The best hooks for travel photography reels, from 800+ that went viral
The opening lines of 800+ viral travel photography reels: which kinds of hook show up most, which travelled furthest, and 16 real ones to learn from.
"Dude, the moon. Oh my gosh. Guys, come look at this." It's someone calling everyone over to look at the sky, said out loud. The page had 1,790 followers, and the reel reached 2.1 million views.
A voice alone opens just 8% of viral travel photography reels, and text read aloud another 9%, yet the voice-only hooks went a little further than silent text. The library holds 800+ viral travel photography reels from 600+ creators shooting landscapes, cities, storms and night skies, and we read how every one opens. Hooks for all niches together are at the best reel hooks on Instagram; for one niche at a time, see what goes viral, niche by niche.
On viral travel photography reels, curiosity gaps are the most common opener, at 19%. Aspirational lines open just 3%, yet their middle reel hit 40 times the account's followers, the highest of any type. 31% skip the hook entirely. Text carries it on 65%, and the middle-length hook is 8 words.
Aubrium's library, 31 October 2026.
What kind of hook works best for travel photography reels?
Aspirational lines went furthest: 40 times their account's followers at the middle, from just 26 reels. Curiosity gaps are simply the most common, at 19%.
Questions came next at 28, then POV lines at 27. Callouts, the second biggest group at 10%, reached 23. An aspirational line dreams out loud, as in "we should go to alaska to see aurora one day". And 31% skip the hook entirely; the middle one of those reached 23.
16 travel photography hooks that went viral
Supercells, auroras, a horse at a traffic stop and a photographer's game of five photos. Tap a type to see only those.
- Curiosity gapSpoken
Dude, the moon. Oh my gosh. Guys, come look at this.
- RelatableText on screen
Best traffic stop ever 🐎
- Transformation teaseText on screen
You have just unlocked the final level 🌎
- Curiosity gapText on screen
Very few get to witness this in the wild...
- QuestionText and spoken
Okay, I want to know what you would do in this situation.
- CalloutText and spoken
Incredible supercell in Yankton, South Dakota right now.
- RelatableText on screen
away from everyone
- NegativeText and spoken
I regret everything.
- CalloutText on screen
Here's the game. I'm a photographer and I get 5 photos to convince you to follow.
- RelatableText and spoken
Dear problems, give me a short break. I am your regular customer. Give me discount, please.
- QuestionText on screen
“What kind of birds do you like?”
- Number listText on screen
10 easy solo poses to do while traveling
- AspirationalText on screen
we should go to alaska to see aurora one day
- AspirationalText on screen
Maybe in another life, we're detectives in a small pacific northwest town solving strange cases
- RelatableText on screen
“He surely is just a tourist with that small camera” 💨
- Bold claimText and spoken
Welcome to the last land of India. This is Dhanush Kori.
How long should a travel photography hook be?
Short. 53% of travel photography hooks have 8 words or fewer, and 8 is the middle length. The shortest band, 1 to 4 words, reached 23 times followers, with 5 to 8 words close behind at 22.
From 13 to 20 words, the middle reel dropped to 11. Past 20 words it came back to 20, but only 8% run that long. "away from everyone" is about as short as a travel hook gets, and it sat on a reel with 2.3 million views.
Should you say the hook or show it?
Show it, mostly. Text with no voice opens 56% of viral travel photography reels. A voice alone opens just 8%, with text read aloud on another 9%, and the voice-only ones went a touch further.
Spoken openers hit 25 times the account's followers at the middle, against 22 for silent text and 15 for text read aloud. They range from a greeting, "Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to Mumbai.", to a plain question: "Is it nice there?"
How do viral travel photography hooks start?
"I" opens 14 travel photography hooks, then "how" at 12, and "POV", "the" and "this" at 10 each. "Why" and "what" show up 5 times apiece.
- I
- how
- POV
- the
- this
- I'm
- you
- my
- if
- what
- why
The first word of 260+ English hooks on viral travel photography reels, sized by how many start with it.
Four starts this niche uses, with a line for each:
How to… / How I…
“How to take a Milky Way photo on your iPhone -”
This is… / This is how…
“This is arguably the best National Park of all time and I'm going to show you why.”
Stop… / Don't… / Never…
“don't click macro photos like this!”
Why…
“Why stacking matters 2 ✨”
Keep reading
What comes after the hook, from format to sound, is on how travel photography reels go viral. Photographers will also want the best hooks for camera gear reels, what goes viral in photo editing and hooks for wedding photography reels.
Questions people ask
What's a good hook for a travel photography reel?
Aspirational lines, on the numbers: their middle reel hit 40 times the account's followers on viral travel photography reels in Aubrium's library. Only 3% use one; curiosity gaps lead at 19%.
Do landscape reels need a hook?
Not always. 31% of viral travel photography reels carry no hook of any type, and that group reached 23 times the account's followers at the middle.
How long should a travel photo hook be?
Short. 8 words is the middle length on viral travel photography reels, and 53% have 8 words or fewer.
Should I talk in my travel reels?
Few do: a voice alone opens 8% of viral travel photography reels, and text read aloud another 9%. Those spoken hooks reached 25 times followers at the middle, a touch past 22 for silent text.
What word do travel photography hooks start with?
"I" opens 14 of the 260+ English travel photography hooks we read, then "how" at 12.
How we did this
We looked at every travel photography reel in Aubrium's library on 31 October 2026: 800+ reels from 600+ creators with 1,000 to 100,000 followers, each of which reached far more people than its creator has followers. We counted every reel filed in Aubrium's travel photography niche; a reel can sit in more than one niche.
Hook types, delivery and on-screen text are labels Aubrium's reader puts on every post. Hook length and first words count the 260+ reels with an English hook in words. Every number here describes reels that already went viral, so none of it is the odds for a new one.
Changelog
- First version.
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