If Instagram is a metric for success in ones creative endeavors then you have already failed. One must ask yourself will you still make photographs even if no one sees them? For me yes, because I love photography, and it's been my creative outlet way before IG existed. Stay shootin', shoot for self.
@@abdulrehmanmahir3020 I should add it's a terrible way to look at images. small format, bad quality. I prefer websites. If people are really interested in looking at my work, they'll turn on the computer.
Not for me. I like the aspect of creating an image and enjoy the results - but there's no point if there's no dialogue involved. Showing images that spark a dialogue is an essential part of the process for me. This definitely doesn't work on Instagram and this is why I quit. Now I use it as a messenger app 🤣
@@patrickdavis6954 yeah, same here. Unfortunately people nowadays are not looking for good, quality work, but to infantile shit and to humiliate others and that will get you clicks and followers.
Sure, instagram has no effect on the quality of your photography; however, this is what you'll want to do if you want to expand (in terms of prospect projects and clients). It's about broadening your business, and finding a sense of belonging within a desired community. Just like a cocktail party. You can have the most sub-par photographic skill set, but you can easily find an in if you manage to strike the right interaction. Instagram is about wanting recognition and gratification. It's not a bad thing, but it can definitely feel disheartening.
yup when you die you want to be able to say at least ONE of my images made a different to someones life even for a brief moment where they had an EMOTIONAL/SPIRITUAL connection to it or the image brought back good memories of times past, not how many likes/followers you had.
Thanks Ted. It’s funny, because social media so often feeds into that instant gratification that so many look for, especially today. To think that patience is the key is kinda ironic.
I love how you did a deep dive on what this social media thing is really about. I think of it like a sales person, people ultimately buy because of the person not so much their “product” and it’s the same with social media, people connect with the person based on what they post and how they speak etc.
Just like a cocktail party, unless you're prepared to talk about innocuous things like a sportsball team that is currently popular or whatever analog to that kind of thing is going on, you're not going to be able to enter that "popular" conversation. You do have to do the things mentioned, but you shouldn't try to enter the popular conversation if you're not someone who follows sportsball. Like the man said, don't chase the 'likes.' Instagram is really weird in that (especially now that it's owned by FB) it promotes what is already popular. By doing your own thing you'll be true to yourself, but you'll be lonely. You won't grow quickly - you may not even get any clients from the platform. What I suggest is to use it to find the other people like you at the cocktail party instead. Go find the Trekies or the people who like Trad music and talk about that stuff, if that's what you're into. Don't try to be popular and get famous, use it to find your people, and celebrate what makes you unique. 🖖
I think, if you are a good photographer then it's much easier to be successful when you spend all your time trying to make better photographs than sitting with your phone in your hand, liking stuff and writing or answering a buch of comments...
Ted, thanks for this. You’ve helped me a great deal here. After letting frustration get the better of me, I decided to turn off Instagram for the month of July. I was allowing Instagram to distract me. As much I kept saying I didn’t care about “likes” I realized I really did care! And that disappointed and frustrated me. I’m going to stick with my July abstinence, but perhaps I’ll come in August with a more realistic outlook. Thanks again man!
Great advice! A lot of us hate/love social media, because all we perceive is our photography, and forget that it's actually marketing, networking and socializing.
The analogy of throwing your work down and hoping people will look at it is so accurate. Yes, some work is truly amazing, but 99/100 times the people with good work also engage in semi meaningful conversation as well. I dropped a line to a few youtubers when I started out a few months ago and BIG channels followed me, was truly humbled.
This hit me very hard. I am a beginner on this artform and only have my mobile phone to use because I don't have a proper camera. I won't deny that I am being needy in terms of wanting to have many followers because I want as many people as possible to see the work that I'm producing on my account. But, I also realized that what is the sense of having so many followers if they won't even engage with your content? After watching your video, I realized that being true to yourself is the key. If you are passionate about what you do, people will see it. The best feeling is getting genuine engagement even if there is only one person who truly appreciates what you do.
Great and clear explanation about how all this social media works! Like you said Ted, some of the stuff like hashtags one needs to accept doing to promote content even if it feels unnatural and that the content should speak for itself and not the metadata. A final line to finish agreeing with you, patience and doing what one likes is key, since an honest and organic account cannot be solely founded on hashtags and “best time of the day to post”. I have been watching your videos for a couple of months and I think you are doing an excellent work: you explain photography concepts and give technical details about gear in a clear, articulate and concise manner that got me to subscribe to your channel.
Just a tip on hashtags: You dont have to manually type them out every time you post, save them in a note on your phone. Save 28 hashtags per the type of photo you want to post, manually type out 2 hashtags so instagram doesnt recognize the copy and paste, along with some flavor text or description or caption and you're at the max hashtag limit without manually typing them.
Stephen Averett yes! This. I made a nice little google doc handy with different sections of hashtags so it’s a quick swipe over to Google copy and paste back onto IG.
I paid to play for a couple of photos on Instagram and I learned right away that's a financial rabbit hole I didn't want to go down. So I have 500 followers that chose to follow me. I'm tagging occassionally and my next step is to reach out to real people to chat like I'm at the party soon. I also have to streamline my images to get a consistent grid. That's the last thing I haven't tried and this is a great video reminding me that I'm being Instagram lazy ;)
I would say keep posting. Of the many reasons why to, or not, there's one that keeps me active even though, as mentioned below, I've been on for years and only have a few hundred followers. All those dozens, hundreds, or thousands of post are now a VISUAL RECORD of your personal journey through photography over the years. Your feed is something to look back on and enjoy for YOURSELF, and maybe share with anyone who's interested. It's a curated collection that reveals to others, but ESPECIALLY to you, all the twist and turns of the ever developing way you see the world. This idea gives me a kind of grounding that let's me enjoy the platform, without worrying about bots, algorithms, and influencers. Just my two cents. Shoot, share, repeat :-)
Once again some very interesting and valid points. Especially the consistency to gain traction can be tough on you. I've experienced posting non stop for a period of time, gaining traffic, and if I stopped posting for just a day I got a complete setback and had to start all over again. It's a part of it, and I really think it reasons well with your points of learning the platform's 'game rules' and simply adjusting to them.
