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Posts Tagged ‘Instagram’

12 Steps to Successfully Promote Your Photography on Instagram

13 Aug

The post 12 Steps to Successfully Promote Your Photography on Instagram appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Robin Ryan.

promote your photography on Instagram

Instagram is an excellent way to attract attention, gain followers, engage with likeminded folks, and even improve your photography, but it’s all easier said than done, right? Plenty of photographers post on Instagram and get nothing out of it – no followers, likes, or even views.

So how do you use Instagram the right way? How can you promote your photography on instagram and come away with likes, followers, and comments galore, not to mention a great community?

In this article, I’m going to share my personal secrets for Instagram success. Specifically, I’ll offer techniques to get better exposure for your photography, build a community, and grow as a photographer through Instagram. I assure you, I know what I’m talking about; my personal Instagram account has 15,000 followers (and counting). So you know this advice works.

Let’s get started.

promoting photography on Instagram person on a mountain

1. Only show your best work

What’s the difference between a good artist and a great artist?

Great artists only show their best work. While nobody is expecting you to rival National Geographic photographers right away, you should pay close attention to what you’re sharing. It only takes one bad photo for people to lose interest in your photography.

In short, if a photo doesn’t make you say “Oh, yeah!” when you see it, don’t post it.

Also, don’t post too often. Unless you have a really good reason for spamming your follower’s feeds, don’t do it. I recommend sharing one or two images a week – it’ll keep people interested without getting annoying. So post the great stuff, and leave out the bad, the mediocre, and even the good.

2. Find your niche

This is key to defining your brand and to your growth as a photographer. It’s about determining what makes you different from everyone else and about using that difference to create something unique and interesting.

The amazing thing about Instagram is that it’s composed of people across the world, each of whom have a different interest. I’ve seen fantastic accounts focused on street food in Vietnam, rock climbing in Utah, and architecture in Turkey.

But despite these differences, the best accounts all have one thing in common: a focus around a central theme. And it’s this theme that captures their audience’s attention (and keeps it).

person by a fallen tree

Exploring the ancient #forests of Vancouver island, @kaitross and I found that even these giants succumb to time and the winds.

Don’t forget: the only person who should define your niche is you. Do you love paper maché and dinosaurs? Then become the best photographer making seaside portraits of paper maché Velociraptors.

I love to travel and explore nature, so my account reflects that and only that. You won’t find photos of my food or my family. If you want to share snapshots from your daily life, get a private account for your friends and your family to follow, because they’re the only ones who (might) want to see that stuff.

3. Use a dedicated camera, not just your smartphone

Your shiny new smartphone may take gorgeous snapshots, but constantly relying on a smartphone is like trying to perform a piano recital on a kid’s electronic keyboard.

Yes, smartphone cameras have come a long way in recent years, and yes, there are plenty of outstanding smartphone photographers out there. But unless you’re an experienced photographer with a lot of compositional and lighting knowledge, I highly recommend getting a “real” camera, such as a DSLR or mirrorless model.

Why? For one, it’ll force you to learn key photographic skills, such as exposure, depth of field manipulation, and proper handholding technique. Plus, it’ll give you additional focal lengths to play with, so you can shoot birds in the distance, sweeping landscapes, stunning close-up shots, and more.

snowy church

4. Take the editing process seriously

Instagram may lend itself to a snap-and-post style of photography, but producing excellent photographs doesn’t work that way. Great photographs aren’t taken – they’re created.

This means shooting in RAW, then working in your favorite image editing program (I recommend Adobe Lightroom). Learn how to manipulate light, shadow, and clarity until your final product is something you can be proud of. The Instagram app just isn’t built for this level of sophistication, so ditch all those cheesy filters and effects and do your work on the computer.

person climbing a mountain with buckets

5. Share a story with your photo

Great photography leaves an impression. So do well-written stories. But when you combine strong images with powerful words, you’ll evoke an emotional response in your viewer and help them connect with your work.

It wasn’t until I realized this and started sharing the story behind my photos that my account started getting real interaction – people writing about how the image or words affected them and their own experiences.

