THE BEST ANGLES FOR RECIPE REELS: ELEVATE YOUR FOOD VIDEOGRAPHY!
Creating a delicious recipe isn’t enough to ‘make it’ on social media. While I’ve always found this to be a bit unfair, it’s the reality of our visuals first online social media platforms. You see even when Instagram first emerged, stunning food photography was the key to showing off your delicious recipes. Since 2020, the game has merely evolved…. Rather than food photography being the be-all-and-end-all in determining the success of your food content, it’s now all about capturing your food through engaging and visually appealing video content!
That said, not all video content is created equally - some recipe reels stop you in your scroll, whilst others go largely unnoticed. To ensure your recipe reels achieve the former, be sure to include this essential videography technique when sharing your food online, namely, using a variety of angles! (For those of you with a background in food photography, this essential technique will come as no surprise; playing with angles and perspectives spices up our food images too!)
In this blog post, I'll share some MUST HAVE angles in recipe reel creation that will allow you to create delicious and drool worthy short form video content. Now let’s get stuck in, shall we?!
1/ RECIPE REEL ANGLE: BIRD’S EYE VIEW
The bird’s eye view angle AKA a top down shot of your food, gives your audience a great general overview of the entirety of a dish or a cooking process.
I love using the bird’s eye perspective to show how I’m mixing ingredients in a bowl or, as displayed in the image here of the tofu curry, what the entire final dish will look like!
I’d argue that the bird’s eye perspective is THE most powerful angle to include in recipe reels and therefore is a MUST if you want your reel to be easy to follow and informative!
TOP TIP! A good bird’s eye view angle requires that you get yourself a sturdy tripod. You can find an array of tripod suggestions HERE.
2/ THE MACRO SHOT!
Macro shots aren’t just super powerful when it comes to food photography, they also pack a punch when creating recipe reels! That’s because macro shots are great at capturing delicious details and textures that make you want to lick the screen.
I like capturing macro shots of crunchy baked goods, gooey cheese pulls or silky creams, frostings and sauces!
TOP TIP! Use a macro shot as your opening frame AKA your hook! It’s such a great way to capture your audience’s eye and make them drool!
3/ The establishing shot
Establishing shots are wider shots that give your audience a sense of location and context. When we think of a recipe reel, an establishing shot could be footage that includes your entire kitchen for example.
Establishing shots can help bring story telling into your recipe, they are also a great opportunity for you to step in front of the camera and show how you prepare a recipe.
TOP TIP! Establishing shots allow you to bring personality into your recipe reel!
4/ Behind the scenes
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I love a good old behind the scenes shot! Where as an establishing shot gives your audience context, a macro shot shows off the food’s textures and a bird’s eye view capture allows you to showcase how your dish is best prepared, the behind the scenes shot provides an opportunity for connection.
By including behind the scenes footage such as your set up or even bloopers, your audience feels like they are privy to a part of your creative process no one else is!
Behind the scenes footage doesn’t always work and shouldn’t be overused when creating recipe reels, but when used correctly can pack a nice punch!
Intrigued? Read my tips for B-Roll content here!
Before you go…
I truly hope this blog post was helpful to get those creative juices flowing! If you’re serious about wanting to improve your Instagram Reels strategy further and take your recipe Reels to the next level, why not order my new book, How to Make Your Food Famous!
Find out more about the book here.