I Instagram is like pissing in the wind but every once in a while you will get the attention of somebody and something will come out of it just be consistent! Nice honest video with some good pointers thanks Ted.
Just wanted to back up what Ted says about hashtags. They really do make a difference. I don’t know if anyone remembers but around the beginning of 2018 a number of photography RUclipsrs made videos about IG changing their algorithms and long lists of hashtags were no longer recommended. Five at the most they said. Being the gullible sort, I believed them and followed their advice for the next few months. My steady follower growth stalled until around October when a successful Instagrammer told me this was nonsense and hashtags were still hugely important. I began including more hashtags in my posts and the number of likes and follows grew immediately. Now I have two or three lists of them in my phone’s text replacements (settings-keyboard-text replacement) so I don’t have to write them out each time. I always add two or three different ones and delete a couple of regulars to make sure I’m not just repeating the same list and to reflect what is in the picture. Thank you!
So true, from the years when it started it has changed a lot, but what hasn't changed for me is the daily posting, I'm going on almost 7 years, every day posting and commenting back on every comment.
I laughed a bit when you said in the middle of the night is not a good time to post. I have an extremely small group of followers and I really don't care at all about how many followers I have. Many times I end up posting in the middle of the night and those are usually my most liked posts. Most of those likes are from countries where it is morning or evening when I post. Great information you have presented here. Some day perhaps I will pay attention to social media but for me personally, I get more return from working on my business locally and regionally than I get from social media.
Ted, I think people forget that they have a responsibility when “Following” someone which is not the case for many. But if you accept this responsibility you might just get some “Followers” that will return that Respect - and believe me they will be more worthwhile to have as “Followers”. For this reason, I carefully choose my Followers and limit myself to as to how many Followers I will accept. But I must say there are too many Social Media platforms out there - and if you don’t want to miss out on matters that appeal to you might have chosen to participate in some where you will be quite inactive - thus you will loose some respect on these. - because let’s face it, you do not want to be a Social Media Addict, it might kill your non-virtual relationships. I think one has to choose the platform that appeals to his needs better and present himself diligently on them.
I find posting around 7am or 8pm will net me the highest overall success. However, IG is international so even in the mid-day here in CA, it’s early in the morning or evening somewhere else in the world, so it’s important to have a sense for the location of the bulk of your audience. I pull mostly from Europe after North America so the 7am/8pm works pretty well for me in both locations.
Great message Mr.Ted Forbes! Through your channel many can hear the perspective and opinion of an Updated College Professor who understand the importance of cultivating the craft as well navigating the modern multi-media world. Like always great content and advice, thank you!
I personally don't care what people on social media thinks about my photography. I take photos in order to be enjoyed by everyone and realize not everyone is going to like my work. I enjoy taking pictures of wildlife as they will never give me a bad critique and nature usually gives me a few surprises when I go out for a shoot.
Patience is needed. Many expect their social media to blow up over night, (this does happen but in very, very rare cases). You need to put the time and dedication. I go through phases of it, putting lots of effort in to posts, consistency & interacting, then I stop and wonder and think how time consuming it is and what's the point. And the cycle repeats...
this video is very helpful, sometimes it’s super frustrating to continue posting to IG and not seeing the results you would like. this really helped me stay the course and keep patience.
Great advice. I guess I don’t do well on Instagram cause I refuse to follow popular trends for followers. I’ll continue to appreciate those who do follow me for my photography.
Took me forever to figure out which hashtags my photos was suitable for. Don't use the mainstream hashtags like #landscape, you'll get lost in the mix. Find that specific hashtag for your style. Also; don't use the same hashtags for every photo. You need to switch it up every other photo. Instagram won't put your picture in the same hashtag feed too often. Tag photography accounts like magazines that feature others photographs if you genuinely think your picture is good enough to be featured in their feed. They might put it on and expose it to their audience.
@@lilscottieme I found that out pretty quickly too. You need to find that niche ones that suits your style. None of my hashtags has more than 100k posts.
@@Fjalll possible but what do you consider niche. Double edge sword in that so niche that no one hardly looks at the hashtag anyway to gain any followers. Plus since instagram split out the hashtag into Top and Recent tabs any new stuff will be even harder to find as it defaults to top images first.
@@lilscottieme There's so many users on Instagram so you can definitely narrow it down quite a bit. It all depends on what you typically shoot. Do you have your own style? Is it street, portraiture or night photography etc. I wouldn't bet on being found through the search page but rather hope to be shown to users that Instagram thinks would be interested in my photographs. That is where I believe the hashtags helps you explaining where the picture belongs and to whom you want it to be shown. You want to connect to the people that you think might like your stuff. Ironically I don't actually look at the following count, I'm all about the interactions. The comments and likes. The following comes later. A lot of accounts has tens of thousands of followers but no interaction on their account.
@@Fjalll Oh I am happy with how I interact with Instagram. I use it in a way that suits my personality which I think sometimes people overlook when on social platforms lol
first thing i noticed in the video was that the animation was upgrading the whole aesthetic. well done! thanks for continuing to drop useful insights! in my case i know i should do more postings, while i already try to be social with other people on the platforms every day. even when you dont post anything (regular posts that is) but stories or comments you still get a bit of traction because you are growing real interactions with other humans. and this is the sole reason i am on social media - connections, not likes. really happy with the siatuation at the moment.
Thats all great advice. Social media can be very frustrating. When i see some of the garbage on RUclips with millions of views i get very discouraged. Also 3:14 BOOM! left ya a comment!
Very true that there are so many bots. One thing I’ve noticed recently is I used to post pictures and I would get anywhere from 60-100+ likes. Now, in the past few weeks. I have more followers but only 15-30 likes. I don’t think my content has got any worse? Something is up with instagram for sure.
