Lesson 2 of 5 · 4 min
Photos into a Reel
You do not need a video camera. A few good photos from your phone can become a Reel: each one moves slowly and fades into the next.
Pick the photos
- Three to six photos. One picture makes a 6 second video. More pictures make about 3 seconds each, so six photos give a Reel of about 18 seconds. A short Reel is easier to watch to the end.
- One story. Before, during, after. Or the door, the room, the person. Photos that follow each other make sense.
- Sharp, with the subject in the middle. A tall video crops the sides, so keep the important part near the center.
Put them in order
- Open a new post and add the photos under Media.
- Drag them into order. The first photo is on screen in the first second, so put your best one first. It carries the hook from lesson one.
- Open a channel's tab and look at Fit. It shows which part of the photo is kept. Move the picture under Crop, or pick Show whole image if nothing may be cut. The photo then gets a soft blurred copy of itself around it.
Make the Reel
- Press Make it a reel and pick Reel.
- Tick Add text on the video and type your hook.
- Press Make the video, then Open the new draft when it is ready.
The draft opens with your photos as one tall video, 1080 by 1920, the size of a phone screen. Press play and look at it before you do anything else.
Already have a post?
A post you made last week can become a Reel too. Open Posts and press Make a reel. It is the small film button next to Duplicate. That Reel has no text on it, and your first post stays as it was.
Before the next lesson
Make a Reel from three to six photos, with your hook on it. Watch it once, all the way through.
Quick check · 3 questions
Check what stuck
You have 6 photos. About how long is the Reel?
Show the answer
About 18 seconds. More pictures make about 3 seconds each, so 6 photos make about 18 seconds.
Which photo goes first?
Show the answer
Your best one, because it is on screen in the first second. The first photo is what people see while they decide to stay or swipe.
You make a Reel from a post, then change your mind. What happens to the original post?
Show the answer
It stays as it was. Make a reel puts the video on a new draft. Your first post never changes.
In this course
- 1A hook in the first secondsWhy the first seconds decide everything, how to write a hook in six words or fewer, and how to put it on your Reel. · 4 min
- 2Photos into a ReelPick photos that tell a story, put them in order, and let Postfjord turn them into a tall video with slow movement. · 4 min
- 3Words that fit the screenShort words on the video, kept clear of the buttons the apps put on top, and easy to read with the sound off. · 4 min
- 4The first picture and the captionWhat people see before the video plays, and a caption that helps without repeating the video. · 4 min
- 5Post it where it belongsSchedule the Reel for Instagram, send it to TikTok, and look at the numbers a few days later. · 4 min