Last summer, I set out to grow my social media presence enough to generate a substantial income from content creation, boost the visibility of my photos, and attract more clients for my workshops. If it were 2018, I would have just posted photos every day and grown my page organically from the ground up. But 2025 doesn’t reward single-image posts the way 2018 did. In the end, every sign pointed me toward every photographer’s least favorite phrase: short-form content.
I know what you’re thinking: I’m a photographer, not a video creator. You’re not wrong, but the photographer space feels overcrowded. To grow your social media presence, you must do what others won’t. You don’t need training or experience to create video content that gets views. In fact, raw video often performs best. You don’t even need to show your face. Some of the best videos reuse content you already have. In this article, I’ll inspire and guide you through short-form content. My goal: help you garner more views for your social media pages.
Why Short-Form Content?
It’s no secret that social media platforms are pushing short-form video content to their users. As much as you may not like it, there’s a reason for the madness. All social media platforms make money the longer you stay on the app. The more content you scroll through, the more ads you watch, and the more money each platform can generate. Short-form video content is more engaging than individual photos and the public at large will spend substantially more time scroll through short video content than they would with individual videos.
Depending on your niche, there may be a lack of content, making it even easier to tap into the thousands of people scrolling through social media each day. In my opinion, there is a huge need for short form content as there is more people interested in photography scrolling through videos than there is videos to be seen. This makes it an incredible opportunity to reach new people who don’t follow you, ultimately resulting in social media pushing your video to new audiences and therefore increasing the traffic to your page.
A Guide to Short-Form Content
You can create content that reaches thousands—even hundreds of thousands—without complicating your videos or having extensive experience. The videos that get the most views are those that can quickly grab and hold the attention of your audience. Unlike photography, which often feels like it needs perfection, short-form video simply aims to hold attention with interest.
There are numerous ways to edit footage and mix it with audio. Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube all have ways for you to edit, cut, and mix your video content with trending sounds. There are also third party video editing apps you can use. If you own Premiere Pro or Davinci Resolve, feel free to use these softwares but don’t feel limited if your video editing knowledge is minimal and stick to the basics.
When I first started, I found ideas by scrolling my own page and studying creators whose content I liked. Additionally, I paid close attention to trending audio and trends even outside of my niche, and thought of creative ideas how I could apply them to photography. If you scroll through social media for long, you’ll always pick up on different trends that use audio or visuals and oftentimes this is a great place to start. Simply recreate the trend but in your own style!
What Types of Short Content Work Well for Photographers?
As a photographer, I like to think of two different types of content that work well. First is entertainment. This can be behind the scenes content such as a landscape photographer posting a video of their camera on a tripod with a beautiful scene behind them or a portrait photographer showing the back of their camera screen in studio or on location. Using text on the screen to get people interested in watching the whole video to see the final image is a great way to keep your audience entertained. It could also be video content with a joke poking fun at a common photography mishap. Or even before and after editing image! Timelapse footage of a beautiful sunset can also do well! Such is great content especially if you already have the footage in your archive.
The second type of content that works well for photographers is educational-style videos. These typically take a little more thought but there is a market for this style of videos that is relatively untapped. Remember that you don’t have to be an expert to share knowledge, and there is always someone who is walking in your footsteps that could utilize the information you learned. Whether your content is teaching your favorite way to add glow to your photos, how to use on-camera flash for better portraits, or the best camera settings to change for sports photography, there will always be an audience that is hungry for educational-style content.
Why Don’t My Videos Get More Views?
Nothing is more frustrating than spending hours creating short-form video content just to be stuck in 200-view jail. If you’re willing to put on a critical eye and use your detective hat, you can usually determine why certain videos flop, and why others get hundreds of thousands of views. And you do not need an account with thousands of followers to get thousands of views.
All social media platforms use advanced metrics to determine which videos get pushed to more users. And the only way to go “viral” is if the platform you posted in is pushing your content to people. Some of the most important metrics you should be trying to pay attention to include:
Audience Retention
How many viewers swiped away immediately, and for the ones who stayed, how long did they watch? The first two seconds of your video are crucial to grab attention and make someone stay and watch. Any content after that is important to be interesting enough to keep attention and keep someone watching your video.
Shares and Comments
Other users sharing your video is one of the most important metrics because social media platforms love when your video is shareable. Not only does it mean that you are watching the content, but it also means that you’re sending it to a friend who will load the app and watch it as well. Comments are important too because they show engagement. Think about creating content that you’d want to share with a friend, as well as content that sparks comments from your viewers.
When You Post
The first couple of hours after you post are crucial, so making sure that you post at a time when people who would enjoy your content are browsing is important. For most creators, I’d recommend posting during the daytime or early evening. The frequency in which you post is also important, as consistency is king when it comes to short-form content. By posting regularly, your content can cross-polinate and a user that watches one video may click on your profile and watch more. By having videos that are posted regularly, you make it easier for the algorithm to continue to show your videos to the same people.
Best Products for Short-Form Video Creation
While you don’t need anything other than a smartphone to create great videos, there are a few products that you might find helpful if you aim to create more advanced videos. I’ve had great success with talking head videos in the field, and these are some of the products I use to create my own video content:
Aputure MC Pro Mini LED Light Panel
This small but bright mini LED light panel is perfect to add a little light to your scene. Whether it be you or another subject, this can help fill out the light in almost any close-up scene.
DJI Mic 2
The DJI Mic 2 is one of the best lavalier microphones that I’ve used for a variety of different recording applications. Whether I’m recording my voice talking over an editing video or I’m out in the field capturing behind the scenes footage and sound, this mic is super light and packable and captures high quality audio that doesn’t need to be processed.
JOBY GorillaPod 5K Kit
This mini tripod from JOBY can be set up on nearly any object or surface and is perfect to pack around with your to record yourself or the scene you’re capturing. This is perfect for a second camera to record what you’re doing, but also works great for one-camera users to capture footage to use for short-form videos.
There is certainly a lot to think about when it comes to engaging short form content, especially as a photographer. If you’re serious about growing your audience in 2025 and beyond, short form content is the way to go and you can’t put it off any longer. Follow the trends, and create quick-hitting content that educates, inspires, or entertains. Don’t expect to hit a home run with each post, and monitor your viewership carefully to learn what works and what doesn’t. As always, the best time to start was yesterday, but the second best time to start is right now. Happy creating!
