Instagram is very popular among online creators.
Currently, Instagram has over
500,000 active influencers, and a good portion of them are professional photographers.
Why Is Instagram a Good Choice for a Photographer's Portfolio?
When talking about using Instagram to create a professional photography portfolio, there are a few benefits photographers can enjoy on this platform:
• It's accessible and easy to browse. Instagram's algorithm is built to help users discover content faster and effortlessly. All the content is broken down into categories and can be searched by a hashtag, which makes your content more visible.
• You get different options for content presentation. You can organize your photos in slideshows effectively without having to spend time editing like you would for your portfolio website.
• You can access a large audience faster. Currently, there are
1 billion Instagram users worldwide. Instagram has a very diverse audience, so there is a high chance that you will find followers that will like your works.
In theory, it's easy to get noticed on Instagram. In practice, however, Instagram fame requires a lot more effort, given how many photographers use this platform to showcase their works.
So, what do you need to become a popular Instagram photographer?
Let's take a look.
1. Post at the Right Time
If you already have a certain number of followers, you can use the analytics of their activity to help you reach them at the right time.
Scheduling your posts properly has several perks to it:
• It saves you time. On Instagram, you can time your posts and they will get posted automatically. This is especially convenient if you and your target audience live in different time zones.
• It encourages engagement. Proper scheduling makes your posts more visible, hence, you are able to reach more people who might be interested in your photographs.
• It builds consistency. As your audience grows, they will expect you to post at a certain time, thus, maintaining high engagement on your Instagram account.
Over time, as your professional presence on Instagram grows, you will be able to monetize your Instagram success. Scheduling posts also contributes to improving your Instagram ROI, as it ensures regular activity on your account.
2. Use the Right Hashtags
Hashtags play an important role in the discoverability of your content.
However, randomly using hashtags for your posts is not a good way to get you noticed, as it may put your content under the wrong categories.
How to choose the right hashtags for your photos?
• Create a list of all hashtags relevant to the theme of your photos. The more specific you are, the better. On Instagram content can be put into more general categories, like décor, travel, architecture, etc. There are also specialized categories, such as food photography, medical design, aerial photography, etc. Choose the ones that fit the theme of your photos and your profile.
• Compare the performance of hashtags. If you have two similar hashtags, you don't have to put both of them. Instead, you can use online tools to compare their performance to see, which one will bring your posts more engagement. Here's the performance of two similar hashtags as an example:
#photographyeveryday
#dailyphotography
If you have a list of hashtags to use regularly for your posts, we recommend revisiting this list once in a while, as hashtags tend to lose their trendiness over time.
3. Don't Disregard the Captions
Lastly, posting beautiful professional photographs isn't enough to get the attention of the wide Instagram audience. To make your posts more engaging, it is important to pay attention to the captions.
What does it take to create a good Instagram caption?
• Tell the story behind each photo. Tell your audience, what inspired you to take a particular photo or any incident in your life that led to the creation of this photo. This way you will become closer and more relatable to your audience.
• Educate. If it fits the theme of your profile, you can tell your audience about the techniques you've used to take or retouch a particular photo. This way you will also provide value to your audience.
• Include a call-to-action. You can invite your followers to like and comment under your posts. Or, you can inspire them with your photography to share their creations with you. User-generated content is a great driver of engagement, and it also brings you and your audience closer.
To not stress over the captions every time, you can create a content calendar, where you can schedule your posts and also prepare ideas for captions.
Over to You
Instagram is a good platform to showcase your achievements in photography. It gives you the tools and the potential to reach a very diverse audience.
However, to succeed as a popular Instagram photographer, you need to spend some time analyzing the activity of your Instagram audience and current Instagram trends to remain relevant and to make your content noticed.
Hopefully, our tips will help you on your way to Instagram fame as a photographer.
About the author
Ryan is a passionate writer who likes sharing his thoughts and experience with the readers. Currently, he works as online marketing specialist, you can check his website and
check here. He likes everything related to traveling and new countries.
