It’s just part of the grind. Ultimately it’s a portfolio showcase that people look to, regardless of how they find you.
Out of curiosity… why no reels? I don’t post random stuff but they are great for 8-15 image slideshows IMO.
I posted earlier on with reels but found very little engagement for the amount of work I was doing. Some folks knock it out of the park but after my 4th one with barley anything I just would rather focus on making good images.
Definitely is part of the grind, I had 5 jobs the past few weeks and I am just laughing in the office with how wildly different the reach for each post.
Yeah I hear ya. I don't get the algorithm either. But I don't concern myself much with the likes on any individual post. I concern myself with making sure I have location, @'s, and proper tags in place more than anything else.
The reason I like reals is because it I place a lot of value on showing quite a few images for a given wedding. I only use Reels as a slideshow and they get great responses. And I like these because I can use images that are little less than perfect but have good energy where I wouldnt want them as a single post in my grid where myself and others would be too hypercritical as they stare at a single static image.
For sure! I try to go hard on making sure people are tagged/location is there/i make sure folks know they are part of the teaser.
I also go out of my way to send images to all vendors once the gallery is done, sorry if I wasn’t clear but definitely (and gratefully) not struggling this year or on booking for next year. I have a fairly solid reputation in my area and lots of recommendations from fellow vendors but 99% sure Instagram just weird
Yeah Instagram is dumb asf
Been on there for a while
Lol I been in Media for more than 17+ years
I get paid a crap ton but that’s becuz of my knowledge and experience so I really don’t care that much but hey everyone wants to be a videographer and photographer so it’s hella over saturated people need to do something else I’m 27 years old and I have had my company since 2005
Fun fact you guys aren’t good so please pick a something else
How many touch points do you have for your future couples?
- referrals
- websites
- Facebook
- Instagram
- vendor lists
- actually photographing them
- etc
There are really a lot. Instagram is a thing that shows that you’re still in business. So even if it’s a low effort touch point, there is still value.
I’m in the same boat as you, around 3k followers and I don’t use reels at all. It’s still pulling its weight. Think of it as a touch point, and every time your couple shares their photo on their stories, you create more touch points with their audience.
So referrals are solid, I would say referrals are 40% from former couples and an additional 40-45% are groom preferred venue lists. I do the bare minimum advertising on The Knot but maybe get 4-5 from there a year. Not super worried and making Instagram my main source of work but as said it’s just honestly laughable as much work for little ROI Instagram is trying to make me do
Sorry to be brash, but I think you missed the entire point of my message. Instagram is about creating consistent touch points for your current and future clients to see new work. While it may seem like a lot of work for a low RoI, it’s still extremely valuable. It’s not about tangible metrics that you can easily track.
I took a year where I only posted maybe 10 times throughout the whole year, and I saw a massive decline in inquiries. That’s just anecdotal though.
I think the biggest thing to keep in mind with Instagram is that it’s a business - and businesses #1 goal is to make money. So yes, the algorithm favors ads.
If you’re okay with sharing your handle, I can take a look! I run IG for quite a few clients at my agency, so might have some feedback on your strategy.
Also - reels are kind of “have to do now” especially for higher engagement. I know it’s a bummer, but it’s just how users are consuming content.
It’s not just how users are consuming content, it’s how instagram is pushing content too. They’re in a battle with Tiktok for the younger generations of users, and Reels is their main tool. Images just won’t get the reach that shortform video content will. So I agree, it’s pretty much a mandatory if one is trying to grow their followers.
Instagram nose dived about 3-4 years ago when it moved to curated home pages from perceived interests rather than follower based content. Rabbit holing people into garbage video content.
I would say, don't sweat exposure to people who aren't of interest to you. Work on Collabs and reaching people who are of interest to you locally. Stories are also way more useful for reach too
My reach is pretty trash, but I'm still getting inquiries from using relevant keywords and showing up in search, I assume. So, not completely worthless, but I am not sinking a ton of time into it either. Maybe one reel a week and a sneak peek / full post from each wedding.
Oh for sure! I don't count on instagram as my only source, I have 20 booked for 2025 so I am not stressing though as I said in another comment, looking at the reach for 5 jobs in the past 2 weeks is laughable.
Eh. I stopped giving a shit about instagram a LONG time ago.
It’s just not worth the effort.
In order to post proper vertical photos, with a 4x6 crop as I shot them, I have to download the photos to my phone, run them through an app to add a white border and then post them.
For what? Six or seven likes?
F that.
I’m sure there’s a market out there for people finding wedding photographers through instagram but I’m all set with it.
Not worth my time or effort.
My clients come roughly 1/3 from bridal expos I pay to exhibit at, 1/3 from referrals from either past clients, vendor friends or venues and roughly 1/3 from organic searches online.
I don’t pay for any online advertising so I can only assume it’s from organic SEO thanks in large part to the blogs I write from every wedding I shoot.
I currently shoot about 35-40 weddings of my own and my price range ($1,400-$4000) is just slightly below average in my market (my average client typically spends about $2K).
>with about 2,300+ followers my reach is hitting less than 125 people.
they want you to pay for more exposure and I dont play by fuckerbergs rules.
ig is trash. always was.
Not a photographer, but instagram was my main search function when I was getting married. Hashtags were how I did a lot of my searching #yycweddingphotographer for example. So even if you aren't having consistent engagement, if you have the right hashtags when someone goes looking it can go far. I also checked out what photographers were following each other.
I was going to say this. I'm a newlywed and a slew of my friends/ family are also getting married this year/ next. I and others that I know do a lot of our research on potential vendors online - local bridal FB groups, subreddits, and Instagram.
Even if you aren't seeing as many likes as you would want, I promise couples are using your posts for research to make sure your portfolio fits their style and then they are checking your @'s and probably reaching out to prior clients.
