Listen now | This week on Between The Frames, we’re diving into Instagram—specifically, is it still worth it for photographers?The algorithm feels broken, engagement is down, and if you’re not making reels, good luck getting seen.
For professionals, I see it as a way of getting one's profile raised. I'm not a pro but I'd be interested to know whether it does actually produce a meaningful amount of work and income for those who DON'T join who aren't already an established "name" in the photography world.
I'm purely amateur (e.g. I don't earn my income from photography). I had an IG account and eventually built up a reasonable number of followers. As encouraging as this was, social media platforms are (IMO) designed to maintain engagement and feeding of the algorithm. They earn income from harvesting personal data and selling it to businesses who want to sell the platform members whatever they can.
IG changed and became much less photogaphy-centric i favour of videos and "shorts" which held less than zero interest for me. I deleted my account and content last year and I don't miss it. In fact, I actually feel better for doing it.
So, for amateurs, I doubt that there are many, if any, real benefits in having an IG account unless one aspires to become professional and/or has a personality which requires validation and "likes".
Just my two-penneth....
For professionals, I see it as a way of getting one's profile raised. I'm not a pro but I'd be interested to know whether it does actually produce a meaningful amount of work and income for those who DON'T join who aren't already an established "name" in the photography world.
I'm purely amateur (e.g. I don't earn my income from photography). I had an IG account and eventually built up a reasonable number of followers. As encouraging as this was, social media platforms are (IMO) designed to maintain engagement and feeding of the algorithm. They earn income from harvesting personal data and selling it to businesses who want to sell the platform members whatever they can.
IG changed and became much less photogaphy-centric i favour of videos and "shorts" which held less than zero interest for me. I deleted my account and content last year and I don't miss it. In fact, I actually feel better for doing it.
So, for amateurs, I doubt that there are many, if any, real benefits in having an IG account unless one aspires to become professional and/or has a personality which requires validation and "likes".