is not overwhelming. And always provide context: keep in mind that visitors to your profile may be entirely new to the issue you're discussing or even to how a state legislature works.

If you'd rather create a selfie video instead of using text, go for it! Just be sure to add captions, which can be auto-generated within Instagram Stories. 

Use emojis and GIFs to help illustrate the information, but don't go overboard. (Tip: You can paste in any photo or GIF from your phone to Instagram Stories!)

Instagram Stories example

4. Create the Highlight: After posting your Story, you can easily create an Instagram Highlight. Then, give the Highlight a short title and "cover." or thumbnail.

Instagram Highlights demo
After posting your Instagram Story, you can add it to your Instagram Highlights

Free Downloads

Here's a little help to get started: download one of SiX's Instagram Stories templates and use our collection of icon thumbnails to make your highlights easy to identify. You can also screenshot all of these resources in SiX's Instagram Highlights!

Instagram story template; question reads "What I love most about our district:"
IG Story Template - Our DistrictDownload
Instagram story template; prompt reads: "What I'm passionate about"
IG Story Template - PassionateDownload
Instagram story template; prompt reads: "One thing I'm working on is"
IG Story Template - WorkingDownload
Instagram story template; prompts read: "The best way to keep in touch" and "You can get involved by"
IG Story Template - ContactDownload

Digital Tips: We ❤️ Legislator Tweets

This resource is adapted from our Digital Tips e-mail series. To sign up to receive these resources in your inbox regularly, join our network.

In this issue of Digital Tips, we'll help inspire your social strategy by analyzing three tweets from legislators in our network.

Tutorial: Tweets from Legislators

A check-in tweet from Sen. Julie Gonzales

Why We Love It

Colorado State Sen. Julie Gonzales' tweet illustrates how informal but genuine posts can enrichen your social media strategy. Asking your audience a question—and then engaging with their answers— is a great way to build community and connect directly with constituents.

Tips

It takes time to build a space where people feel comfortable sharing publicly. Don't be discouraged if, at first, you don't get responses. Try enlisting a colleague or friend to answer the question (using their account) so that you can reduce the barrier to participation for other followers.

You can also tailor your question to a particular issue you're championing. For example, if you're advocating for expanded child care access, you can ask, "Parents and caretakers: what's been your experience finding child care for your kids?"

An accessible explainer thread from Rep. Rayner-Goolsby

Why We Love It

This tweet from Florida Rep. Michele Rayner-Goolsby is the first in a four-part thread about the ongoing battle over voter restrictions in Florida. Sometimes, it's precisely when an issue is front-page news that an accessible explainer is needed.

Tips

 In addition to drawing upon facts, use personal anecdotes (or constituent experiences) to present a complete picture and leave readers with a memorable mental image.
 

Whenever possible, avoid legislative jargon if there's a more straightforward way to get across the same point.

A heartfelt message from Sen. Polehanki

Why We Love It

Michigan State Sen. Dayna Polehanki's video for Teacher Awareness Week is an excellent example of how a thoughtful message—whether written or on video—can set your content apart and make your followers feel seen.

Tips

Captioning your videos is essential, and there are lots of low-cost and free ways to do it. Here are a few tools I like: MixCaptions (free or paid; for desktop and mobile), Kapwing (free or paid; best for desktop), and Rev.com (paid; for desktop.)

Finally, note that the length of Sen. Polehanki's video is just 37 seconds. Though Twitter videos can be up to 140 seconds long, it's best to keep them short.

Quick Links: Digital Resources From Around The Web

📱  Why Do Videos Sent from My iPhone Vary so Much in Quality?

🪄  How to Make The Facebook Algorithm Work For You

📸 5 Instagram Accessibility Tips

🤳🏾  Taking Great Selfie Videos and Photos

Digital Tips: Text Spacing in Graphics

This resource is adapted from our Digital Tips e-mail series. To sign up to receive these resources in your inbox regularly, join our network.

Tutorial: Line Height

Look at the paragraphs below. Which one is easiest for you to read?

Two paragraphs with different styles of line spacing; the first paragraph is cramped, while the second paragraph displays optimal line spacing.

If you chose option 2, you, like most people, find proper spacing essential to readability.

One of the most important elements to consider when adding text to graphics is line spacing, also known as leading.

Here's a handy rule: Line spacing should be 125% to 150% of your font size. Different programs measure line spacing differently; since many legislators use Canva for graphic design, I'll use it in this example.

Canva line spacing demo

In Canva, the line spacing value (called "line height") is relative to the font size. So you should set your line spacing to a value between 1.2 and 1.5.

Bonus Tip: Don't squash too many details in one graphic! Remove unessential information and include extra details in the post or tweet's caption.

Quick Links: Digital Resources From Around The Web

🗣  Tips for Getting Used To The Sound of Your Own Voice

🏳️‍⚧️  The Gender Spectrum Collection: Stock Photos Beyond the Binary

📸  Twinsta: Share Your Tweets on Instagram

🔠  The Ultimate List of Social Media Acronyms and Abbreviations