Nobody expects the next Hemingway to come out of Instagram, but some carefully chosen words in a thought-provoking caption will do wonders for connecting you to your fans.

beautiful mountaintop in China

After the frenzied atmosphere of Shanghai’s urban jungle, the fresh air of Huangshan’s Yellow Mountains was exhilarating. Still in the low season, March snow clung to the boughs of trees while distant clouds made it feel like the horizon could go forever. One of China’s better-developed tourist attractions, Huangshan has a long history: first recognized in 747 AD, it was said to be the place from which the Yellow Emperor ascended to heaven. This year, over 1.5 million visitors (mostly Chinese) will wander its paths. I caught it on a quiet day, and these peaceful memories linger with me still.

6. Ask questions in your captions

What’s the difference between a story and a question?

A story builds an emotional connection between the viewer and the image; a question builds a personal connection between your viewer and you.

So tell stories, but ask questions, too. Your questions should be open ended and create a space for your fans to contribute some of their own stories to the community. Remember that many Instagram users are new to digital photography and are looking for people to connect with. By asking questions, you can encourage them to engage with the community (you might even make friends along the way!).

7. Use hashtags effectively

I never understood the value of effective hashtagging until I started weaving them into my posts. You should be hashtagging important nouns and verbs – stuff people will be searching for.

And get specific, too. The difference between #fishing and #instagood is huge for obvious reasons: people who might be interested in your photo are much more likely to be searching for their favorite hobby than some meaningless, catch-all term. So don’t add a bunch of generic hashtags that say nothing about your work. Instead, use descriptive hashtags that target certain users.

landscape with green grasses

Speaking of hashtagging, do a bit of digging to find effective hashtags you might be missing. It wasn’t until I came across the hashtag #explorebc that I began connecting with a ton of great local photographers who eventually featured my work on their account (resulting in a huge boost of exposure for my photos!).

8. Post in the morning

The morning is when most Instagram users check their feed, so keep this in mind and set your posting schedule accordingly. I live on the West Coast of North America, so if I post at 8 AM, I’m already late for my East Coast followers. Aim to get your posts out early in the day for the time zone you’re targeting (of course, if your followers are worldwide, this is less useful).

Is there a best day of the week to post? Studies show that Sundays have the greatest number of interactions, which makes sense given that many users spend Sunday relaxing at home. Otherwise, stick to weekday mornings.

9. Build a community

Build a community by actively finding photographers you respect and developing relationships with them. I won’t lie – this is a long process, but it’s necessary and worthwhile.

It’s also pretty simple: Just find a hashtag that speaks to you and your work, then check it whenever you can to see who’s posting. When you find photography you like, leave a thoughtful compliment and follow the user. Chances are, if they like what you’re posting, they’ll check out your account and reciprocate.

Whatever you do, when commenting, don’t ask people to check out your account or follow you back. It’s tacky and makes you look desperate. Instead, be thoughtful, complimentary, and ask for nothing in return.

woman sitting by the sea

10. Cultivate champions

A champion is someone who genuinely engages with your work. They comment frequently, and their comments are thoughtful – not just “Nice” or “Love it,” but lengthier, meaningful content explaining what they like about the posted image.

Champions are great for both your community and your popularity, but how do you get them? What makes champions comment on your photos?

Here’s the best way to draw in champions:

Foster relationships with other users.

Of course, this is easier said than done. But if users are leaving you thoughtful comments, return the favor and respond with something more meaningful than “Thanks!” If someone cares enough about your work to awkwardly type out praise on their smartphone, they’re worth their weight in followers. These are the people who are going to follow along through your adventures and refer their friends and followers. Do enough relationship building, and these delightful unicorns will be out there promoting your work for you.

11. Bring others into the conversation

Bring others into the conversation by photographing with them or referencing them in your posts. Two amazing women from Vancouver kicked off @localwanderer several years ago, in which they document their travels around North America and feature the hidden gems in communities.

Where the @localwanderer creators really excel (in addition to their photography and writing) is in their ability to constantly bring local shops, restaurants, and people into the discussion. By doing this, @localwanderer introduces its community to someone new, who in turn will introduce their community to @localwanderer.

So think about who or what you can reference on your account. If you’re a nature photographer, you might try tagging local parks; if you’re an architectural photographer, you might try tagging the owners of local buildings/businesses. The specifics will depend on the photography you do, but as long as you’re creative and you persevere, you’re bound to make some valuable connections.

12. Don’t confuse followers with community

I’d rather have 100 fans who interact with my work than 1,000 followers who never like and comment. Your goal shouldn’t be about quantity of followers – instead, it should be about the quality of your community.

