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How do I film footage on my phone that makes good reels?

Film upright, hold the phone still and take short clips of five to fifteen seconds, starting a moment before the action. Face the light, get a wide shot, a close shot, a detail, a face and a reaction, and ask people before you film them. An hour of filming like this gives you footage for a month of posts.

Updated 15 October 2026

1. Film for the phone screen

Reels are watched upright on a phone. Hold your phone upright when you film. A sideways clip loses most of its picture when it is cropped to fit, and the people in it end up cut in half.

Keep the important part of the shot in the middle. The top and bottom of a reel are covered by the account name, the caption and the buttons.

2. The ten second rule

Take short clips, about five to fifteen seconds each. Hold the shot still for the whole clip. Start filming a moment before the thing happens, and keep going a moment after it ends.

Short clips are quicker to look through, and a clip with a clean start and end is easy to cut cleanly. One long recording is fine too, as long as it holds still on the good moments.

3. Use the light

Stand with the light behind you or to the side, so faces are lit. Near a window, face the window. Outside, early morning and late afternoon give the softest light.

Don't film straight into bright lights, a stage spotlight or the sun. The phone darkens everything else to cope, and faces go black. Tap on a face to set the exposure.

4. Get a mix of shots

A reel needs a few different kinds of shot. Each time you film, try to get one of each:

• Wide: the whole place, so people know where they are.
• Close: one person or one thing filling the frame.
• Detail: hands, a glass, a paddle, a guitar neck, shoes on the floor.
• Face: someone enjoying it, looking at what they are doing.
• Reaction: a laugh, a cheer, a high five.

5. Let the people move, keep the phone still

Movement should come from the scene, not the camera. Hold the phone with both hands, tuck your elbows in, or lean on a wall or a railing. If you need to follow something, walk slowly instead of swinging the phone around.

Shaky footage is the most common reason a clip can't be used.

6. Sound

Don't worry if the room is noisy. ReelTempo's reels don't keep a clip's own sound. If you want a sound on a reel, add one in Instagram or Facebook when you post it, from the sounds your account is allowed to use.

7. Photos count too

A sharp, well lit photo can go in a reel as a slow moving shot. Take photos of plates, the view, the crowd and the room when it is set up. Upright photos work best.

8. Ask permission

Ask people before you film them for your business's social media, and make it easy to say no. A simple line works: "We're filming a bit for our Instagram tonight. Is it OK if you're in it? No problem if not."

Keep anyone who says no out of the shot, or don't use the clips they are in. Take extra care with children. Any tool that makes reels from your footage, ReelTempo included, needs footage you are allowed to use.

9. A shot list for your kind of business

Bar

• The room filling up, wide, from the door.
• A drink being poured or made, close.
• Glasses meeting in a cheers.
• The band or DJ, and the crowd watching them.
• Staff laughing behind the bar.

Restaurant

• The kitchen at work: flames, chopping, plating.
• A plate going down on the table, from above.
• Diners' first bite and their reaction.
• The room set up before opening, wide.
• Something only you have: the view, the courtyard, the pizza oven.

Tour

• The meeting point and the group arriving.
• The first push off, the first step, the bus pulling out.
• The guide pointing something out.
• The view at the furthest point, wide and held still.
• Guests' faces, and the group photo at the end.

Band

• Setting up and the soundcheck.
• Close on hands: strings, keys, sticks.
• The crowd from the stage, and the stage from the crowd.
• The song people sing along to.
• Packing up at the end of the night.

Dance school

• The room before the lesson starts, and people arriving.
• The teacher showing one move slowly.
• Feet on the floor, close.
• A couple getting a move right, and their faces when they do.
• The whole floor dancing, wide.

10. A month of footage in one hour

Pick one busy, good looking hour each week, such as a full night, a sunrise tour or a gig. Work through your shot list in that hour. Back the clips up the same day and delete the blurry ones and any that show people who said no.

Four of those hours gives you enough footage for a reel or two every week for a month.

What ReelTempo does and doesn't do here

ReelTempo looks through the clips and photos you upload, finds the moments worth using, cuts a reel, puts words on screen and writes the caption. You check every reel on your laptop or phone, and nothing goes out until you approve it.

It doesn't film for you. It can't fix footage that is too shaky or too dark to see. It doesn't check who has agreed to be filmed; that is up to you. It never adds people or scenes you didn't film.

See how ReelTempo works, or read how to film a tour on your phone and posting reels for a bar without hours of editing.