SOCIAL MEDIA, THE NEW ART OF PHOTOGRAPHY
Instagram and the art of posting
As the digital world evolved, so did photography, evolving from an old black and white picture to a colored printed image to a digitally pixelated picture. Owning a camera has become useless as every smartphone owner can access his camera through a simple swipe on the screen, leaving the enthusiast and the professional the intent to invest in a camera.
Whether you like taking pictures or not, having a smartphone in your hand and a social media account, you have taken a ton of photos, family gatherings, friends’ outings, selfies, and others, then uploaded them on your Instagram account for some social media exposure.
“50 billion photos” have been uploaded on Instagram since its debut in 2010 (according to omnicoagency.com), therefore photography is no longer limited to a career or a hobby; it has become a necessity for the average joe to share his memories with his online entourage and have his album online as a kind of identity.
With over 995 photos uploaded every second on Instagram (omnicoagency.com), your beautiful portrait capture, landscape image or photoshoot can be swept away with the tide of uploads.
This has created a challenge for amateur photographers to stand out from the crowd, gain exposure and increase their follower base on the different platforms, especially on Instagram, adding art to photography: the art of social media.
Simple yet challenging, here are a few steps to follow:
Upgrade your camera!
First, dump your smartphone camera! While it is considered a big investment, if you want to be appreciated, you need a camera, Mirrorless or DSLR (Canon, Nikon, Sony α, Leica) with manual options and different optical lenses, so you can capture different angles, perspectives, and depth of focus.
Personally, I prefer the Canon DSLR, and I have been using it for the past 10 years on different occasions and environments. While I still post from my smartphone camera, you can spot the difference between a picture taken with my smartphone and another taken with the camera.
Define yourself!
Instagram offers an online space for everyone to showcase their personal touch and create some sort of photo journals for their followers. As an amateur photographer, you need to start by defining your account theme and your photography style.
Are you into food, nature, or fashion photography? Black and white, minimalism, or portrait photography? Each theme and style have its different followers, and you cannot always mix them in your feed, or your followers would lose interest.
Quality and Time
Being online means being active and posting regularly and strategically. Quality posts and content have a higher chance of interaction, which would rank your posts higher on followers’ feeds and on the explore page.
As an amateur photographer, consider the quality of your posts over quantity, and make your feed the portfolio of your work that potential clients might use to contact you for requests, therefore only post your best shots.
In addition, the schedule of the post is very crucial in the Instagram algorithm, as your post can be lost in the feeds just because of its timing. Most people check their Instagram early morning or late in the afternoon, and that is why it is the best time to expose your work.
The meaning behind each photograph
A photograph can have many meanings and backgrounds; however, a caption is important to understand the context of the picture. It must be informative, engaging, and catchy.
The caption explains the background of the photograph, why you took it, why you are posting it, and most importantly what it means to you.
In fact, your feed is a journal to your followers, an opportunity to create a connection with them and induce an emotional response and an interaction with a like, a comment, or a share.
#PicOfTheDay #PhotoOfTheDay
Using Hashtags is crucial in attracting an audience and gaining exposure for your work. The hashtag you use must be specific, appropriate, and most importantly popular, to boost your presence on Instagram and increase your exposure to the photography world!
You can hashtag the equipment you are using #canon #canonphotography, the subject of your post, the brand, the business you are working with, and the location you are in. Or use technical hashtags #aperture #exposure #ISO and attract a highly relevant audience of people interested in your type of photography.
Your profile is your community.
After defining your account, your targeted audience, your hashtags, and your posts, the main important point now, is building your community.
Follow accounts related to your photography style and subject, if your account is about travel and tourism; then you must follow travel bloggers, which can be a great way to network by getting your name and portfolio in front of them.
In addition, follow your favorite famous photographers, your peers, and your clients, share your insights and comments, and interact with them, tag them, or mention them in your posts or stories.
In the end, yes, today everyone is a so-called photographer with his or her smartphone on Instagram, but it is the basic elements that still make the difference. If you want to develop your skills and your hobby or career in photography and get the exposure you want, you need to be consistent with your quality feed and be interactive with your community.
With all the new high-quality smartphone cameras, the Instagram continuous algorithm changes, and the growing trend of videos, how long will professional photography survive?
About this article
This article has been written by a student on the Grenoble Ecole de Management’s Advanced Masters in Digital Strategy Management. As part of a content creation assignment, students are given the task of writing articles based on their digital interests and disseminate the articles online. Articles are marked but we make minimal changes to the content. Thanks for reading! James Barisic, Programme Director, MS DSM.
