How to Grow on Instagram for Photographers in 2024

Reading time: 7 minutes

Recently I put a poll out on my YouTube community page asking how you use Instagram as a photographer and it got quite a big response, so I thought I’d write down my thoughts on Instagram for photographers, how I built a following, how I use the app, what I like and what I dislike. I’ll also try and answer the following questions: Do you have to grow an audience on Instagram to be a successful photographer and is it still the best photo sharing platform in 2024?

How I built a following on Instagram

I’ve been using Instagram for over a decade and a half. I loved it when it first came out before it was bought by Facebook (sigh) and before the digital world became focused on video-centric content (sigh again). In my early 20s I regularly uploaded photos of my travels and it was a great way to document my experiences abroad. I won a couple of travel photography competitions and was once featured on Lonely Planet, so I built up a pretty healthy following on the platform over time (it was a lot easier back then).

Over time though my tastes changed and for years I posted travel photos ‘influencer style’ (cringe). I then posted landscape photos for a year and then transitioned to street photography and my ‘street’ style has evolved so much over time that it’s now completely different work I’m sharing even than that of a year ago, so the followers on my account have come and gone and engaged and disengaged over time. The 20k+ followers I have on my Instagram is really not a true reflection of the people actually interested in my photography, and the small portion of those followers who actually want to see my photos often don’t get shown them due to the algorithm.

So why do I still use Instagram at all? Other apps have become available, and we’ll talk about that a bit later on but I still do use Instagram, so that’s what we’ll talk about next.

How I use Instagram

I must confess that I do not have an Instagram growth plan, I don’t use the app much and when I do I rarely like or comment - I just don’t have the time. So in that regard I have no expectations that when I post people will see, like, comment and engage with my work. I hope they do, but I’ve found that my energy is best placed on making useful YouTube videos and blog posts (as well as actually going out and taking photos as much as possible) rather than trying to grow my Instagram.

I post infrequently to Instagram but I still do post as I want to share my photos and also have a place I can see my own work that isn’t this website. I definitely treat it more as a scrapbook of photo ideas than a serious outlet for my creativity - I don’t really curate my posts and try to get eyeballs on them, I just post what I like and that’s it.

Also in the future I hope to keep growing this blog and my YouTube channel to help/inspire you along your street photography journeys and having work available to see on Instagram, should someone wish to see what kind of photography I make and find out more about me, is part of it.

There are things that I do really like about the app, such as connecting with the community I do have, discovering new and exciting work, meeting people from Instagram in real life - there are a lot of benefits to the platform.

There are things I hate too, restrictions on aspect ratios, reach to your audience, the preference on video over photo and more but I don’t want to go into a massive rant here…

How to grow on Instagram

Instagram is a business but it isn’t in the business of helping you grow an audience. Meta wants eyeballs on the app for as long as possible and it wants high viewer engagement and satisfaction. If your posts do that, Instagram will show your posts to more people, if your posts don’t do that, then it won’t - it’s as simple as that. Instagram only works for you if you work for it.

I’m not an Instagram growth expert by any means but if you want to build a following on Instagram, here’s what I’d focus on:

• Have a posting schedule and stick to it.

• Post at least one set of images and one Reel a week.

• Despite announcements for developments in the algorithm to promote photos more, Reels still make a bigger impact than photo posts - so make useful Reels if you can that add value to the viewer, or post high quality pictures with great music on a theme.

• Utilise your stories - post polls, pictures, videos, behind the scenes etc.

• Engage with other accounts meaningfully and genuinely - leave comments, likes, drop DMs - build the community that you want.

• Post work that stands out*

• Start a YouTube channel and/or a blog - post videos and articles consistently and regularly mention your Instagram account.

*We can easily get sucked into the trap of taking photos or only positing photos that are super eyecatching and stand out on the instagram feed. So that is a decision you need to make as to what kind of work you share, how often and if it’s single images or carousels but I’m always of the mind that you should never let social media dictate what kind of work to make or share, how could you possibly grow as an artist and make better photos down the line if you only create what social media platforms want?

We want to share our work, but also tend to get down when we do share our work on Instagram and not many people engage with it and we often resort to blaming the algorithm, or worse blame ourselves that our photography isn’t good enough. To get over this you need to decide if you want to have an Instagram growth plan in which case you can follow the advice above and stick to it consistently for at least 6 months (or find some better advice from a pro elsewhere online). Or you need to have a more relaxed approach that you share what you want whenever you want, and don’t expect any growth or engagement unless you put in the time and effort to engage meaningfully with other accounts consistently over time.

Alternative apps to Instagram

• I hear good things about VERO - I tried it and hated it to be honest.

• X (formerly Twitter) - never used it, feels like a big popularity contest and it would just make me miserable.

• Threads - have flirted with it but again you need to post regularly with quality content to grow there I think. Jury is out on if it is a good platform for photographers or not.

• If you know any more, connect with me on Instagram and let me know! (see what I did there…)

Do you need a big Instagram following to be a successful photographer in 2024?

No you don’t. Is the short answer. I know a very successful wedding photographer running a 6-figure business by themselves without using Instagram at all. They rely on their website, Google ads and referrals for their clients.

However I do think every photographer should have an Instagram account if they are commercial or just do it for fun. There isn’t a better platform out there to show a grid of photos easily and to be honest, most photographers you want to see the work of and connect with are on the platform. If you’re not using it you’re probably missing out (If you disagree and don’t use social media at all though then good for you!).

If you have an Instagram account you have something to show other people on the street, either fellow photographers you meet to give them an idea of your work, or to show people if they ask about your photography.

If you’re someone like me my Instagram account goes hand in hand with my YouTube channel and it’s a great way to share BTS, updates, as well as posts of my recent photos. It’s also great if you use it right, to be part of a community, meet new people - use it for what it was intended for.

It does of course have the negative side too though as we’ve touched on above, so if you do use Instagram try not to get down when your work doesn’t get seen or your account doesn’t grow. If comparing yourself to others on Instagram is something you struggle with then check out this article here.

Instagram in the years to come

Personally I will continue to use Instagram for the foreseeable future, but I’m not a social media guru, and I don’t have the energy or the time in the day to put my focus on growing an Instagram following. I’d much rather put my efforts into actually taking photographs as often as possible and also produce helpful and enjoyable videos for you on YouTube and post to this blog. YouTube is the best social media platform in my humble opinion, so that is what I would start doing if I were you, although I appreciate making videos is not for everyone. If a better app for photography comes along in the future then im all ears, but for now, looks like I’ll be sticking with Instagram.

If you can get one thing out of this article, it’s please share your photography, on Instagram or otherwise - whether you think you’re good or not, people should see your work.

If you use Instagram, for your mental health, it’s so important to do one or both of the following:

• Have a social media growth plan and stick to it and iterate over time to see how you can improve and get more growth.

• Or don’t have a plan and be more laid back about it and expect no growth unless you genuinely engage with others on the platform regularly over time.

If you choose one of those two options, it’s so much easier on your mental health and Instagram is definitely worth having and using in my opinion. I love getting DMs about all things photography, so shoot me one on Insta and let’s connect!