Speaking of numbers, don’t be afraid to clean up (and block) followers, especially those who are clearly inactive or fake. The last thing you need is a bunch of zombie accounts clogging up your Instagram. Also, one danger of having many inactive followers is that your account is less likely to be recommended to other users of Instagram.

How to promote your photography on Instagram: final words

There you have it: 12 tips for success on Instagram. As long as you follow these tips, your account will grow and your engagement will skyrocket.

Now over to you:

What are your tips for promoting photography on Instagram? Do you have any success (or failure) stories you’d like to share? Let’s hear them in the comments section below!

The post 12 Steps to Successfully Promote Your Photography on Instagram appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Robin Ryan.


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How to Use a Split Tone Style in Lightroom Mobile for a Consistent Instagram Feed

09 Sep

The post How to Use a Split Tone Style in Lightroom Mobile for a Consistent Instagram Feed appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Have you ever seen an image and immediately known who took it? That’s because the photographer has a unique style.

If you want to make your own images recognizable for your clients and followers, you might want to try a split tone style.

Keep reading to learn how this works.

Create a split tone style
Snapshot taken with the default camera app on a Redmi Note 8.

Style

You can create your own style through many different elements, from lighting and composition to a particular way of post-processing.

This last one is where a split tone style fits.

Introduction to split toning style
Canon 50D | Sigma 28-300mm | 28mm | 1/800 sec | f/3.5 | ISO 100

Using this technique, you can keep your images consistent. That way, the viewer feels like all your images belong together and associates the images with you and your brand. This works for your portfolio, your website, and your Instagram feed.

Split tone

When you assign a certain tone to the shadows and a different tone to the highlights, it’s known as a split tone. The full white and full black will always remain untouched. But the highlights will be cool while the shadows will be warm.

Let me show you what I mean with this gradient:

Split tone gradient

You can also change the ratio between highlights and shadows. On these next gradients, see how the same split tone colors give a different effect when you adjust the split tone balance:

Split tone changing balance

This is just an example, but you can use any combination of colors that suits your style and brand. For that, you can create a color palette.

Choose a color palette

A color palette is a range of colors used in a particular context. These colors need to work well together and reinforce your style.

There are different theories you can use to create your color palette. You can go for a monochromatic scheme or a complementary one. If you’re not sure, there are some great tools to help you. You can check out Adobe Color or Color Hexa.

Adobe Color Website

Just like a filter, different split tones may look better on some images than others. Having a color scheme gives you the flexibility to apply different split tone combinations while maintaining your style.

Split tone style

Almost every program has a feature or a way to do split toning: ACR, Capture One, Photoshop, Luminar, Lightroom, etc. Also, many apps allow you to do split toning on your phone: Photoshop Express, Lightroom Mobile, and VSCO Cam. Choose whichever fits best into your workflow.

In most cases, the split toning interface is similar from program to program. You’ll have two gradients: one for the highlights and one for the shadows. You’ll also have a balance slider.

I’m going to show you how to split tone in Lightroom Mobile, because it’s the program I find most comfortable. Also, because Lightroom Mobile allows you to save your split tone effect as a preset.

Both split toning and preset functionality are included in the free version of Lightroom Mobile, so you can follow along without getting a subscription.

Split toning in Lightroom Mobile

When you have your image open in Lightroom Mobile, you can see the menu at the bottom. Scroll to the right until you find Effects.

Once you open the Effects tab, on the top right you can find Split Tone. This will open the gradients for the highlights and shadows. Below these gradients, you’ll find a slider to control the split tone balance.

Move the highlights, shadows, and balance values until you’re satisfied.

Split tone style in Lightroom Mobile

In the color palette section of this article, I was telling you that there are different ways to split tone. Here you can see an example of split toning using a monochromatic scheme (the center photo), and another that uses complementary colors (the right photo).

Make it a preset

To keep your split tone style consistent without having to remember the specific values every time, you can create a split tone preset. That way it becomes a one-touch edit you can apply to every photo.

To do this, click on the three dots in the top right. This will open a menu; from there choose Create Preset. Make sure that only the Split Toning option that you find inside Effects is checked. Otherwise, the preset will save additional edits that you might not want to replicate in other photos.

Then name the preset and tap on the check icon (in the top right) to save.

