How to Begin Making Your First Instagram Food Reels

Written By Kate Walker

When Instagram first introduced reels, there was a bit of panic among photographers. If Instagram was going to start prioritizing reels, then how would we promote our photography? Luckily, photographers have embraced the change and adjusted their Instagram content to fit the algorithm.

If you are looking for ideas on how to share your food photography in the form of a reel, then I got you! Keep scrolling for reel ideas and tips on how to increase your Instagram reach.

I have personally seen an increase of 3,576 percent in my reach over the past 30 days since posting reels one to two times per week. Keep in mind that since I have a smaller Instagram following (585 followers at the time this is being written), it is easier for me to increase my reach because I have more room for growth.

A classic for food photographers is a recipe. This reel shows viewers how to make a recipe that the photographer either developed or is using from someone else. This type of reel motivates viewers to save it and come back later. It also encourages them to watch the reel multiple times to fully understand the recipe, making recipe reels a great option for photographers looking to increase interactions on Instagram.

 

Similar to the previous reel idea, if you’re already going to perform some type of action with the dish you are photographing, you might as well film it. These action reels work especially well with breaking an egg yolk, scooping dip, cutting into cake, or pouring a drink. Viewers love to watch these reels over and over again because they are so hunger-inducing. This is important because the more times a viewer watches a reel repeatedly, the more views it gets, which can help boost it to other viewers.

You’re already setting up the scene, so you might as well record it! This is the simplest reel idea since all you have to do is press the record button on your camera. I find these types of reels to be my favorite because they are calming, and it is interesting to watch how the photographer puts their scene together.

 

This motley collection of photos is a great option for when you need to post something but have no videos. Pick a few photos you already have on hand, match them up to a trending song, and boom—viral!

The cool thing about these types of reels is that Instagram recently debuted reels templates. Reels templates, according to Jo Millie, “allow users to replace the clips with your own and it will match the time stamps of the template reel.” You can see a more in-depth tutorial on how to use reels templates here.

Kate Walker
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