I like instagram. There are so many things to look at. I'm into visual, and audio arts. Usually I'm reading articles online to see the latest discoveries. Here also.
Ted (or anyone else this helps), not sure if you knew this already but you can Google "Instagram break space generator" and it'll convert your line spaces to something Instagram reads as a space. Just type your caption into the website, then copy/ paste into IG so you won't have to put the periods like you said.
Ted, wow, well said. I too have been frustrated at how slowly my instagram has grown and I think you are exactly right. I wanted to add one thing though: Something that helped me grow quite a bit was photographing people who already have a big following and as part of my collaboration with them, we agreed to credit each other in resulting posts/stories from the shoot. Not that we should only shoot with people if they have a big following, but if you're a photographer that likes to photograph people, and someone with a big following is of interest to you and will shoot with you, it can help quite a bit. But it starts with your work being at that presentation condition you talked about before you reach out to those people.
Yes! So much this. I'm so fed up with "beating the algorithm" videos. People forget that we're dealing with other people. The posters and the followers are the same species. It was a bit different several years ago when you could get followers just from a "wow picture", but now there are billions of them out there and you need a different way to keep people coming back to you.
Great advice Ted. I also think you just gotta be yourself too. If you just want to share and not care, there isn't anything wrong with that. But if you want to get yourself out there, you have to try and its work but like you said that's what social media is. You HAVE to be social. I've seen incredible photographers get no love whatsoever because they don't try or they just don't care but man their work should be seen by the world. The most important thing to me is not letting the likes and views dictate you. I've fell down that trap and it made me pretty depressed. You can't pursue likes, it will ruin you as an artist as you wont be creating work that you love only work that others like.
Great tip on hash tags! I just dowloaded IG again after I deleted it a couple of months ago. Was so frustrated with the hole thing and needed a time out. Now I'm back and the plan is to use IG letting people know I'm shooting photos in addition to podcasting. Loved the analogi about attending a cocktail party. I'm an introvert and need to work on mye social skills. Thanks!
Great stuff Ted! One tool I use which finds popular (but not oversaturated) hashtags is Focalmark. There are others out there, find one you like. It's my way of playing the game but not getting bogged down by indecision, or I'd be there all day trying to figure out which hashtag is better. I find I get about 10-25% more reach from using them, too.
Aside from the posting times, what have you noticed with the current algorithm? Prior to deleting my old account when they changed the algorithm the first time I was getting great feedback and interaction until they updated things then I lost so much interaction. So does the current algorithm affect anything like that now in a negative way? IE just promoting popular accounts simply because they are popular?
I went on Instagram for nothing more than to share and showcase a few of my images. I put forth litte expectation in getting work because i have a job. I did it because im an artist and i enjoy sharing with others. Im an older photographer so success to me is giving..giving back and sharing with others period. WHEN YOU MAKE A CONNECTION YOU MAKE A TRUE FRIEND.
Hey Ted. Thanks for this video. Admittedly and for someone who's in social media marketing I was a sucker for getting likes on Instagram. I love photography. And I like uploading my work to Instagram now I'm not so worried about getting the likes. I follow a lot of photographers who follow me back I too started commenting and occasionally asking for them to view mine and give me helpful critique.
I just couldn't agree more, your channel transpires your love for the art of photography and the sincere effort to provide high quality material for anyone interested in this subject. I believe that we spectators just can say thank you, for such a high quality content(all those playlists on composition and works of different artists) and now more wisdom in the social media area that you acquired through years of hard work. Thank you!
I used to get so frustrated with Instagram or social media because of the same thing but soon I realize that shouldn’t be my goal. I did photography because it makes me happy and enjoy life more. That should my goal with social media, never mind the likes or followers the most important thing is enjoy it.
Love your channel man! One of my top favorites for sure! I still need to get an instagram going for my photo's(i know about 10 years behind the times...) but this is good to keep in mind, thank you for all that you do and sharing the immense passion you have, wishing much happiness and prosperity to you in your ventures good sir!
Wonderfully articulated and great advice not only for this up and coming generation, but also for those of us a little older who haven't completely moved along with the times. Been blessed to have this channel to come back to and learn from for so many years now. Thanks Ted!
Ted, not only an excellent topic and presentation but I also like how you present it in a way that feels like we are having a conversation. Additionally I have been taking with my daughter, who wants to start her own channel, about this topic. She is going to love this.
This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing this! I've been posting content here on YT for more than 6yrs now, but I've never been that consistent. But I decided last year (2018) to be more consistent and to up the quality of my content. I think it's quite paying off already, little by little. I think I really lack on making efforts to connect with the community. Thanks for enlightening me about the importance of that! God bless you, sir!
Hey Ted, i'ves been following your work for years from when you did pod casts on iTunes to now. you have come long way. I agree with all that you said in this video especially the last point. Always be yourself.
A sponsored video related to the content and self promotion of your instagram at the same time. Nice work :) And really great quality advice too. Perfect example of how to operate on social media, and why I've been a subscriber for several years.
I like what you said about being genuine with yourself and not chasing the likes. I see many IG profiles who follow a certain theme with their photos, and although it's aesthetically pleasing, I feel it limits creativity.
I didn't know success in photography , is based on social media now. How the world has changed , people were successful before it now they are shit out of luck without it . Yet we did it to ourselves
Enjoyed your video. It had some good information init. I appreciate your last comment about being true to yourself by posting work what you really like to do, which is what I’m doing. I may not have a ton of followers but I feel good about what I post in Instagram. 😊
I guess I'll follow your advice right now, and first of all, I've been loving your content for years! I've started myself a photography channel (this one!), and I share my name along all my social media, for anyone interested (sorry for the shameless plug).
