What's the best way to create reels that showcase horizontal/landscape artwork in vertical social media formats?

Start with dramatic audio that has a clear transition point (like a sudden beat change or tone shift). Begin your reel with a few seconds of behind-the-scenes video showing you photographing or creating the work. At the audio transition, insert a black frame with a sticker or text prompting viewers to ‘rotate your phone.’ Then display your horizontal images rotated 90 degrees and scaled up to fill the vertical frame. This encourages viewers to physically engage with your content by rotating their device to see the work as intended. The interaction increases watch time and engagement. You can use any song with a strong transition—the dramatic change draws attention and makes viewers wonder what’s happening. Add text layers like ‘being a horizontal photographer in a vertical world’ to reinforce the concept. This works for painters too if your artwork is photographed in landscape mode—just adjust the text to fit your medium.

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Asked by artists and photographers working in landscape format · Answered by Indra · art-marketing-101 · 2026-07-10