I just made a new Instagram account so I could pursue my astrophotography (and other random photos) hobby. I already posted 5 very nice photos within the first hour of seeing up my new account.
That was yesterday and I’ve noticed that despite the photos and the hashtags I’ve only gotten 2 likes on 2 of the 5 images I posted and I’ve had no profile views so far.
If I had posted on tiktok I would gotten alot of views and likes within minutes of posting. But to have nearly no likes and no views at all after hours later.
It gets really discouraging. Is there something I’m not doing? I try to use hashtags that are really active and use as many a I can but I find that no matter how many hashtags I use it won’t make a difference.
Any one have advice how I can increase my chances of actually getting decent views/likes quickly and start growing my following?
serious responses only please
This being said, what are the best options for photographers to show their work and get a reaction outside of reels? If instagram can’t provide the right marketing feedback, where do we go?
I mainly use IG as a gallery/portfolio. A lot of people (even actual customers) find and interact with me there. I don’t live off photography, but I’ve almost made it a self-sustaining hobby.
For real interaction, sadly, the best option is to either post in X/Twitter/WhateverElonNamesItToday or Reddit. I suggest not doing it for the likes or whatever, they don’t matter.
My personal opinion is to not care about likes. You’ll be chasing likes instead of doing photography for love. It’ll ruin it for you.
i’ve seen a roll today on instagram, it was a video where a guy said “im a photographer and i took this photo” then some music and his photo shows up. it’s crazy. it’s essentially a photo in a form of a video. others are right, instagram promotes videos.
Any alternatives to Instagram? I do like a lot of street stuff on there. If i use flickr or most sites I’ll never proper street stuff, it will always be generic, more cityscape landscape stuff.
I didn’t know Instagram was such a dead place. I don’t comment much, like a bit.
Threads is the best I’ve found, since the last update it’s been doing an amazing job at putting my photos and posts in front of other ppl. I also do a lot of street/documentary work and the bonus benefit of engaging with ppl who will then also click over to insta and follow you on both platforms. Most of my growth the past week has been organic growth from just commenting and interacting with posts on threads. I use it more as a place to post whatever I want, and more behind the scenes type content. Since its more a community of peers and not potential customers its perfect for what I as a hobbiest am looking for.
Posting a regular basis helps. Also sticking to one type of content (and general photography doesn’t count) like dogs or night landscapes. Also go back in time to when the algorithm actually helped people with still images.
Find a community outside of Instagram. I think 90% of the attention my work gets on Instagram is from friends, family, acquaintances and fellow artists I’ve connected with. I don’t expect much outside of that circle. But I’m also not trying to game the algorithm. I’m not interested in that.
I HATE instagram. For professionals it’s dead.
Now it’s a shitty algorithm with integrated tiktok swiping thing.
If you want just a followers, do what is popular in trends.
Post one picture per day max. Post reels if you really want engagement but i haven’t sold my soul yet, just posting pics hahah It takes forever to build followers but keep it up! Also network with other platforms, it helps
Hey, I’m in a similar place as well. I’ve started an Insta page to showcase my photographs of what captivates me.
Can you share your InstaID? May be we can follow each other and have another like from like-minded persons?Here’s mine: Praveen Samudrala (@praveen_captures.png) • Instagram photos and videos
Absolutely. I’m currently planning trips so I could start uploading more content as well as my actual astrophotography content I’ve been holding off for so long. But so far, I just have more casual images while keeping a certain theme… my ig
Both are pretty cool! Sharing mine as well lol my IG
Your’s is damn cool bro! You clicked some amazing shots!
Go ahead and post them, what’s holding you off?
I’m doing this thing where I’m trying to post a photo daily until I clear up the photos I want to put up. Though I’m posting everyday, I’m pushing myself to spend sometime daily to either choose, edit or post photos. Taking the step matters to me, hope it helps :)
Point 1. Go back in time when Instagram actually promoted photographs. Now Instagram only prefers video contents.
Point 2. Enjoy the art rather than getting like. I’ve been on Instagram for 3 years and have 1k+ followers. In the early days when I didn’t get likes I felt bad but now I just enjoy my photographs and the journey of taking photos and processing them. Remember the journey matters, if you enjoy what you are doing surely you will get results.
Point 3. Be consistent. Post your photographs in a consistent manner, like every 3 days, 4 days. Never break the schedule. Then the algorithm will push your account.
Point 4. Stick to one kind of similar kind of photography. It will help the Instagram algorithm to push your account to the right audience group and you’ll get better reach.
I hope these tips will help your account. Best of luck.
Idk this is still working or not but. I’ve got under 1k followers but i got lot of engagement from my photos and video back then. The key is consistent with your tone and the content of photo. For rising ur like try using hastag and follow some photograper like their photos. If you have more than 2 photo just use photo slide. (FYI)I’m not using instagram since 2018. So idk how the algorithm work now but of its still same u can try it.
tik tok views are fake and inflated. i used to be an active instagram user and amassed about 3k followers with hundreds of likes and dozens of comments on most posts. i think what attributed to my success was the fact that it was mostly hobby photography that focused on particular subjects. i am a published commercial product photographer, and occasionally shoot paid portraits of both people and vehicles.
@cichlid_visuals • Instagram photos and videos
like i said i have not been active in a while, and you can see the steep decline in like and activity as time went on, but if u scroll down a short bit, you will see the large amount of likes and comments and such.
overall what im trying to say here is you get what you put into it, and consistency, both in subject and activity, is key for success.
If you hoping to become big and an influencer or if its work related. go do what everyone else thats successful is doing, you can literally use a succesful channel as a template and mirror what they are posting. Not telling you to post the same image. but follow there approach to creativity, to quality, and methods.
If you take photos for yourself, then… it shouldnt matter? As long as you liek teh photo and you feel good about it. why the fixation on likes?
if you are trying to get opinions to get better, go look for private groups on discord or reddit, anywhere that feels like most people in teh group are better then you.
not attacking you, but your 5 very nice photos, is…quite frankly just ur opinion. with out seeing these we dont know if they are actualyl good and ur stuck in a crappy situation. or if you are just being silly…
I don’t think you read the question and I don’t think you are aware of what professsional photography actually is.
Make short reals surrounding your work but make sure your IG grid is cohesive not just random pics all over the place
