How Instagram Reels Photography Content Gets Easier With a B-Roll Bank
Instagram Reels photography content was basically nonexistent on my grid this summer. Guys, real talk — my Instagram grid over the summer? A ghost town.
Boys were home, we were traveling the East Coast, and I think I posted one reel on July 4th and then nothing again until last week. Its August.
So on this episode of Get Booked, I sat down with Kate from Task Lemonade — a marketing specialist who works exclusively with photographers — to talk about the piece of Instagram Reels photography content that would’ve saved my summer: a healthy B-roll bank.
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Table of Contents
Top Takeaways
- B-roll can make creating Instagram Reels photography content much faster during busy seasons.
- Your B-roll doesn’t need to be complicated or overly polished.
- The best B-roll shows your personality while also giving potential clients insight into your process.
- A simple organization system can keep your footage from becoming impossible to find.
- Hands-free filming tools can make capturing behind-the-scenes footage much easier.
- You don’t need new footage every week — refreshing your B-roll bank every few months can be enough.
- Small moments you already capture during your workday can become reusable marketing content.
Why B-Roll Is Your Instagram Reels Photography Content Secret Sauce
Here’s the thing Kate said that stuck with me: anything can be B-roll when you’re a photographer, because who you are is such an important part of your brand.
People are buying so much more than just a photo session.
They’re buying you.
That’s exactly why families hire the person, not just the portfolio.
Think about it — you don’t tell your friends “my photographer’s business name,” you tell them the photographer’s name.
That’s the relationship.
That’s why every piece of your marketing, B-roll included, needs you in it.
B-roll isn’t just filler content.
It’s your background footage — you doing literally anything, with negative space left around you so you can drop text over it later.
It is not a talking-head reel where you’re looking at the camera and talking.
It’s simpler than that, and that’s the point.
Kate’s rule: if you’ve got 15 minutes and a template ready to go, you should be able to pull footage from your bank and have a reel built.
That’s it.
That’s the whole system.
Make Your B-Roll Strategic, Not Just Cute
You don’t have to overthink this.
A coffee cup B-roll clip is fine.
But Kate’s favorite examples do double duty: they show personality and teach the viewer something about your process.
Packing your camera bag is her go-to example.
Ask five photographers to do it and you’ll get five completely different videos, right down to the random things they swear by keeping in their bag.
There’s also a logistical reason to be intentional here.
Kate broke down how having recognizable photography elements in your footage can help Instagram understand the context of your content.
The text you layer on top can then help make the content even more specific:
- Family photographer
- Newborn photographer
- Wedding photographer
- Photographer in your city
- Photography tips
- Behind-the-scenes photography content
That’s where a simple piece of B-roll can become strategic Instagram Reels photography content instead of just another pretty clip.
Where to Actually Keep All This Footage
This was my personal pain point going into the episode.
I only keep B-roll on my phone, broken into a few albums, and finding it later is a nightmare.
Kate keeps hers in three places:
- Her phone — organized into albums by type
- Her Mac — clips titled with exactly what’s happening, like “Kate and Trish laughing”
- Canva — a folder for footage she’s editing there instead of directly in Instagram
Her honest take?
There’s no one right system.
If you’re just starting out, an album on your phone is plenty.
The goal is just to think about organization before you have 300 unsorted clips to dig through.
Tools for Filming B-Roll Hands-Free
If you’ve ever wondered how everyone gets that steady, hands-free B-roll, Kate keeps it simple.
She uses:
- A magnetic ring-light tripod
- A smaller desktop version
- Her phone
- A simple filming setup she can use quickly
Nothing fancy.
For session behind-the-scenes footage specifically, I shared my own setup: a DJI gimbal that face-tracks whoever you point it at.
Pro tip from me: track a kid, not yourself, unless you want 20 minutes of your own backside.
It’s not cheap, and it’s not foolproof.
Mine has wandered out of frame plenty of times.
But for session content, nothing beats it.
One warning if you’re tempted to mount your phone straight to your camera’s hot shoe: don’t.
It shook mine loose and cost me the ability to use a flash or remote trigger.
Lesson learned the hard way.
Kate’s Favorite B-Roll Ideas
Kate’s guide has 18 B-roll ideas in it, but she gave us a few of her favorites during the episode.
- Packing your camera bag
Endlessly repeatable and endlessly personal. - Your pre- or post-shoot ritual
Whatever weird little thing you do to get in the zone. - A 360° view of a favorite session location
This works especially well for recurring favorite-location content and gives you opportunities to add location-specific keywords. - Holding up your camera and taking a photo toward the lens
Kate called it boring, but it’s one of the clips her members use the most.
That location B-roll idea has a bonus move, too.
You can reuse location-related content elsewhere in your marketing where appropriate.
Same footage. More mileage.
And that’s really the whole point of building a B-roll bank: creating Instagram Reels photography content shouldn’t require filming something completely new every single time you want to post.
How Often Should You Refresh Your B-Roll Bank?
Kate’s answer: once a quarter, ideally.
If you’re deep in your busy season when that three-month mark hits, stretch it another month or two.
No big deal.
Her real advice is even lower-lift than that.
Whenever you already have your phone out to film something else, tack on an extra 20 seconds of B-roll while you’re at it.
Don’t create extra work for yourself just to check a box.
A healthy B-roll bank should make marketing easier, not turn into another giant project on your to-do list.
The “Wild Card”
That’s what he said. “The good news is you’re doing everything right. The bad news is you’re already doing everything. You’re a bit of a wild card.”
I’ve relaunched my photography business 7 times. From being all-inclusive photographer charging just $150 to running a six-figure business where clients happily invest thousands per session, I’ve experience the full spectrum of this industry – all on my own.
Now I’m help other photographers move faster, and make more – more money, more clients, more freedom. Book a Free 15 now!
More Resources for Photographers
- Instagram Reels Photography Content: The B-Roll Bank That Saves You When Life Gets Busy
- Photography Blog Ideas: The 3 Types of Posts Every Photographer Needs
- Photography Website Homepage Ideas: What Your Homepage Actually Needs to Rank AND Book
- How to Work From Home With Kids — And Actually Get Things Done
- The 5 Photographer SEO Mistakes Sabotaging Your Website (And How to Fix Them Today)
- How to Price Photography: The Strategy That Stops Clients From Running
I'm a USMC spouse, South Carolina native, recovering homeschool mama of a 4 boy circus. They've taught me the most important facet of family photography: KEEP IT FUN!
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