Taking Good Photographs of Your Project 

Things end, but memories last forever. Here are a few tips to help you take awesome, high-quality pictures and create lasting memories: 

• Firstly, be sure that you are allowed to take pictures at the location of your project. Some venues such as remand homes or prisons do not allow pictures within the facility.
• If you are not allowed to take pictures within the facility, you can take pictures outside the facility – preferably with the facility’s signboard.
• If you have a large enough team, select one or two persons who would be in charge of taking pictures. 
• Make sure that your phone/ camera batteries are fully charged ahead of the event.
• Be sure to clean the lens of your phone camera. If your project is physically demanding, be sure to keep it secure and out of harm’s way.
• Take pictures of you (and your team) in action i.e. while executing the project. Examples are the distribution of relief packages to members of a community, a virtual learning session home screen, youth cleaning up an environment, Oba of Ooni of Ife visiting a project site or addressing the volunteers, etc.
• Aim to shoot your images in horizontal (landscape) format; this is the best format to be published on the web, social media, or in print.
• Watch out for emotions. Aim to capture the smiles, surprises, gratitude, joy, and love on the faces of the team or beneficiaries of your project.
• Let your pictures tell a story – from the inception to completion; from the planning to the ‘goodbyes’. If you can, take ‘before’ and ‘after’ pictures. 
• As much as you can, ensure that there are pictures of each and every member of the team.
• Avid sending photos on Whatsapp. This compresses the photos and reduces quality. Instead, send it as a document to keep the quality intact. 
• Protect the memories that you have created. Make sure to store photos on Google Drive or send them via email to team members for safety.
• Get people excited by sharing your pictures of your project in action on social media; use the hashtag #YouthDayofService #Youth4SDGs and tag “@leapafrica,” on Instagram; “LEAP Africa,” on Facebook, and “@LEAPAfrica” on Twitter.