Today’s Topic Tuesday comes from our teen contributor Sara Cooney.  Sara contributes videos and blog posts on topics that affect senior photographers from her perspective.  Today she is sharing how to up your Instagram game by using videos in addition to regular photo posts.  

Check out this awesome blog post below.  Sara also started a Facebook group where you can connect with her and other photographers, and continue to conversation about this and many other topics relating to Senior Photography.  Be sure to check it out at the link below!

Hi everyone! So some of you who are new to it may not know this, but Instagram allows you to post not only pictures, but also short 15 second videos. And we should all be using this to our advantage! I just recently posted my first video from a photoshoot I just did for fun with my friend (I will give you the process from beginning to end on how I did the video). It got a lot of likes and lots of comments from people saying how much they loved it, and my friend even got a few texts from her friends saying how cute it was. I had a senior session happening later on the day that I posted the first video, and after I saw the great response I decided to do another.

Sara Cooney Instagram Video from Leslie Kerrigan on Vimeo.

During the senior session (my first of the summer) I took some video with Instagram in mind. (Go to @saracooneyphotography on Instagram to watch these videos, and follow me for more to come!) I posted the video later that night and it got the most likes that any of my posts on that account had ever gotten, and the senior loved it! These videos don’t take long to create and as you can see, teens love them! I have talked about going the extra mile in my videos before, and this is just another little thing that you can do to stand out from other photographers in your area. So try it out. On the next senior session you have, take some video clips and follow my process below to create the video.  When you post it, tag me or message me… I would love to check it out.

So the first step in this process is to take the video clips. Just give them something simple to do, whether it be to walk towards you, spin, play with their hair, or whatever you want. But don’t stop recording as soon as they do what you told them. You want to catch the in between moments when they are relaxed and laughing, those are the best clips! Most of my first video was made with the “in between” clips where she was laughing and just having fun. Remember this is only 15 seconds so you don’t need tons of video. If you take too much it will end up taking you more time to go through them all and choose what you want. After that, import the clips into iMovie. Choose what you want to use and cut out the rest, then drag them up to the top left in the order you want the clips to appear. Remember, no more than 15 seconds. You can put music in on iMovie, but I chose to do it with an app instead. So I finalized and saved my video, then emailed it to myself so I could get it on my iPod (do the same with an iPhone). Download the app VideoShop and import your video into there. Take the sound out of the video and then add a song that matches the feel of the video. The song is the most important part, in my opinion. Don’t just the first song that comes to mind, put some thought into what song goes with the video clips.  With the app, you can start at any point in the song and just end it 15 seconds after. Once you are done, export your video and post it on Instagram! Easy as that.

I have said this many times but I will say it again…it is all about doing something different from the other photographers in your area. What is going to make a teen want to come to you instead of the photographer just as good down the street?  A fun little video like this could be the thing to set you apart. So again, try it out on your next session and let me know when it’s posted so I can see it! If you need some inspiration, there are two posted on my @saracooneyphotography Instagram and more to come soon!

Sara Cooney is an aspiring photographer and monthly contributor to Seniorologie.  Sara shares information that help photographers reach the teen market by giving real tips on how photographers can reach the teen market.  Sara started Sara Cooney Photography when she was a junior in high school and she photographs seniors, dancers, families, couples, musicians and has been a second shooter on a few weddings, which she plans on doing more of this year.  Sara spent one semester at the University of Rhode Island and now will be attending the New England School of Photography in October to pursue her dream.