Lightroom Mobile Presets

Next time you want to apply the split tone effect to a photo, just open it in Lightroom Mobile, go to Presets, then User Presets, and find the split tone preset you want.

You can also create different split tone presets that use variations from your color palette. That way, you can use the preset that fits each image best while maintaining the overall aesthetic.

Conclusion

Using a split tone style will help you maintain a consistent look in your images. This will make your account recognizable to your followers and let your clients know what they can expect from your brand.

It doesn’t matter which app or program you use; the important thing is that it’s easy to incorporate into your workflow.

Share your recommendations and experiences in the comments section.

The post How to Use a Split Tone Style in Lightroom Mobile for a Consistent Instagram Feed appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.


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10 Tips & Tricks to Make Your Instagram Images Look Beautiful For Beginners

29 Jul

Instagram has undoubtedly become one of the most popular image sharing sites. It is also a sweet spot for photographers and enthusiasts looking to get their pictures noticed. Of course, the popularity of Instagram has led to fierce competition. To help you stand out on this social media platform, I decided to share some Instagram photo tricks to make your Continue Reading

The post 10 Tips & Tricks to Make Your Instagram Images Look Beautiful For Beginners appeared first on Photodoto.


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Instagram clarifies its sublicense terms don’t cover embedded images

06 Jun

Instagram has made a surprising announcement that will have big implications for photographers and anyone who uses its built-in ‘share’ function: it does not grant sublicenses to users for embedded images. The revelation comes amid lawsuits over embedded Instagram posts and allegations that embedding without permission or a license constitutes copyright infringement.

Instagram features a share button that, among other things, enables users to embed public posts on other sites. This is a common way to include social media content in an article or blog post, but that may change with the bombshell announcement from Instagram. In a statement to Ars Technica, Instagram’s parent company Facebook said that despite the fact that ‘while our terms allow us to grant a sub-license, we do not grant one for our embeds API.’

The company went on to state that users must get permission to embed the image from the copyright holder, this despite the fact that Instagram offers the embed function on all public images and does not allow individual users to disable the sharing option.

In light of this, users who embed Instagram posts without first getting permission or a license from the photographer may face a copyright lawsuit. We’ve seen two cases of this issue appear in court in recent months, one involving digital media website Mashable and, more recently, another involving Newsweek.

In the first case, photographer Stephanie Sinclair filed a copyright lawsuit against Mashable after it embedded one of her Instagram posts without permission. The court ultimately sided with Mashable and ruled that Instagram’s terms allowed it to grant a sublicense for images. In the Newsweek case, however, the court sided with photographer Elliot McGucken and found that more details are needed to determine whether Instagram’s terms cover sublicenses for embedded images.

In the Newsweek case, Judge Katherine Failla references the Mashable ruling, stating:

‘The Court finds Judge Wood’s decision to be well-reasoned and sees little cause to disagree with that court’s reading of Instagram’s Terms of Use and other policies … The Terms of Use unequivocally grant Instagram a license to sublicense Plaintiff’s publicly posted content … Nevertheless, the Court cannot dismiss Plaintiff’s claims based on this licensing theory at this stage in the litigation … there is no evidence before the Court of a sublicense between Instagram and Defendant … Although Instagram’s various terms and policies clearly foresee the possibility of entities such as Defendant using web embeds to share other users’ content … none of them expressly grants a sublicense to those who embed publicly posted content.’

Ars Technica contacted Facebook to find out whether its sublicense terms cover embedded images — and the company says it does not. The revelation was very surprising and will fundamentally change the way users share Instagram posts, though it is a win for professional photographers who are frustrated over how the platform currently operates.

As Sinclair pointed out in the Mashable lawsuit, Instagram is one of the most popular image-sharing websites, but it gives photographers little control over how their images are used: they can either make the images public and therefore open to embedding or make them private to restrict embedding, limiting the platform’s usefulness for photographers seeking an audience.

With Facebook’s public statement on Instagram’s lack of sublicensing for embedded images, future copyright cases will not be able to follow in Mashable’s footsteps. Instagram has been criticized for failing to give photographers more control over how their images are shared and this new revelation will likely add fuel to that fire.

Though users are warned when they embed an image that they must follow Instagram’s terms, most are unlikely to actually read those terms and may not understand the intricacies of sublicensing and how it relates to embedded content. This would put unaware users at risk of copyright lawsuits for using the feature Instagram makes readily available.

