3 Ways to Make Instagram Easier for Family Photographers (Especially When Your Brain Is Tired)

Instagram can be a lot, especially for family photographers trying to keep up with all the things. Post more! Be consistent! Make Reels! Engage in stories! Meanwhile, you’re editing a gallery with a toddler in your lap and sipping cold coffee because you forgot you made it. (Just me?)

If you’re looking for a few tips to make Instagram feel less overwhelming, these three things have helped me so much. And no, I’m not about to tell you to batch 30 days of content. Who actually wants to do that much work at a time?

Some of the links in this post may be affiliate links, but only for products I use and love (seriously, I only included them if I was obsessed with them!). If you buy through them, I’ll earn some cash for coffee (or tea). But don’t worry, I’ll use that energy to create more helpful content for you!

1. Record behind-the-scenes videos at your sessions

This one doesn’t need to be perfect. You’re already at the session so might as well hit record and grab a few short clips. You don’t even have to post them right away. Just get them, save them, and use them later when you’re in a content rut.

Here’s how I’ve done it:

• I use a hot shoe mount on my camera and put my phone right in there. Downside is that if you put your camera down a lot, or turn your camera to take a portrait, the footage won’t be useable. But you’ll still get a great amount of useable video clips!
• I have Meta glasses too! They only record for 3 minutes at a time and the battery dies fast, so you have to be strategic. But I love the footage from them, and that you can see what I see, including the back of my camera.
• Or if you like the hands-off route and want to actually be in the video, a tall phone tripod works great. I know a photographer friend who moves her phone tripod as she switches locations throughout the session. Just sets it down really quick and keeps photographing.

Bonus tip that makes this way easier: right after the session, I post one short clip to my stories and then move all the clips into a folder on my phone called “Behind-the-scenes.” That way, when I want to make a reel later, I’m not scrolling forever trying to find that one good clip in between a million screenshots and travel photos.

Even if half the footage is junk, it doesn’t matter, you only need a few quick clips to make a Reel or a story.

Here’s an example of a reel that I’ve made with behind the scenes clips from my sessions:

2. Plan your content a week at a time (but keep it super simple)

I’m not saying to go full spreadsheet mode. But it does help to sit down once a week and make a loose plan. I’ll usually just open my Notes app (because thats what I use most often, use whatever is easiest for you!) and jot down a basic outline like:

• Monday: post beach session from last year with Jones family (Carousel)
• Wednesday: Reel about what to wear for beach sessions
• Friday: share funny story about xyz with photos from Smith family’s session (Carousel)

Even just having that rough idea in place makes it so much easier when I go to post. You can totally voice-text caption ideas while you’re waiting in the school pickup line or folding laundry. Just keep it chill. It doesn’t need to be some intense strategy session. You can come up with three ideas a week, I promise.

For stories, I don’t plan those ahead.
They’re just random thoughts or little moments that happen throughout the day. Basically, if it’s something I’d text to my BFF, it probably belongs in my stories. That’s how people get to know me, actually! That moment you’re folding laundry while your toddler is climbing your back? Totally story-worthy. Even if you didn’t take a photo, you can still post about it. Just use a colored background or snap a quick photo of the laundry pile and add some words over it. Forgot your coffee until it was cold again? That works too. It doesn’t need to be polished. People usually love it more when it’s not.

3. Use templates so you don’t have to build Reels from scratch

Some days I feel inspired and have time to put together a Reel from start to finish. And other days I want to post something but my brain is just like… no. That’s where Social Templates comes in (that is my affiliate link, just fyi. Use it for a free month!).

They’ve got a big collection of pre-made Reel templates that are designed for photographers, and they are constantly adding more every week. You just choose one, drop in your photos or video clips, and it auto-generates the Reel for you. Seriously. No fiddling with timing or transitions. It does the time-consuming part for you.

It also saves you from wasting time scrolling through Instagram trying to find a Reel with a usable template. Because yeah, you can use someone else’s template… but how do you even find one that works for what you need? And has trending audio? And lets you drop in your own clips without it turning into a mess? It takes forever. With Social Templates, it’s all ready to go and you don’t have to hunt for anything.

Then you just write a caption (or reuse something you’ve said before. Look back to last year, no one will notice), post it, and you’re done. It takes way less brain power and makes it so much easier to be consistent without spending all day on content. Yay!

So yeah. If Instagram feels like a lot (because it is), these three things can help it feel more doable. You don’t have to be perfect or show up every day. Just make it easier on yourself where you can. You’ve got enough going on already 💛