Instagram just made a move a lot of business owners did not see coming. On October 26, Instagram head Adam Mosseri and VP of Product Tessa Lyons announced Instagram Features, a new format for long-form, horizontal videos up to 90 minutes. It is starting as a small test with select creators in the U.S. (after earlier testing in Brazil), and it comes with a few companion tools: Clips as Reels, which lets a creator link up to eight short Reels back to the longer video, Series for grouping episodic Reels, and a bigger push for Live and the Instagram TV app.
Mosseri openly admitted he had been against long-form video on Instagram for a long time. That change of heart is the news. For businesses, conferences and event organizers in San Antonio, it is also a good moment to rethink how you capture and reuse your events.
What Instagram Features actually is
Here is the plain-language version of what has been reported by The Verge, TechCrunch, Social Media Today and 9to5Google:
- Long, widescreen video inside Instagram. Features are horizontal videos up to 90 minutes, aimed at things like podcasts, interviews, vlogs and talks.
- Short clips point to the long version. With Clips as Reels, short vertical highlights can send viewers back to the full video.
- Built for the living room, too. Viewers can send longer videos to Instagram’s TV app on supported TVs.
- It is still a test. Only select U.S. creators have it right now, with wider rollout planned over the coming months. Reports also note there is no YouTube-style ad revenue share announced yet.
Why this matters for event and business brands
Most organizations we work with already have the raw ingredients for long-form content: a keynote, a panel, a fireside chat, an awards segment. Until now, Instagram really only rewarded the 30-second highlight. If Features rolls out widely, the same platform where your audience follows you could also host the full session, with short clips and photos pulling people into it.
That shifts how you should plan event coverage. A few practical takeaways:
- Plan for horizontal and vertical. Long-form Features are widescreen, while Reels and Stories are vertical. If you are filming a keynote with your own team or a videographer, decide ahead of time who covers which orientation so you are not cropping a speaker out of the frame later.
- Your photos become the packaging. A 90-minute video still needs a strong cover image, carousel posts to announce it, and stills for your website, newsletter and press. Wide stage shots, crowd moments and clean speaker frames do that job better than a grabbed video frame, especially in low event lighting.
- Capture the room, not just the podium. Shots that show a full house, engaged tables and the stage branding tell people the event mattered. That context is what makes someone tap through to a long video.
- Get speaker and venue permissions early. If a full session might be published, confirm that with speakers and the venue before the event, not after.
- Do not put all your eggs in one app. Features is a test, and platforms change course often. Keep your best images and full-resolution files in a gallery you control and post the strongest work on your own website, too.
How we think about it at Grey Bug Photography
We photograph conferences, summits, networking events and headshot sessions across Texas, and we shoot on the Nikon Z9 and Z8. On a typical summit day, the photos get used in more places than people expect: social posts that week, recap emails, sponsor reports, next year’s promo materials and speaker bios. Longer video on Instagram does not replace that. If anything, it makes the stills more important, because every long video needs eye-catching images around it to get noticed.
So if your organization is thinking about recording full sessions in 2027, our advice is simple: plan your photo coverage alongside your video plan, list the key moments you need (stage wide, crowd, sponsor signage, speaker portraits, candid networking), and make sure your gallery is delivered fast enough to promote the video while people are still talking about the event.
For San Antonio businesses: quick checklist
- Follow your own account settings and watch for when Features opens up beyond the test group.
- Look at your last event: do you have one strong horizontal cover image and a set of vertical crops ready to go?
- Refresh team headshots so speaker graphics, thumbnails and bios look consistent.
- Keep originals in a gallery you control, then post your best frames on your website and social channels.
Planning a conference, summit or company event in San Antonio and want coverage that works for social, web and video promotion? Get in touch with Grey Bug Photography and tell us what is on your calendar.
Sources: reporting from The Verge, TechCrunch, Social Media Today and 9to5Google. Features is in limited testing and details may change.