In a statement to Ars Technica, Instagram said that it is ‘exploring the possibility’ of allowing photographers to control whether their images can be embedded…presumably without having to make their account private. It is far from certain whether this feature will actually be deployed, however, and how long it may take to introduce this additional control.

Whether Instagram’s statement will have a far-reaching impact on copyright lawsuits and how content is shared on the Internet is yet to be seen, however. Questions remain over the ‘server test’ and whether Instagram, not its users, is liable for infringing use of its embed feature. It seems likely that Newsweek will appeal the judge’s ruling with a server test defense, but only the future will tell how this all plays out.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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New York court rules website didn’t violate image copyright by embedding Instagram post

16 Apr

A Manhattan federal court has dismissed professional photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair’s copyright claim against digital media website Mashable, ruling that it did not violate her copyright by embedding one of her Instagram posts on its website. The legal issue arose in 2016 when Mashable published an article on female photographers whose work includes the topic of social justice, putting Sinclair at #9 on its list.

According to court documents, Mashable contacted Sinclair in March 2016 and offered to pay $ 50 to license one of her images for use in its article on female photographers. Sinclair declined the offer, so Mashable instead embedded an Instagram post of the image that Sinclair had published on her public Instagram account.

Fast-forward to January 2018 when, according to the court documents, Sinclair contacted Mashable and demanded that they remove the embedded post from the article on the grounds of copyright infringement. Mashable refused to remove the Instagram post and 10 days later, Sinclair filed a copyright lawsuit against the publication and its parent company Ziff Davis, LLC.

The lawsuit raised questions over Instagram’s Terms of Service, its right to grant sublicenses for images uploaded to its platform, and whether sharing and embedding public social media posts without permission or a direct image license constitutes copyright infringement.

Instagram states in its Terms of Use that while it does not claim ownership of a user’s images, they grant the company a license to use it when they upload the content to the platform. Instagram says that when a user uploads images to its website…

‘…you hereby grant to us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, modify, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings). You can end this license anytime by deleting your content or account.’

Mashable argued that based on that Terms of Use, it had a valid sublicense from Instagram that allowed it to embed the image post on its website. The defendant argued, among other things, that:

‘…because Plaintiff uploaded the Photograph to Instagram and designated it as “public,” she agreed to allow Mashable, as Instagram’s sublicensee, to embed the Photograph in its website.’

Sinclair’s legal claim countered this, according to court documents, which cite multiple arguments, including a claim that because Mashable didn’t get a direct image license from the photographer, it shouldn’t have been able to get a sublicense for the content from Instagram. The court disagreed with that argument, however, with U.S. District Court Judge Kimba Wood noting:

‘Plaintiff’s right to grant a license directly to Mashable, and Instagram’s right, as Plaintiff’s licensee, to grant a sublicense to Mashable, operate independently. Mashable was within its rights to seek a sublicense from Instagram when Mashable failed to obtain a license directly from Plaintiff—just as Mashable would be within its rights to again seek a license from Plaintiff, perhaps at a higher price, if Plaintiff switched her Instagram account to “private” mode.’

As well, Sinclair had argued that it is ‘unfair’ that a platform like Instagram is able to force professional photographers to choose between keeping their accounts private or allowing the company to sublicense their publicly shared content because it is ‘one of the most popular public photo-sharing platforms in the world.’

Judge Wood acknowledges the nature of this issue, but ultimately states that:

‘Unquestionably, Instagram’s dominance of photograph- and video-sharing social media, coupled with the expansive transfer of rights that Instagram demands from its users, means that Plaintiff’s dilemma is a real one. But by posting the Photograph to her public Instagram account, Plaintiff made her choice. This Court cannot release her from the agreement she made.’

The copyright claim was ultimately dismissed, a conclusion that contrasts the ruling from a New York court in early 2018 on the case of an embedded tweet that featured an image of athlete Tom Brady.

In that case, the court found that embedding such tweets may constitute copyright infringement and the fact they were uploaded to a third-party server like Twitter didn’t change that. The basis of the latest ruling is different, however, focusing on the terms of use the photographer agreed to rather than the ‘server test’ used in the 2018 copyrighted tweet case.