Interesting and informative video. It sure taught me a thing or two about IG - which I will try. I don't have many followers, or likes/comments, and admittedly have in the past certainly felt the frustration as to why. But then it's about re-calibrating ones approach and idea of IG: if I get one or two likes or comments from fellow photographers whose work I admire, or who are professionals/commercial successful, or close friends whose opinion I respect then that means more to me than 1000 followers/likes! Also, like Ted has said, go make a book or fanzine; print your work and show it to your friends, hang it on your wall at home, or better still, offer it to a cafe, or bar or your workplace to hang so that people see it (I've done all of these). You'll get genuine comments and interest from people that will see your work in larger, printed format it deserves. Still waiting for that video on making a book or fanzine of ones work Ted - I think it would be a great addition to the AOP library, especially as you get so many in the post. Keep up the good work.
Thank you Ted. That was an insightful view of social media's opportunities and foibles. Just like life in general, if we wish to succeed we need to be true to ourselves, respect others, be sociable, work hard, understand the rules and produce something worthwhile.
Great video and something that a group of photographer friends were discussing recently. Artist Integrity Vs Social media 'likes' I think you've hit the nail on this subject
the first photography channel I subscribed to, just had to love your videos. killing it on instagram? I'm being destroyed cant figure it out and I cant help feeling like the guy from your DM. but your advice means a lot.
As an old guy. I always thought of the # as assigning an amount to something. A numerical symbol. My how things have changed. Signed: Rusty old swingarms typewriter.
I like Instagram even though I don't get as many likes as I'd like (prob not enough networking effort on my part), but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if it didn't exist? I mean, why are we photographers? Different answers for everyone of course; but, if Insta wasn't there: art exhibitions, journalism, weddings or just for the love of it. My point/question perhaps is: is Instagram holding us back? Just a thought. I don't have the answer.
Was expecting your answer on the last question. Any recommendation for platform to share photography other than InstaGram? Also, I think most people on InstaGram are not creative people. Many just follow stuff, or even have private accounts just to stalk, and that is part of the numbers. It’s a creative site bubble. Just don’t expect too much of it.
Hey Ted! Where do you see the most meaningful value in IG for photographers these days? I know people who have built careers in photography by being influencers, but because that’s not the route I want to take I’m left feeling a little aimless
I think even the people who say they want to engage, don't. Yes, they will spend time talking to you and liking your stuff but once they get you to follow them, they'll move on to their next target. E.g. I had one person who "like-bombed" me and left piles of nice comments, which I thought was nice, so I reciprocated. But once I hit that follow key they disappeared but you could see they were doing the same thing to their next targets. I think honestly that is standard behaviour. Numerous people on FaceBook groups have done the same, "Hey, let's support each and work together on Instagram". That type of deceptive behaviour is common. So I gave up. I'm still posting to my social media accounts and giving likes and comments to people who I think make great work but I've given up on trying to build my account. Actually I unfollowed most of my followers, i.e. the people who follow but don't engage and that caused me, of course, to lose a lot of people. That was okay because why should I value someone who wasn't following/engaging with me? Why should I support them for free? Now I just concentrate on finding pictures I enjoy, not trying to build something. If, one day, I end up with a lot of followers that'll be cool, but I'm not going to sweat about it anymore.
I agree with what you said especially the last comment. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that social media posts open your work to the possibility of it being hijacked by undeserving followers.
Great video Ted. But your point of when to post, is incomplete, the internet is global therefore you also need to consider time zones. It might be lunch time for me, but its breakfast for you.
Few tips:1: Keep it clean, is your image (World Image). 2: Don't post your family shots or personal shots, is a working environment..post photos relevant to your work/art (Again is your World Image) 3: Time of the day, consider Europe/Asia time. Here in the east side of the states you want to post early morning so europe is still midday and Asia is night, but people are still up. 4: Use the multimedia option in Instagram, when you post, it allows you to post to 3 media environments at the same time (Facebook, Tweeter, Thumbler). 5: Have a website that you can link your postings to. (Extremely Important (Looks Professional) and again (Is your World Image)) that is why is called World Wide Web. Hope it helps.
@@tom_from_myspace When your image gets messed up like many people have...now you'll know why (cuz replies like this deceiving new comers into the field asking for real knowledge)
@@jans19772012 No, that just plain stupid and I don't give a shit about this Instragram game because I don't need it :) Stop making assumptions about people you don't know shit about.
If Instagram is a metric for success in ones creative endeavors then you have already failed. One must ask yourself will you still make photographs even if no one sees them? For me yes, because I love photography, and it's been my creative outlet way before IG existed. Stay shootin', shoot for self.
I really needed to hear something like this.
@@abdulrehmanmahir3020 I should add it's a terrible way to look at images. small format, bad quality. I prefer websites. If people are really interested in looking at my work, they'll turn on the computer.
Not for me. I like the aspect of creating an image and enjoy the results - but there's no point if there's no dialogue involved. Showing images that spark a dialogue is an essential part of the process for me. This definitely doesn't work on Instagram and this is why I quit. Now I use it as a messenger app 🤣
Yeah a lot of my fav photos have the least likes but I still love them the most. Trying to stay true to myself :).
@@patrickdavis6954 yeah, same here. Unfortunately people nowadays are not looking for good, quality work, but to infantile shit and to humiliate others and that will get you clicks and followers.
So ... avoiding Instagram is like avoiding a bad cocktail party and has no ill-effect on my photography. Got it.
Sure, instagram has no effect on the quality of your photography; however, this is what you'll want to do if you want to expand (in terms of prospect projects and clients). It's about broadening your business, and finding a sense of belonging within a desired community.
Just like a cocktail party. You can have the most sub-par photographic skill set, but you can easily find an in if you manage to strike the right interaction. Instagram is about wanting recognition and gratification. It's not a bad thing, but it can definitely feel disheartening.
YES - but I just couldn't imagine a better place for showing my content and spark a dialogue about my work. Unfortunately, IG just isn't the place.
What’s it all about ultimately? A popularity contest or “work that matters”?
yup when you die you want to be able to say at least ONE of my images made a different to someones life even for a brief moment where they had an EMOTIONAL/SPIRITUAL connection to it or the image brought back good memories of times past, not how many likes/followers you had.
