INSTAFAME
@deanastacia shares her Instagram Journey
In 2011 I graduated from photography school feeling pretty lost. I knew I loved photography and had a passion for it, but couldn’t quite figure out how to transition from student to the high fashion photographer I aimed to be. I did some soul searching and traveled around for a while, immersing myself in different cultures and climates, and eventually moved to Los Angeles in January of 2015.
It was my roommate Cole who convinced me to start an Instagram account to display my work and cultivate an audience. I started posting images from my portfolio daily, and to my surprise, I saw a big response. My followers increased to about 5000 after just a few months.
During this time, I was making ends meet by working at a furniture company, all the while lost in daydreams about being a fashion photographer. In June I decided to take a leap of faith, and put in my two weeks. It was time to pursue my dream. On my very last day at the office, I had butterflies in my stomach about what the future held for me, and if I was going to be able to “make it” by being my own boss. I almost ran back to tell them I changed my mind and that I needed to stay. At that very moment amidst my panic, a direct message from Instagram popped up on my phone, congratulating me for becoming a Suggested User. I had to hold in my scream of excitement so I wouldn’t scare everyone in the office. Instagram reaffirmed the leap of faith I’ve taken to abandon the “security blanket” and spend every day making myself happy.
Suddenly I was getting hundreds of followers per minute, and my account ended up with around 50,000 new followers. Because of that exposure, I was booked solid with freelance jobs every day for the next month.
With my new following, I am able to reach and engage with more people around the world. There are cons as well; I do receive spam comments and messages that have to be monitored and filtered out. But overall, Instagram has been an essential tool for my business, and amazing way to connect with creatives in general. If anything, having a large following gives me credibility with brands and clients that choose to hire me. It is more effective than any resume or portfolio I could put together.
In the end, I hope my feed can inspire people to constantly let their creative mind flow and never stop exploring. As F. Scott Fitzgerald said: “It’s never too late to be whoever you want to be. I hope you live a life you’re proud of, and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.”