Both of these legal claims follow a different legal case from 2007 in which the precedent was set for how the Internet of today operates: that a person or company who embeds content hosted by a third-party source like Facebook or Twitter are not in violation of copyright, but rather that the hosting company itself is liable.

DPReview contacted Mickey Osterreicher, NPPA’s general counsel, for comment. He had the following to say about this New York ruling:

‘I have not had an opportunity to review the court’s opinion and order in this case so I do not feel it appropriate for me to comment. I will repeat something that NPPA has stressed for many years – photographers read and understand the terms of service or the terms of use on each and every social media platform before agreeing to them or posting on those sites. They also must continue to vigilantly monitor those terms as they are frequently changed and updated.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Instagram CEO reveals the simple reason the company doesn’t have an iPad app

18 Feb

Despite the popularity of both the social media platform and the gadget, Instagram still lacks an iPad app. This omission remains frustrating, particularly in light of the iPad Pro and its suitability as a laptop replacement for some photographers. In a recent Instagram story, the company’s CEO Adam Mosseri briefly discussed the topic, stating that Instagram wants to launch an iPad app.

The information surfaced in one of Mosseri’s Instagram stories; it was spied by The Verge editor Chris Welch who tweeted the details to his followers.

In addition to revealing that some Instagram users don’t see advertisements, Mosseri reportedly also said in the story that Instagram ‘would like to build an iPad app,’ but that ‘we only have so many people, and lots to do, and it hasn’t bubbled up as the next best thing to do yet.’

This, of course, has raised questions over whether an iPad app will ever be ‘the next best thing’ on Instagram’s list of priorities. The iPad’s 10th anniversary is in less than two months and device owners have been requesting a proper iPad app for years.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Instagram allegedly raked in $20 billion in ad revenue last year

11 Feb

YouTube, the most popular video platform on the Internet, didn’t manage to make as much revenue in 2019 as image-based social network Instagram, according to a new report from Bloomberg. Sources claim that Instagram made $ 20 billion in ad revenue last year compared to YouTube’s $ 15.1 billion in ad revenue during the same time period.

The $ 20 billion figure, assuming it is accurate, is almost unfathomable compared to the $ 715 million Facebook paid for Instagram when it acquired it in 2012. Facebook does not officially disclose Instagram’s ad revenue separately from its other products; the company hasn’t commented on the report. As of 2018, Facebook said that it had more than 1 billion users on Instagram.

At $ 20 billion, Instagram would have represented more than a quarter of Facebook’s 2019 revenue, according to Bloomberg. Facebook has made a number of changes to Instagram since acquiring the service, the most recent being its decision to hide public ‘likes’ on the platform. Sources claimed late last year that Facebook decided to hide ‘likes’ so that users will post more often, boosting ad revenue as a result.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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What to Post on Instagram When You’re Out of Ideas

28 Jan

The post What to Post on Instagram When You’re Out of Ideas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

what-to-post-on-Instagram

Ever find yourself stuck knowing what to post on Instagram? I’m sure we’ve all read the guides that tell you to use apps to plan and schedule your social media presence weeks in advance. But despite best intentions, I still only ever manage to post as and when I think about it!

what to post on Instagram

ISO400, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f4, 1/60th sec

That often leaves me with a block, not knowing what to post. And I know I’m not alone in this.

The truth is, if you’ve not created any new photographs for a while that you can share, then you might be wondering if it’s worth posting anything at all.

The answer is almost always yes. It’s always worth posting something! But what to post?

Here are some ideas for what to post on Instagram that you can create from your image archive.

Behind the scenes shots

If you’re shooting with a buddy, always get them to take a behind the scenes shot of you with your camera. In fact, get them to take a few and return the favor! If you make an effort to take these shots as often as you can, you’ll never be short of images that you can post when you’re stuck for what to post on Instagram.

The benefit of these kinds of behind the scenes images is that your audience will get to know you and feel connected to both you and your work. They’ll feel like they’re a part of your creative process and, therefore, have a more emotional investment.

Image: Original image shot on an iPhone in natural light.

Original image shot on an iPhone in natural light.

If you tend to shoot by yourself, then this gets a little tricker, but I’ve had good success in posting my tabletop and studio setups to Instagram stories. Sometimes I’ve even posted images that I’m halfway through retouching to my stories – as long as the subject doesn’t mind. It gets people interested, asking questions and starting conversations.