I see it more like a great way to promote a business or hobby
Thanks Ted. It’s funny, because social media so often feeds into that instant gratification that so many look for, especially today. To think that patience is the key is kinda ironic.
AT LAST a video about that subject from a PHOTOGRAPHER's perspective, not an "influencer's"
"You want people to follow you because you're you." Gold!
I love how you did a deep dive on what this social media thing is really about. I think of it like a sales person, people ultimately buy because of the person not so much their “product” and it’s the same with social media, people connect with the person based on what they post and how they speak etc.
Just like a cocktail party, unless you're prepared to talk about innocuous things like a sportsball team that is currently popular or whatever analog to that kind of thing is going on, you're not going to be able to enter that "popular" conversation. You do have to do the things mentioned, but you shouldn't try to enter the popular conversation if you're not someone who follows sportsball. Like the man said, don't chase the 'likes.'
Instagram is really weird in that (especially now that it's owned by FB) it promotes what is already popular. By doing your own thing you'll be true to yourself, but you'll be lonely. You won't grow quickly - you may not even get any clients from the platform. What I suggest is to use it to find the other people like you at the cocktail party instead.
Go find the Trekies or the people who like Trad music and talk about that stuff, if that's what you're into. Don't try to be popular and get famous, use it to find your people, and celebrate what makes you unique. 🖖
Solid advice
I think, if you are a good photographer then it's much easier to be successful when you spend all your time trying to make better photographs than sitting with your phone in your hand, liking stuff and writing or answering a buch of comments...
Ted, thanks for this. You’ve helped me a great deal here. After letting frustration get the better of me, I decided to turn off Instagram for the month of July. I was allowing Instagram to distract me. As much I kept saying I didn’t care about “likes” I realized I really did care! And that disappointed and frustrated me. I’m going to stick with my July abstinence, but perhaps I’ll come in August with a more realistic outlook. Thanks again man!
You have your fans, Phillip =*)
Looking forward to seeing more your photography in August, another fan. 👍
Great advice! A lot of us hate/love social media, because all we perceive is our photography, and forget that it's actually marketing, networking and socializing.
The analogy of throwing your work down and hoping people will look at it is so accurate. Yes, some work is truly amazing, but 99/100 times the people with good work also engage in semi meaningful conversation as well. I dropped a line to a few youtubers when I started out a few months ago and BIG channels followed me, was truly humbled.
Noticed the animated logo immediately. Very nice!
This hit me very hard. I am a beginner on this artform and only have my mobile phone to use because I don't have a proper camera. I won't deny that I am being needy in terms of wanting to have many followers because I want as many people as possible to see the work that I'm producing on my account. But, I also realized that what is the sense of having so many followers if they won't even engage with your content? After watching your video, I realized that being true to yourself is the key. If you are passionate about what you do, people will see it. The best feeling is getting genuine engagement even if there is only one person who truly appreciates what you do.
@@leekeater1527 @Zaqrax
Great and clear explanation about how all this social media works!
Like you said Ted, some of the stuff like hashtags one needs to accept doing to promote content even if it feels unnatural and that the content should speak for itself and not the metadata.
A final line to finish agreeing with you, patience and doing what one likes is key, since an honest and organic account cannot be solely founded on hashtags and “best time of the day to post”.
I have been watching your videos for a couple of months and I think you are doing an excellent work: you explain photography concepts and give technical details about gear in a clear, articulate and concise manner that got me to subscribe to your channel.
Just a tip on hashtags: You dont have to manually type them out every time you post, save them in a note on your phone. Save 28 hashtags per the type of photo you want to post, manually type out 2 hashtags so instagram doesnt recognize the copy and paste, along with some flavor text or description or caption and you're at the max hashtag limit without manually typing them.
Stephen Averett yes! This. I made a nice little google doc handy with different sections of hashtags so it’s a quick swipe over to Google copy and paste back onto IG.
I paid to play for a couple of photos on Instagram and I learned right away that's a financial rabbit hole I didn't want to go down. So I have 500 followers that chose to follow me. I'm tagging occassionally and my next step is to reach out to real people to chat like I'm at the party soon. I also have to streamline my images to get a consistent grid. That's the last thing I haven't tried and this is a great video reminding me that I'm being Instagram lazy ;)
I would say keep posting. Of the many reasons why to, or not, there's one that keeps me active even though, as mentioned below, I've been on for years and only have a few hundred followers. All those dozens, hundreds, or thousands of post are now a VISUAL RECORD of your personal journey through photography over the years. Your feed is something to look back on and enjoy for YOURSELF, and maybe share with anyone who's interested. It's a curated collection that reveals to others, but ESPECIALLY to you, all the twist and turns of the ever developing way you see the world. This idea gives me a kind of grounding that let's me enjoy the platform, without worrying about bots, algorithms, and influencers. Just my two cents. Shoot, share, repeat :-)
Once again some very interesting and valid points. Especially the consistency to gain traction can be tough on you. I've experienced posting non stop for a period of time, gaining traffic, and if I stopped posting for just a day I got a complete setback and had to start all over again. It's a part of it, and I really think it reasons well with your points of learning the platform's 'game rules' and simply adjusting to them.
I Instagram is like pissing in the wind but every once in a while you will get the attention of somebody and something will come out of it just be consistent! Nice honest video with some good pointers thanks Ted.
Just wanted to back up what Ted says about hashtags. They really do make a difference. I don’t know if anyone remembers but around the beginning of 2018 a number of photography RUclipsrs made videos about IG changing their algorithms and long lists of hashtags were no longer recommended. Five at the most they said. Being the gullible sort, I believed them and followed their advice for the next few months. My steady follower growth stalled until around October when a successful Instagrammer told me this was nonsense and hashtags were still hugely important. I began including more hashtags in my posts and the number of likes and follows grew immediately. Now I have two or three lists of them in my phone’s text replacements (settings-keyboard-text replacement) so I don’t have to write them out each time. I always add two or three different ones and delete a couple of regulars to make sure I’m not just repeating the same list and to reflect what is in the picture. Thank you!
