Instagram Reels for Photographers with Angela Shae

Photographers will learn how to organise behind-the-scenes content into client folders so Reels stop feeling overwhelming, and how to use hooks, captions and the collaborator tool to turn Reels into a steady source of leads. Angela Shae, founder of Social Templates, breaks down the exact workflow she recommends for busy wedding and portrait photographers who feel camera shy or too stretched for time.

Angela walks through her own path from burnt out wedding photographer to building a Reel template business, and explains why watch time, not likes, is the metric that matters most. She also covers how to shoot smooth, usable behind-the-scenes footage on an iPhone and why inviting planners, florists and clients as collaborators is one of the fastest ways to reach new potential clients.

About Angela Shae

Angela Shae was a wedding photographer for over a decade before transitioning into social media management and template creation. She built a social media management agency running around 20 Instagram accounts before launching Social Templates, a done-for-you Instagram Reel template service for photographers.

Key takeaways

1. Build a behind-the-scenes workflow into your existing process

Angela recommends pulling out your phone at the same time you back up your camera cards after a shoot. Delete unusable footage straight away, then move the content you want to keep into a folder labelled with the client's name so you are never scrolling through your whole camera roll later.

2. Keep a separate folder for reusable B-roll

Alongside client folders, keep a folder just for content for reels or B-roll, such as clips of you shooting, your camera bag, or your editing screen. This gives you a ready bank of footage you can pull from any time you need to put together a quick reel.

3. Watch time is the metric that matters most

Angela explains that the most important metric on Reels is watch time, specifically the percentage of the reel someone watches through. Keep photo heavy slideshows short so viewers make it to the end rather than swiping away halfway through.

4. Give people a reason to save or share your reel

People rarely double tap a reel, they send it to a friend or bookmark it for later. Angela suggests creating content like venue lists, bridesmaid colour palette ideas, or timeline advice that someone would naturally want to save or forward to a friend or bridesmaid.

5. Use the collaborator tool on every reel

Angela calls the collaborator feature the most underutilised tool on Instagram. Inviting your client, planner, florist or venue as a collaborator gets the reel shown to their audience too, and because you cannot add a collaborator after posting, decide before you publish.

6. Choose a neutral cover photo for collaborations

Planners and florists are less likely to accept a collaboration if the cover photo clashes with their feed. Angela recommends a neutral cover with plenty of negative space so it works across different accounts and improves the chance the collaboration gets accepted.

7. Shoot behind the scenes like a filmmaker

Slow down, avoid panning the camera, and let a scene linger for a few seconds rather than rushing to capture everything. Angela also recommends shooting at 60 frames per second with HDR turned off for smoother footage that holds up after Instagram's compression.

Favourite moments

"Sometimes when you're creating reels specifically, your client isn't necessarily your next couple. Your client might be the planner."

Angela Shae

"Creating content that is savable and shareable is the most important things, and then the most important metric on Reels is watch time."

Angela Shae

Listen to the full episode

Watch the episode above, or listen to Instagram Reels for Photographers with Angela Shae on Apple Podcasts, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

Keep reading:

• Social media strategies for photographers
• How to grow your photography Instagram to 10k
• How photographers should write captions

Ready to put this into practice? Unscripted is the all-in-one app trusted by 1 million+ photographers, with 50,000+ poses and prompts, client galleries, contracts, invoicing and a photography CRM. Try it free.