#FollowFriday

Something that I’ve noticed on Instagram over the years is that the more time you spend building others up, the more you will be repaid in kindness (and likes – of course).

what to post on Instagram

ISO400, 35mm (50mm equiv.), f4, 1/40th sec

The ‘followfriday’ hashtag is a great way of building other people up, promoting their work, and also providing a useful service to the people who follow you. Everyone wants to find more interesting people to follow on social media. By recommending those people whose work you love to your followers, you’re helping them discover new and exciting people to follow.

I usually do #followfriday shout-outs in my Instagram stories. By choosing a photograph that I love from the other persons’ feed and sharing it to my stories, I find that I get great engagement from my followers. And at the same time, if I have an important announcement to make about my work, I can post it, and I know that more eyes will see it than usual.

#ThrowbackThursday

Who doesn’t love digging through the old photo albums to find some real gems from the past? As true as this is for finding embarrassing family photos, I like to do it with my photography work too!

Image: The original image was shot in the studio with a beauty dish.

The original image was shot in the studio with a beauty dish.

‘Throwback Thursday’ is a great opportunity to showcase some older work that has been somewhat forgotten. It’s a global hashtag that people with all kinds of interests and backgrounds both post on and follow. If you’re wondering what to post on Instagram, this can be a fun exercise in delving back into your archive to see what you might have forgotten about or even missed the first time around.

If your Lightroom catalog is organized, this shouldn’t be a tough task. All the photos should be there and laid out for you in a logical way, ready to sort through and find (old) new pictures to post on Instagram.

Hopefully, you’ll gain some new and unexpected followers when you do post from the archives!

Tips, tricks, and tutorials

Even a photographer who is a relative beginner has a neat trick or tip that they’ve learned and that they can share. Think about your workflow when it comes to taking photos – what have you come up with that is a neat little hack that could help others?

what to post on Instagram

Original image shot in the studio with a beauty dish.

I love to post these kinds of little short lessons on Instagram stories as a short series. Using the tools right on my iPhone, like Image Markup, I can draw on pictures to illustrate the point I’m making.

In order to make it work, you need to find something simple that will fit into just four or five slides. In the set above, I also included a photo of a Rembrandt painting for comparison.

The tip you’re giving should be easy to understand in less than a minute. Otherwise, you might find it’s better to write a blog post or use another longer-format approach.

Keep it coherent

If there’s one thing that’s true when it comes to Instagram, it’s that coherent profiles are usually the most successful. That’s easier said than done if you’re a beginner as it takes a while to establish a consistent style.

Don’t forget that Lightroom presets can be a great way to make your images look like they belong together.

As you start to see a coherent look emerge that you like, stick to it! People will come to expect a particular look and feel from your Instagram posts, and it’ll be one of the reasons that they keep coming back for more.

Image: The small circles at the top of the grid are the Story Highlights. You can use them to keep i...

The small circles at the top of the grid are the Story Highlights. You can use them to keep important stories at the top of your Instagram profile page.

Don’t forget to use Instagram stories. You can create “Story Highlight” sections on your Instagram profile page to keep all the interesting content you’ve uploaded, together in one place. This extends the life of a story that you post from 24 hours and giving it a permanent place on your profile page.

I use this as a way to bookmark useful info I’ve posted or small portfolios that I might want people to look at. You could keep all your tutorials in one, and your #ThrowbackThursday stories in another!

Most importantly, though, when you’re wondering what to post on Instagram, just post something! Consistency is key on social media. Keep posting, and your work will stay at the forefront of people’s minds!

The post What to Post on Instagram When You’re Out of Ideas appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.


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How to Make a Unified Instagram Feed as a Photographer to Help Support Your Brand

15 Jan

The post How to Make a Unified Instagram Feed as a Photographer to Help Support Your Brand appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anabel DFlux.

unified-instagram-feed-for-photographers

Social media has such a strong presence in our world, both in a personal and professional sense. Gone are the days of searching for a photographer via Google. Many are turning to the social media platform, Instagram. Instagram has become a powerful tool for photographers and content creators alike. It is an engagement-oriented online portfolio so-to-speak.

But with thousands of accounts active on Instagram in any given second, how do you stand out from the rest and still attract photography clients? By having a feed that is more aesthetically pleasing than the rest!

Here is our guide on how to make a unified Instagram feed as a photographer.