So true, from the years when it started it has changed a lot, but what hasn't changed for me is the daily posting, I'm going on almost 7 years, every day posting and commenting back on every comment.
I laughed a bit when you said in the middle of the night is not a good time to post. I have an extremely small group of followers and I really don't care at all about how many followers I have. Many times I end up posting in the middle of the night and those are usually my most liked posts. Most of those likes are from countries where it is morning or evening when I post. Great information you have presented here. Some day perhaps I will pay attention to social media but for me personally, I get more return from working on my business locally and regionally than I get from social media.
Helpful insights here! I've been trying to figure myself out across different platforms and this was encouraging to hear. Thanks, Ted!
Ted, I think people forget that they have a responsibility when “Following” someone which is not the case for many. But if you accept this responsibility you might just get some “Followers” that will return that Respect - and believe me they will be more worthwhile to have as “Followers”.
For this reason, I carefully choose my Followers and limit myself to as to how many Followers I will accept.
But I must say there are too many Social Media platforms out there - and if you don’t want to miss out on matters that appeal to you might have chosen to participate in some where you will be quite inactive - thus you will loose some respect on these. - because let’s face it, you do not want to be a Social Media Addict, it might kill your non-virtual relationships.
I think one has to choose the platform that appeals to his needs better and present himself diligently on them.
"I definitely wouldn't post in the middle of the night when everybody's asleep!"
Watching from Japan, that's my daytime! :-D
I’m not succeeding because I haven’t posted in about six weeks - I can’t be the only one who is just getting a bit *Bored* of Insta???
Ross Jukes Photography exactly the same 👍
same, i just want to create, and forget about the pressures of posting
I find posting around 7am or 8pm will net me the highest overall success. However, IG is international so even in the mid-day here in CA, it’s early in the morning or evening somewhere else in the world, so it’s important to have a sense for the location of the bulk of your audience.
I pull mostly from Europe after North America so the 7am/8pm works pretty well for me in both locations.
Great message Mr.Ted Forbes! Through your channel many can hear the perspective and opinion of an Updated College Professor who understand the importance of cultivating the craft as well navigating the modern multi-media world. Like always great content and advice, thank you!
I personally don't care what people on social media thinks about my photography. I take photos in order to be enjoyed by everyone and realize not everyone is going to like my work. I enjoy taking pictures of wildlife as they will never give me a bad critique and nature usually gives me a few surprises when I go out for a shoot.
Patience is needed. Many expect their social media to blow up over night, (this does happen but in very, very rare cases). You need to put the time and dedication.
I go through phases of it, putting lots of effort in to posts, consistency & interacting, then I stop and wonder and think how time consuming it is and what's the point. And the cycle repeats...
this video is very helpful, sometimes it’s super frustrating to continue posting to IG and not seeing the results you would like. this really helped me stay the course and keep patience.
Great advice. I guess I don’t do well on Instagram cause I refuse to follow popular trends for followers. I’ll continue to appreciate those who do follow me for my photography.
Took me forever to figure out which hashtags my photos was suitable for. Don't use the mainstream hashtags like #landscape, you'll get lost in the mix. Find that specific hashtag for your style. Also; don't use the same hashtags for every photo. You need to switch it up every other photo. Instagram won't put your picture in the same hashtag feed too often. Tag photography accounts like magazines that feature others photographs if you genuinely think your picture is good enough to be featured in their feed. They might put it on and expose it to their audience.
Hashtags to me are pointless. So many images on Instagram now that if you hashtag something it can get buried very quickly
@@lilscottieme I found that out pretty quickly too. You need to find that niche ones that suits your style. None of my hashtags has more than 100k posts.
@@Fjalll possible but what do you consider niche. Double edge sword in that so niche that no one hardly looks at the hashtag anyway to gain any followers. Plus since instagram split out the hashtag into Top and Recent tabs any new stuff will be even harder to find as it defaults to top images first.
@@lilscottieme There's so many users on Instagram so you can definitely narrow it down quite a bit. It all depends on what you typically shoot. Do you have your own style? Is it street, portraiture or night photography etc.
I wouldn't bet on being found through the search page but rather hope to be shown to users that Instagram thinks would be interested in my photographs. That is where I believe the hashtags helps you explaining where the picture belongs and to whom you want it to be shown. You want to connect to the people that you think might like your stuff. Ironically I don't actually look at the following count, I'm all about the interactions. The comments and likes. The following comes later. A lot of accounts has tens of thousands of followers but no interaction on their account.
@@Fjalll Oh I am happy with how I interact with Instagram. I use it in a way that suits my personality which I think sometimes people overlook when on social platforms lol
first thing i noticed in the video was that the animation was upgrading the whole aesthetic. well done! thanks for continuing to drop useful insights! in my case i know i should do more postings, while i already try to be social with other people on the platforms every day. even when you dont post anything (regular posts that is) but stories or comments you still get a bit of traction because you are growing real interactions with other humans. and this is the sole reason i am on social media - connections, not likes. really happy with the siatuation at the moment.
Thats all great advice. Social media can be very frustrating. When i see some of the garbage on RUclips with millions of views i get very discouraged. Also 3:14 BOOM! left ya a comment!
Very true that there are so many bots. One thing I’ve noticed recently is I used to post pictures and I would get anywhere from 60-100+ likes. Now, in the past few weeks. I have more followers but only 15-30 likes. I don’t think my content has got any worse? Something is up with instagram for sure.
I like instagram. There are so many things to look at. I'm into visual, and audio arts. Usually I'm reading articles online to see the latest discoveries. Here also.
Ted (or anyone else this helps), not sure if you knew this already but you can Google "Instagram break space generator" and it'll convert your line spaces to something Instagram reads as a space. Just type your caption into the website, then copy/ paste into IG so you won't have to put the periods like you said.
