The bane of every reel shot on handheld phones is the shaky camera. It may seem like you’ll never get it right (spamming your photo gallery in the process), but according to Nicholas Lau (@nicholaslgl), it’s all about the technique. 

“Try not to fidget too much,” he says. To execute pans, “twist at the wrist from left to right in slow motion, with the support of both hands.” This should pull off an elegant and stable camera movement, but for a more cinematic effect, you can “slow it down further” on Capcut, a mobile editing app. 

Read more: How to upgrade your Foodstagram with an iPhone: 5 practical tips from food influencers

If you’ve got the prettiest dish in front of you but your lighting is dim (or worse, coloured!), your reel might end up dark and blurry. It simply won’t do your dish justice. 

“I find that natural lighting gives the best result, because the video will be clear and not too harsh,” Charlie Kwok (@chockywoky) says. If you’re in a place without natural light, however, “neutral, bright lighting” helps to give “crispness” and “reduce noise” in your video. 

Many may choose to use a handheld LED light, which casts a bright, neutral light on your dish to see all its colours and intricacies clearly. This is helpful, especially when the restaurant lighting is too dim. Kwok, however, prefers to rest her iPhone against something and shoot in cinematic mode to help with the video clarity. 

Every writer knows that you have to hook your reader in the first page. For Eunice Lim (@foodtravelbabe), the first three seconds of a reel is essential. 

“The first three seconds have to be something that captures your target audience or followers’ attention,” Lim says. It could be announcing something attention-grabbing in the voiceover (“This is what it looks like dining at a three-Michelin-starred restaurant in Singapore,” Lim says in one reel). Or it could be stunning visuals like a grand Christmas spread, inviting viewers to watch on and find out more. Otherwise, on-screen titles like “Weirdest food I’ve ever eaten” or “50 best things to do in Singapore” can also help to draw viewers in. 

Whatever it is, the hook has to “intrigue [viewers] enough” to get them to “keep watching” by bringing them knowledge or entertainment.

Foodstagram duo Jeremy Tan (@foodiejerm) and his girlfriend Jane Kho (@byjanekho) know just how important sound is in creating an engaging reel, from voiceovers to background music, both of which need to “relay the right message, tone and vibe”.

Voiceovers are optional, but Tan and Kho decided to add them for a “personal touch”. Besides, they choose not to “focus on hype” to show viewers a helpful “glimpse of what to expect”. “Naturally, the voiceovers help to convey [this] message,” they say. 

Crafting a reel for the duo often starts with the background music, which needs to set the “right mood” with the “tone” and “beat”. The next thing to consider is the voiceover; here, Tan and Kho strongly recommend proper microphones, as the “angle and distance of the microphone makes a huge difference”. The tone of voice also needs to “complement” the music and “reflect your own style”, which is certainly a tall order. “The best thing to do is to be yourself and be genuine,” they say. “Everyone is different, so create your own style and be yourself, then try to project that in a way that you find comfortable. Most importantly, enjoy the process!”

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