Why a photo beats “hey”

A “hey” asks the other person to start the conversation. A photo gives them something to reply to. It doesn’t need to be good. Most of the best ones are slightly blurry and taken in two seconds.

Add a short caption. “made you chai” over a cup does more than the photo alone.

Mornings

  1. Your breakfast, as it is.
  2. The sky out of the window.
  3. Your sleepy face, no filter.
  4. The traffic on your way in.
  5. Your coffee or chai with their name written on a sticky note.
  6. The outfit you picked for today.
  7. The first thing you saw outside.
  8. Your pet doing nothing.

During the day

  1. Your lunch, rated out of ten in the caption.
  2. Something that reminded you of them.
  3. A funny sign or menu.
  4. The view from your desk.
  5. Your notes from a boring meeting, with a doodle of them.
  6. Something you want to buy them.
  7. A song you are listening to, added to the photo.
  8. A dog you met.
  9. The queue you are stuck in.
  10. Something that broke today.
  11. Your handwriting saying something you would never say out loud.
  12. The thing you are procrastinating on.

Evenings

  1. What you are cooking, mid-disaster.
  2. The show you are watching, paused.
  3. The book you are reading, open at a line you liked.
  4. Your walk home.
  5. Your feet up after a long day.
  6. The moon, even if the photo is bad.
  7. The empty side of the sofa.
  8. Your “getting ready for bed” face.

Small surprises

  1. A front and back camera shot of you reacting to their last photo.
  2. An old photo of the two of you you found today.
  3. A place you went together, as it looks now.
  4. Something you saved for them.
  5. A ticket, a booking or a plan, as a teaser.
  6. Their favourite snack, bought for later.
  7. A 3-second clip of you saying one word.
  8. A note on your mirror.
  9. Your hand on a map, pointing at where they are.
  10. The countdown to when you next meet.
  11. A screenshot of the weather where they are, with a caption.
  12. A photo that only makes sense to the two of you.

Make it land on their home screen

Messages get buried. On DuoFrame a photo you send appears on their home screen widget, so they see it the next time they unlock their phone, without opening a chat.

Sources