A report is only as convincing as its evidence. Here’s how to make yours count.
For photos:
- Capture the whole project first, then move in for details, a wide shot establishes what you’re looking at; close-ups show specific problems (cracks, missing roofing, rusted equipment).
- Include something identifiable in the frame, a signpost, a landmark, a visible street name, so a moderator (or a future viewer) can tell this photo genuinely matches this specific project, not a similar-looking one elsewhere.
- Natural daylight beats flash, a clear, well-lit photo taken outdoors in the daytime is far easier to verify than a dark, flash-blown one.
- Take it fresh, not from your gallery. GLOW’s photo field opens your camera directly on most phones, using it that way, rather than uploading an old photo, keeps your evidence tied to the moment you actually observed the project.
For audio:
- Interviews add something photos can’t: context and history. A two-minute recording of a nearby resident explaining “this borehole stopped working eight months ago” tells a story a photo alone can’t.
- State the basics out loud at the start, the project name, the date, and roughly where you are, so the recording is self-explanatory even without extra notes.
- Keep it focused. A short, clear recording beats a long, rambling one, moderators (and future readers) are more likely to actually listen to two focused minutes than ten unfocused ones.
One thing that helps regardless of format: be specific in your written description too. “It’s not good” tells a moderator nothing. “The roof is missing entirely and the walls show visible cracking on the east side” gives them (and everyone reading the published report later) something concrete to evaluate.
Next up: What Happens After You Submit, exactly what a moderator does with everything you’ve just gathered.