What does a unified Instagram feed even mean?

Image: This feed by singer Jessica Abari, shows unification by color tonality. She uses blues and pi...

This feed by singer Jessica Abari, shows unification by color tonality. She uses blues and pinks to unify her Instagram feed.

Humans naturally gravitate to cohesiveness, especially those with a certain sensitivity to aesthetic.

A unified Instagram is one in which each image, viewed in totality with one another, look like a piece of a great puzzle. Each one appears to belong and in some way, shape, or form unites with another surrounding it.

It’s the difference between a feed that looks cluttered and disconnected and one that looks like it is a part of a strategically and effortlessly tailored brand.

Having unity in your work not only pushes your brand further, but can attract a slew of eyes on your product (the beautiful images!). Not only is it a trend to have something a bit more cohesive, it has been shown to really aid in acquiring new clients who are attracted to the style your showcasing.

Image: An example of my varied feed – when you have many areas of specialization, it can be difficul...

An example of my varied feed – when you have many areas of specialization, it can be difficult to maintain complete cohesiveness.

This isn’t a tried and true method for all photography businesses. For example, I am a multi-faceted photographer and to have an overly-cohesive feed is just not possible for me. However, my fellow industry mates have very beautifully tailored and structured feeds that work brilliantly for them! Their clients know exactly what to expect and hire them based on their look.

The real secret?

Image: This is an example of my thematic feed of female portraits with animals.

This is an example of my thematic feed of female portraits with animals.

So, what’s the real secret? For the most part, it’s utilizing the same editing mechanism over and over again. Create a preset or a general direction for your editing, and replicate this across your full board. This already creates a look of cohesiveness with minimal effort.

I suggest not using Instagram’s preset filters as these tend to lower the quality of your images. Instead, create your own Presets or Actions in Lightroom or Photoshop. You can even automate these to play on the batch of images you select for posting.

If you find that preset editing really isn’t you, unite your feed by topic or theme. This also allows you an opportunity to really solidify your niche as a photographer and attract the right demographic to your work. Figure out what kind of photographer you are and who or what your most common subjects tend to be, and post images that fit within that scope.

Image: In this feed from Goldilocks and the Wolf, there is unification by the fairytale theme and th...

In this feed from Goldilocks and the Wolf, there is unification by the fairytale theme and the winter landscapes.

Creating a unified feed based on a color palette is also an excellent idea.

Colors are a major way to keep everything looking tailored and express who you are as a creator.

Color theory is a complex topic that can be taught for hours, but the general idea is that certain hues and color combinations attract a specific reaction. Tying marketing into Instagram, find a color palette that tends to attract your customers (and potential customers).

Look at what your followers gravitate towards, and feed into that wanting. It’s okay to break up your feed with text that engages your audience base, and keep everything still looking together.

Bonus tip: create a posting calendar for the month. Preview these images in a mockup of your Instagram feed and see how it all looks together. This provides a lot of insight on the final outcome!

If you make a unified feed and then want to change the theme, what then?

Image: This feed by singer Jessica Abari, shows unification in sets of 3 (with editing style and ima...

This feed by singer Jessica Abari, shows unification in sets of 3 (with editing style and images from the same photo shoot), but also overall because Jessica herself is the theme.

I think a daunting aspect of this is all is permanence.

If you spend the time making your images cohesive with one another and then change your mind, has all of your effort been wasted?

Not at all! It’s quite simple to change your theme. You can choose to gradually shift to your new aesthetic or go bold and post three images in the new style right off the bat and go with that.

Final thoughts

Image: Rachel Lauren’s Instagram Feed. Her feed is unified in both her editing style and theme...

Rachel Lauren’s Instagram Feed. Her feed is unified in both her editing style and theme with the portraits with animals.

Remember that while in the pursuit of unity, don’t lose yourself or who you are as a photographer.

There is a fine line to walk between solely appeasing the masses and ensuring that your individual photography voice is heard. Where that balance is, rests entirely on your own opinion.

As well as this, be wary about appearing too repetitive and monotonous – try to post images that have different compositions or express something new. Being cohesive doesn’t mean being boring.

When you make a unified Instagram feed as a photographer, put your best imaging foot forward first!

The post How to Make a Unified Instagram Feed as a Photographer to Help Support Your Brand appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anabel DFlux.


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