Ted, wow, well said. I too have been frustrated at how slowly my instagram has grown and I think you are exactly right. I wanted to add one thing though:
Something that helped me grow quite a bit was photographing people who already have a big following and as part of my collaboration with them, we agreed to credit each other in resulting posts/stories from the shoot. Not that we should only shoot with people if they have a big following, but if you're a photographer that likes to photograph people, and someone with a big following is of interest to you and will shoot with you, it can help quite a bit. But it starts with your work being at that presentation condition you talked about before you reach out to those people.
Yes! So much this. I'm so fed up with "beating the algorithm" videos. People forget that we're dealing with other people. The posters and the followers are the same species.
It was a bit different several years ago when you could get followers just from a "wow picture", but now there are billions of them out there and you need a different way to keep people coming back to you.
Thank you for the hashtag tip, that really helped me a lot!!
Probably the most informative video I've seen for this topic..Very well explained!
Great advice Ted. I also think you just gotta be yourself too. If you just want to share and not care, there isn't anything wrong with that. But if you want to get yourself out there, you have to try and its work but like you said that's what social media is. You HAVE to be social. I've seen incredible photographers get no love whatsoever because they don't try or they just don't care but man their work should be seen by the world. The most important thing to me is not letting the likes and views dictate you. I've fell down that trap and it made me pretty depressed. You can't pursue likes, it will ruin you as an artist as you wont be creating work that you love only work that others like.
Great tip on hash tags! I just dowloaded IG again after I deleted it a couple of months ago. Was so frustrated with the hole thing and needed a time out. Now I'm back and the plan is to use IG letting people know I'm shooting photos in addition to podcasting. Loved the analogi about attending a cocktail party. I'm an introvert and need to work on mye social skills. Thanks!
As always.... I love the humanity/philosophy in your heart. Glad I stayed to the end. :) Thank you.
Great stuff Ted! One tool I use which finds popular (but not oversaturated) hashtags is Focalmark. There are others out there, find one you like. It's my way of playing the game but not getting bogged down by indecision, or I'd be there all day trying to figure out which hashtag is better. I find I get about 10-25% more reach from using them, too.
Aside from the posting times, what have you noticed with the current algorithm?
Prior to deleting my old account when they changed the algorithm the first time I was getting great
feedback and interaction until they updated things then I lost so much interaction.
So does the current algorithm affect anything like that now in a negative way? IE just promoting popular accounts
simply because they are popular?
I went on Instagram for nothing more than to share and showcase a few of my images. I put forth litte expectation in getting work because i have a job. I did it because im an artist and i enjoy sharing with others. Im an older photographer so success to me is giving..giving back and sharing with others period. WHEN YOU MAKE A CONNECTION YOU MAKE A TRUE FRIEND.
Ted, I need to thank you. That video literally just opened my eyes. I never looked at social media the way you just described. Respect man 🤘
Hey Ted. Thanks for this video. Admittedly and for someone who's in social media marketing I was a sucker for getting likes on Instagram. I love photography. And I like uploading my work to Instagram now I'm not so worried about getting the likes. I follow a lot of photographers who follow me back I too started commenting and occasionally asking for them to view mine and give me helpful critique.
Great advice. It's called "Social Media" so post media and be social!
I just couldn't agree more, your channel transpires your love for the art of photography and the sincere effort to provide high quality material for anyone interested in this subject. I believe that we spectators just can say thank you, for such a high quality content(all those playlists on composition and works of different artists) and now more wisdom in the social media area that you acquired through years of hard work. Thank you!
Ted so many great observations. If once we're through this current hiatus and you're in my neigbourhood drop me a line.
I used to get so frustrated with Instagram or social media because of the same thing but soon I realize that shouldn’t be my goal. I did photography because it makes me happy and enjoy life more. That should my goal with social media, never mind the likes or followers the most important thing is enjoy it.
Love your channel man! One of my top favorites for sure! I still need to get an instagram going for my photo's(i know about 10 years behind the times...) but this is good to keep in mind, thank you for all that you do and sharing the immense passion you have, wishing much happiness and prosperity to you in your ventures good sir!
Wonderfully articulated and great advice not only for this up and coming generation, but also for those of us a little older who haven't completely moved along with the times. Been blessed to have this channel to come back to and learn from for so many years now. Thanks Ted!
This was one of those old type videos I was missing
I cannot express enough how much I think your talks are of top quality content. Thank you!
Very useful info. By the way, the lighting in this video is beautifully done. Cheers.
Ted, not only an excellent topic and presentation but I also like how you present it in a way that feels like we are having a conversation. Additionally I have been taking with my daughter, who wants to start her own channel, about this topic. She is going to love this.
You can't see the numbers on VSCO.
Best talk about social media i have ever heard! Keep calm and keep posting! Peace!
This is very helpful. Thank you for sharing this! I've been posting content here on YT for more than 6yrs now, but I've never been that consistent. But I decided last year (2018) to be more consistent and to up the quality of my content. I think it's quite paying off already, little by little. I think I really lack on making efforts to connect with the community. Thanks for enlightening me about the importance of that! God bless you, sir!
Hey Ted, i'ves been following your work for years from when you did pod casts on iTunes to now. you have come long way. I agree with all that you said in this video especially the last point. Always be yourself.
This is wonderful! Anything you can teach about success on social media is so helpful!!
As someone that is starting out youtube and instagram every bit of advice is great. Especially quality advice.
A sponsored video related to the content and self promotion of your instagram at the same time. Nice work :)
And really great quality advice too. Perfect example of how to operate on social media, and why I've been a subscriber for several years.
One of the clearest videos I have seen on using social media. I have even taken your advice and commented on this :) Nice work
Man what a grate video, love the honesty about the subject. You summarise how social media works really well.
your videos are awesome... because of the content ofcourse but your demeanour towards life is refreshing
I like what you said about being genuine with yourself and not chasing the likes. I see many IG profiles who follow a certain theme with their photos, and although it's aesthetically pleasing, I feel it limits creativity.
