Snapchat Post Specs for Story Images and Spotlight Video

Select Snapchat in the Social Media Post Specs Checker, then choose Story image preparation or Spotlight video preparation. Both portrait canvases are Preparation targets. The references do not claim universal organic file-size or duration caps. Use the measured values to describe your export and plan the next review, then inspect the actual handoff in Snapchat separately.

Choose whether the moment belongs to a sequence or stands alone

Decide what the viewer already knows before designing the asset. A workshop Story image might follow a frame showing the studio entrance, so a close-up of clay tools has an obvious setting. A standalone video cannot depend on that earlier frame to explain why the tools matter. Write the immediate purpose of each asset: orient the visitor, show a detail, or demonstrate a technique from beginning to end.

For the workshop, a Story still could show a newly shaped mug with a short label naming the session. The Spotlight video could show the handle being attached and smoothed. These are related subjects, but the still does not need to imitate a video thumbnail, and the video does not need to reproduce every Story frame. Give each version the information needed for its own viewing context.

Snapchat Support describes My Story as a collection of Snaps that play in creation order and documents Spotlight as a separate video submission destination. Treat that difference as a preparation decision before editing. A label such as ‘the next step’ might work within an intentional sequence but be vague on its own. A self-contained video should show enough of the starting object for the action to be understandable immediately.

Make a tiny production brief with separate deliverables rather than one generic Snapchat asset. Name the still’s subject, the video’s action, and the information each must retain. This helps an editor avoid exporting a silent still as a video merely to reuse a timeline. It also helps the person handling the native handoff identify the intended destination without guessing from a file’s portrait shape or filename alone.

Map the portrait frame around hands, tools, and the finished object

The checker offers 1080 by 1920 pixels as a Preparation target for both Snapchat formats. It is an editorial portrait canvas, not a verified mandatory organic size. Start by placing the important action within that working shape. For handle attachment, keep the mug body, both hands, and the joint visible together. A close-up that removes the joint may look dramatic while hiding the very technique being demonstrated.

Sketch where the hands will move, not just where they begin. The right hand might reach for a sponge outside the initial composition and return across the mug. Frame enough working space for that action or edit to a deliberate detail shot. Do not assume that a crop suitable for a still photograph will remain useful through a complete physical demonstration with moving tools and changing hand positions.

Reserve a clear area for any essential text before recording. A short label over an uncluttered background is easier to read than the same words across clay, fingers, and a patterned apron. Keep the label close enough to its subject to feel connected, while leaving the action unobstructed. You do not need to fill every empty area with a caption, sticker, or repeated studio name.

Review likely interface overlap separately with the Video Safe Zone Checker, then inspect the actual Snapchat preview. A planned inset is a working margin, not an exact promise about every device or viewing state. Keep the meaningful object and words comfortably composed, and check the beginning, busiest action, and ending. One attractive opening frame cannot establish that the whole movement remains visible.

Give the Story still a readable message without borrowing motion

A Story still should be understandable as a still. Select a photograph with a clear focal point and a useful amount of surrounding context. For the workshop example, show the complete mug shape rather than a confusing fragment of its rim. A viewer should not need to see a later video to identify the object. Keep the photograph’s purpose simple enough that a short accompanying line can support it.

Place essential text in a calm part of the frame and read it on a phone-sized preview. A workshop name, session label, or brief observation can work well; an entire timetable usually needs a different presentation. If several details matter, divide the communication deliberately instead of shrinking all the text. A perfectly measured portrait file is still ineffective when its most useful information requires zooming or close inspection to decipher.

Check contrast against the actual photograph rather than an empty design canvas. A pale caption may be clear over a dark workbench and disappear over a bright mug. Use your editor to give the words a dependable background treatment when needed. Preserve the photo’s natural proportions and inspect the subject after any crop. Making the text readable should not accidentally remove the detail the text is describing.

Keep a clean image master without native decorations so revisions remain straightforward. If you plan to add text inside Snapchat, do not also bake the same words into the export by accident. Mark which text is embedded and which is intended for the native handoff. Snapchat’s My Story help documents an iOS Camera Roll photo-sharing route, but that does not establish identical still-image handling on every device or desktop upload path.

Shape the Spotlight video into an understandable demonstration

Build the video around a visible transformation. Show the mug before the handle is attached, the contact points being prepared, the joining action, and the finished joint. Those shots form a complete explanation without requiring a tour of the entire workshop. Remove unrelated tool searching and interruptions, but leave enough real action for viewers to see how the pieces come together rather than only seeing an unexplained before and after.

Use changes in shot size to clarify the technique. A wider opening establishes the object; a closer view can show where pressure is applied. Keep orientation consistent so the handle does not seem to jump to the other side between shots. If a cut skips a necessary step, add the missing view or clarify the transition in the edit. Fast pacing is not a substitute for a coherent sequence.

Let captions name the action at the moment it happens. A phrase describing the scoring step belongs with that step, not across an earlier setup shot where the tool is still offscreen. Keep words away from the joint and moving fingers. If you include spoken explanation, listen for the names of materials and actions in the final file. Metadata cannot tell whether the words match the demonstrated technique or whether a tool sound masks the instruction.

Choose runtime according to what this demonstration needs, rather than an unverified universal Spotlight cap. The checker’s web-submission preparation record has no numeric duration bound because the checked support page does not provide one. Snapchat also describes a separate Main Camera posting flow; conditions attached to that interface should not be generalized to every upload route. Keep your actual destination and native submission review explicit in the delivery note.

