Posting high quality photos on Facebook stories can really help your content stand out. With over 1 billion daily active users on Facebook, utilizing stories is a great way to share visually engaging content with your audience. However, there are some key tips to keep in mind when creating stories to ensure your photos look crisp, clear and professional.
Use the Best Camera Available
The quality of your original photo or video will have a big impact on how good it looks as a Facebook story. If you are using your smartphone, make sure you are using the rear facing camera rather than the lower-quality front facing camera. The rear camera will have a higher megapixel count resulting in better resolution. If possible, use the newest iPhone or Android device which will have improved camera capabilities. DSLR cameras are ideal for taking top quality photos and videos for social media.
Take Photos in Optimal Lighting Conditions
Lighting is critical for high quality photography. Make sure you are taking photos for Facebook stories when there is plenty of light available. Outdoor daylight is best, whether sunny or overcast. Avoid taking photos in dim indoor lighting if possible. If you must shoot indoors, turn on all lights and open blinds/curtains to maximize natural light. You can also use artificial lighting like external flash units and reflectors to brighten up shadowy areas.
Use Proper Camera Technique
Employing proper camera technique will ensure your photos are crisp, clear, and able to be posted at high quality on Facebook stories. When shooting, hold the camera or smartphone steady to avoid blurry or shaky images. Compose the photo neatly within the frame and check that the subject is in focus. Use the gridlines feature on your smartphone camera to frame the shot correctly. Enable the timer setting which lets you tap the shutter and have a couple seconds before it takes the photo, reducing camera shake. Take bursts of photos to select the best framed, focused shot later.
Edit and Enhance Photos
After you’ve taken high quality photos, you can optimize them even further using editing apps. The best apps for mobile photo editing include Snapseed, Lightroom, and VSCO. Use these apps to crop images for better composition, adjust brightness/contrast, sharpen details, and enhance colors. Subtle photo filters can also give images more visual appeal. Avoid overediting photos as too many adjustments can reduce image quality. Only edit judiciously to subtly enhance the image.
Resize Images for Best Quality
Before uploading photos to Facebook stories, it’s important to resize them properly for optimal quality. Facebook recommends resizing images to a resolution of 1080 x 1920 pixels. Images with higher resolution will be compressed by Facebook which can reduce quality. Use an app like Photo & Picture Resizer to quickly resize photos to this ideal 1080 x 1920 size. The app allows batch resizing so you can optimize multiple photos for Facebook stories at once.
Save Images as JPG Files
When saving edited photos for Facebook stories, use the JPG file format rather than PNG or other formats. JPG compresses images efficiently while retaining quality. PNG files are uncompressed resulting in much larger file sizes. The smaller file size of JPGs allows them to upload and display faster on Facebook without a noticeable reduction in quality. Just be sure to save JPGs at the highest quality setting available in your photo editing app.
Check Image Quality Before Posting
Do a final check of your photo’s quality before posting it to Facebook stories. View it at 100% size on your device’s screen and check that it looks clear and sharp, without excessive noise or artifacting. Also view the photo in the Facebook app itself and confirm it still looks great when compressed on the platform. Only post images that retain high visual quality through resizing and compression processes.
Utilize Proper Hashtags and Tags
Adding relevant hashtags and tagging people/places in your Facebook stories helps get your high quality photos seen. Do keyword research to find popular hashtags related to your post topic and industry. Only use a moderate amount of hashtags – around 10-15 max. Tagging relevant accounts like brands, influencers, or location pages also helps boost reach. But only tag accounts when contextually appropriate based on the actual content.
Post at Optimal Times
You’ll maximize the number of eyeballs that see your Facebook stories if you post them at the best times. According to analytics by Sprout Social, the peak times for Facebook story engagement are:
- Weekdays: 7-9 AM, 12-5 PM
- Weekends: 12-5 PM
Posting multiple times per day during these high traffic windows can keep your story top of mind with your audience throughout the day.
Create an Engaging Narrative
Telling an engaging visual story with a cohesive narrative keeps viewers interested as they swipe through your Facebook story. Plan a beginning, middle, and end to your story like a plot arch. Intersperse text overlays to develop the narrative. Use stickers, gifs, and interactive elements to make the story fun and immersive. Transition between scenes smoothly for good flow. Your photo quality will shine through most with a compelling story structure.
Use Facebook Story Ads
Running Facebook story ads offers a great way to get additional visibility for your high quality photo stories. You can create ads directly from existing stories and promote them to your target audience. Facebook story ads charge on a CPM basis, meaning you only pay when people view your ad for a certain duration. They’re an affordable option for story promotion. Just follow Facebook’s guidelines and disclosure requirements when running story ads.
Analyze Performance and Optimize
Check back on the analytics of your Facebook stories to see which individual posts and storytelling strategies are performing best. See which posts have the most opens, engagement, and shares. This helps you identify what photo features, narratives, and promotion tactics work well. You can then refine your approach to focus on what’s working and help scale your success. Continually optimizing your strategy will boost the reach of your high quality photos.
Conclusion
Posting visually compelling Facebook stories with crisp, clear photos is a great way to engage your target audience. By following proper practices around camera use, editing, resizing, and posting you can ensure your images retain high quality. Combine photos with engaging narratives and strategic promotion to get your Facebook stories seen by more people. Check back on analytics to see what’s working and keep optimizing your approach for the best results.