I didn't know success in photography , is based on social media now. How the world has changed , people were successful before it now they are shit out of luck without it . Yet we did it to ourselves
Enjoyed your video. It had some good information init. I appreciate your last comment about being true to yourself by posting work what you really like to do, which is what I’m doing. I may not have a ton of followers but I feel good about what I post in Instagram. 😊
Just came back to this....so helpful Ted! Thank you!
As always, Ted, you’ve been helpful and inspiring. Thanks!
Boom! Great reinforcement of the basics of social media. Thanks Ted!
Ted, Great video, great advice & from the heart! Thanks always for your information and inspiration.
Film photos get more likes than digital photos. :)
John Doe haha um, the hot chicks I see on Instagram just use their phones and get more likes than people with “film photos”
VSCO is pretty cool
I guess I'll follow your advice right now, and first of all, I've been loving your content for years! I've started myself a photography channel (this one!), and I share my name along all my social media, for anyone interested (sorry for the shameless plug).
This is great! Never heard anyone say that social media is like a cocktail party, that’s a perfect analogy for that!
Interesting and informative video. It sure taught me a thing or two about IG - which I will try. I don't have many followers, or likes/comments, and admittedly have in the past certainly felt the frustration as to why. But then it's about re-calibrating ones approach and idea of IG: if I get one or two likes or comments from fellow photographers whose work I admire, or who are professionals/commercial successful, or close friends whose opinion I respect then that means more to me than 1000 followers/likes!
Also, like Ted has said, go make a book or fanzine; print your work and show it to your friends, hang it on your wall at home, or better still, offer it to a cafe, or bar or your workplace to hang so that people see it (I've done all of these). You'll get genuine comments and interest from people that will see your work in larger, printed format it deserves.
Still waiting for that video on making a book or fanzine of ones work Ted - I think it would be a great addition to the AOP library, especially as you get so many in the post. Keep up the good work.
Man so much value in this video and to think it’s a click away... thank you 🙏🏻
Incredible insight with your views of "Social Media" Ted !! Keep it up !
Thank you Ted. That was an insightful view of social media's opportunities and foibles. Just like life in general, if we wish to succeed we need to be true to ourselves, respect others, be sociable, work hard, understand the rules and produce something worthwhile.
Great video and something that a group of photographer friends were discussing recently. Artist
Integrity Vs Social media 'likes'
I think you've hit the nail on this subject
the first photography channel I subscribed to, just had to love your videos. killing it on instagram? I'm being destroyed cant figure it out and I cant help feeling like the guy from your DM. but your advice means a lot.
As an old guy. I always thought of the # as assigning an amount to something. A numerical symbol. My how things have changed.
Signed: Rusty old swingarms typewriter.
One of the best videos I've seen that addresses things like community and velocity
Amazing video and the last points super inspiring, thank you
I like Instagram even though I don't get as many likes as I'd like (prob not enough networking effort on my part), but sometimes I wonder what it would be like if it didn't exist? I mean, why are we photographers? Different answers for everyone of course; but, if Insta wasn't there: art exhibitions, journalism, weddings or just for the love of it. My point/question perhaps is: is Instagram holding us back? Just a thought. I don't have the answer.
Was expecting your answer on the last question. Any recommendation for platform to share photography other than InstaGram?
Also, I think most people on InstaGram are not creative people. Many just follow stuff, or even have private accounts just to stalk, and that is part of the numbers. It’s a creative site bubble. Just don’t expect too much of it.
Hey Ted!
Where do you see the most meaningful value in IG for photographers these days? I know people who have built careers in photography by being influencers, but because that’s not the route I want to take I’m left feeling a little aimless
I think even the people who say they want to engage, don't. Yes, they will spend time talking to you and liking your stuff but once they get you to follow them, they'll move on to their next target. E.g. I had one person who "like-bombed" me and left piles of nice comments, which I thought was nice, so I reciprocated. But once I hit that follow key they disappeared but you could see they were doing the same thing to their next targets. I think honestly that is standard behaviour. Numerous people on FaceBook groups have done the same, "Hey, let's support each and work together on Instagram". That type of deceptive behaviour is common. So I gave up. I'm still posting to my social media accounts and giving likes and comments to people who I think make great work but I've given up on trying to build my account. Actually I unfollowed most of my followers, i.e. the people who follow but don't engage and that caused me, of course, to lose a lot of people. That was okay because why should I value someone who wasn't following/engaging with me? Why should I support them for free? Now I just concentrate on finding pictures I enjoy, not trying to build something. If, one day, I end up with a lot of followers that'll be cool, but I'm not going to sweat about it anymore.
I agree with what you said especially the last comment. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that social media posts open your work to the possibility of it being hijacked by undeserving followers.
What an inspiring video Ted! Keep up the great work.
Great video Ted. But your point of when to post, is incomplete, the internet is global therefore you also need to consider time zones. It might be lunch time for me, but its breakfast for you.
thanks- an insightful presentation and reality check about social media and its relevance for photography
Great job Ted been watching for awhile You got me on the gx85 which i currently use next stop the g9 which you did great videos on!
Few tips:1: Keep it clean, is your image (World Image). 2: Don't post your family shots or personal shots, is a working environment..post photos relevant to your work/art (Again is your World Image) 3: Time of the day, consider Europe/Asia time. Here in the east side of the states you want to post early morning so europe is still midday and Asia is night, but people are still up. 4: Use the multimedia option in Instagram, when you post, it allows you to post to 3 media environments at the same time (Facebook, Tweeter, Thumbler). 5: Have a website that you can link your postings to. (Extremely Important (Looks Professional) and again (Is your World Image)) that is why is called World Wide Web. Hope it helps.
jans this is ridiculous
@@tom_from_myspace When your image gets messed up like many people have...now you'll know why (cuz replies like this deceiving new comers into the field asking for real knowledge)
@@jans19772012 No, that just plain stupid and I don't give a shit about this Instragram game because I don't need it :) Stop making assumptions about people you don't know shit about.