Reframe source material instead of forcing it into a taller shape

A landscape workshop recording may contain useful material but need a different edit for a portrait composition. First decide whether the essential action fits inside a narrower view. If both hands and the handle joint spread across the full original width, a tight central crop may remove too much. Consider another camera angle, a sequence of detail shots, or fitting the source with a restrained background instead of stretching it.

A 720 by 1280 file has the same 9:16 shape as the preparation canvas but fewer pixels. That is a resolution difference, not automatically an upload fault. A clear close-up might remain useful at that size; a wide shot with tiny text might not. Judge the actual information in the source. Enlarging the export to match the target does not restore fine detail that was never captured clearly.

For the still photograph, compare a crop with a fitted version using the Image Resizer. Look at the mug’s complete outline, not only the empty margins. A slightly smaller subject with its handle intact can be more informative than a frame-filling image that clips the finished shape. Keep the original photo available so you can revisit the composition without trying to reconstruct missing edges from a saved crop.

For video, check the crop throughout playback. The mug may rotate near the end, revealing a handle that was safely centered during the first step but now reaches the edge. Seek through the action and watch a continuous pass. The specs checker can describe the frame’s shape; it cannot follow the object, identify a hidden hand movement, or choose the best crop for each moment of the demonstration.

Move the delivery file between devices without losing its identity

The handoff from an editing computer to a phone is a separate production step. Choose a transfer method intended to preserve the delivery file and check the received copy. Do not assume a messaging preview, a saved thumbnail, or a screen recording of playback is the same asset. Some transfer workflows offer different download choices, so inspect what arrived instead of trusting the visual preview alone.

Use filenames that distinguish the Story still from the Spotlight demonstration and include a meaningful revision label. Keep the still and video in separate delivery folders if that helps the person importing them. A contact sheet or short handoff note can show the expected opening image and final object. The recipient can then identify a stale version before adding native text or choosing a destination in Snapchat.

Compare the received dimensions, video duration, and file size with the exported copy. Matching values are useful for catching obvious transformations, though they do not prove that two files are byte-for-byte identical. If values changed unexpectedly, investigate the transfer before redesigning the media. A reduced preview saved from a sharing application is a handoff problem, not evidence that the original portrait composition was unsuitable.

Keep native additions documented. If the person on the phone will add a workshop label, note the approved wording and intended clear area. If all text is already embedded, say so to avoid duplicate captions. The browser checker does not transfer files to Snapchat or connect the local asset to SMTasker. The actual import, native additions, and final submission remain explicit steps handled in their own applications.

Read local measurements without inventing missing organic limits

Enter the intended format before reading a report. A still selected as video should not become an artificial duration problem, and a video should not be treated as a Story image simply because its first frame looks attractive. The selected reference describes the preparation task. The measured fields describe the file. Keep those roles separate when explaining the result to an editor or the person doing the handoff.

For these Snapchat records, the checked support pages establish the destination and handoff context, not broad numeric organic upload bounds. The Story image and Spotlight web-video records therefore leave hard checks empty. A report can still show useful dimensions, ratio, duration, and size. Absence of a check means no supported comparison was encoded for that property; it does not mean the platform has unlimited capacity or that every file is accepted.

Do not fill an unknown with a paid-ad specification found elsewhere. An ad placement, native capture interface, and organic web submission are different contexts even when all show portrait media. The same caution applies to a helpful-looking number from an unrelated upload system. Keep unverified caps absent and use the actual native workflow for the final technical response. That is more useful than presenting a precise number with the wrong scope.

If the browser cannot read a video, use reliable export information for manual entry and mark the values accordingly. A local decoding failure does not prove Snapchat will reject the file. Likewise, successful local playback does not verify its codec, frame rate, audio quality, or native acceptance. The tool’s resource guards protect the local session; they are not Snapchat upload caps and should not appear in the editor’s platform requirements.

Finish with two native reviews and one clear handoff record

Review the Story still in its intended sequence. Check whether the session label is understandable after the preceding frame and whether the image still carries a useful meaning on its own. Inspect the complete object and any native text. If a caption has moved during import or editing, correct that placement in the native workflow rather than assuming the clean exported image guarantees the final composition.

Review the Spotlight video as a separate item from its first visible moment through the finished joint. Snapchat Support documents a desktop route that accepts a selected video and a Spotlight destination. The checker does not reproduce that submission process. Inspect the actual native preview, verify the correct asset, and confirm that the visible demonstration agrees with the delivery brief before completing whatever submission steps your workflow presents.

Retain a short record with the asset revision, chosen destination, observed measurements, and any remaining manual check. For this workshop, a useful note might read ‘handle joint stays visible; native label still to be added.’ Replace the report after a new crop or render, because the earlier dimensions and duration describe the earlier file. The copy, CSV, or PDF result is a reference for the handoff, not a certificate of acceptance.

Keep account tasks separate from this media review. SMTasker’s supported Snapchat workflow is AddFriends; do not treat it as a Story or Spotlight publishing connection. A finished media package can still make your wider routine more orderly because the files, labels, and destinations are clear. Return to the free tools directory when another preparation task needs a different tool, and keep each result attached to the asset it actually describes.

Questions about Snapchat Story and Spotlight

Continue with another preparation guide

Explore another media context or review the geometry and handoff. Return to the Social Media Post Specs Checker to apply the measurements, or browse all free tools.