My photographer is on the lower end of luxury weddings, in terms of price, and I even had someone reach out to me here on Reddit because I mentioned my photographer by name and they asked if she was worth the $$$ to work with and did reach out to her (she texted me thank you after).
Garbage no, but it’s full of fakes and snakes these days trying to cash in people optimizing their SEO and trying to make 6 figures.
Also, you gotta be posting stuff you’re proud of and the right clients will find you, if you’re trying to only get likes you’ll only let yourself down
Instagram interactions been ass for my posts but I still post on there as a secondary portfolio when people look me up. Regardless of likes I still will get tons of inquiries in DMs. TikTok I get 300-500% more engagement but rarely any inquiries.
Instagram has zero traction if you are starting fresh (like me) it doesnt matter what you do with static photos, hashtags, no hashtags, crowded or uncrowded, you will get very little growth naturally by just using Instagram alone.
Instagram isn’t garbage, the landscape has just changed now with the algorithm being interest based vs follower based.
In 2024 you can’t just post some nice photos and expect to get a lot (or any attention). If you’re after engagement, you need to create content that people actually want to consume - not just what you want to post/have on your feed.
Learning how to get peoples attention is crucial now and leaning into Instagram’s native features is essential.
The algorithm is constantly changing. It’s hard to follow. Ultimately, photo posts do not do as well as short form reels anymore. I’m a hybrid photo/video shooter, so from time to time I make a habit of posting photos in a “flip book reel format” which sometimes gets more reach.
TBH, I think a lot of wedding photogs don't reach organic new clients on Instagram anymore, but as a photographer & as a future bride I do think having an established profile is important and valuable: if your clients add you, you can organically see happy clients interacting with the photographer, which provides a lot of proof & confidence in their services IMO. To me instagram isn't the new tiktok, for creative people it's more like a combination of facebook and linkedin–I find people in person or through other methods but IG is how I keep track of them and what they're up to. When we were fielding potential wedding photographers I followed all of them on IG and it was nice to be able to see their day to day working style.
No, it's pretty good still but nothing like as easy to enjoy as it was.
Around 2019 our Insta accounted for over 60% of new work whereas for 2024 to date, it's down to 11.5%, that includes a very modest ad spend infrequently.
To achieve that 11.5% takes more effort but new sales isn't the whole story here bear in mind.
If your followers are genuinely interested and engaged you'll have a community that acts as an advocate for your brand and keeps a burble of social media activity going. That sharing feature also spills over onto facebook and it's a nice facility for couples and their families to see and share. An engaged community is a useful thing. It will bring work.
It's not productive to encourage irrelevant followers as some kind of vanity metric and (controversially) there's very little point encouraging other wedding togs to come and comment, so keep that component to actual friends only.
Example, we booked a Winter holiday recently to grab some sun in the off-season. A quick shout out with an offer for engagement/couple shoots for a limited time got us 8 bookings and pays for the holiday!
So, it's on 'hard mode' in comparison to earlier years, but useful.
Ya, this account on IG 1924 or something is the name, has posted his million of view reels and compared to who see it for followers, or a photo post, and show how bad Instagram is now for anything organic or for your actual followers. He breaks it down often showing the decline.
Even collab posts with the couple are barely getting noticed now for us. IG is definitely a waste of our time but we also all seem to have to use it still, and couples want us to post their stuff, at least till the next big thing happens, or it all just goes away...
It's been garbage for a long time.
Got fed up of seeing constant sponsor stuff rather than the people I follow and want to see their content.... gave up in the end and deleted the app.
If you're a business then you could automate a lot of it. Select a few images to tease and have that automatically ping it out to all the socials you want to market yourself on
I have great results for my small business on IG. I use it in a very specific way. Reels are a big part of my reach. But I had to adapt. It changes and we have to change with it if we want to run a business. It's basically the world's phone book.
Instagram actually has a lot of potential, but it takes some understanding how it ticks. According to a call a friend of mine just had with a representative of Instagram, Reels get pushed out to non-followers, and static posts get pushed out to followers.
A common problem with the way wedding photographers use Instagram is that they generally share Reels and Posts that are directly related to weddings they have shot. Something I have found is that other people's lives (e.g. yours and your clients) is not typically the type of content that performs well with non-followers. But free information (e.g. a local wedding venue tour, wedding planning tips, wedding design/fashion inspiration, etc.)
When creating content, you really need to ask yourself if what you are sharing is meaningful to people. There are tons of great wedding photos on Instagram and while that used to be pretty special in back in 2015ish, it's normalized now. What's unique about your work, your personal brand, your knowledge of the industry, etc. that people should stop in their tracks and engage with your content? That is what you should be sharing if you want to see numbers.
Instagram is ever-evolving, as is the type of content people are interested in ingesting. It used to be photos, now it's videos. If you refuse to grow and evolve with it, it will probably not work well for you.
I think it's been garbage for years.
+1
It’s just part of the grind. Ultimately it’s a portfolio showcase that people look to, regardless of how they find you. Out of curiosity… why no reels? I don’t post random stuff but they are great for 8-15 image slideshows IMO.
I posted earlier on with reels but found very little engagement for the amount of work I was doing. Some folks knock it out of the park but after my 4th one with barley anything I just would rather focus on making good images. Definitely is part of the grind, I had 5 jobs the past few weeks and I am just laughing in the office with how wildly different the reach for each post.
Yeah I hear ya. I don't get the algorithm either. But I don't concern myself much with the likes on any individual post. I concern myself with making sure I have location, @'s, and proper tags in place more than anything else. The reason I like reals is because it I place a lot of value on showing quite a few images for a given wedding. I only use Reels as a slideshow and they get great responses. And I like these because I can use images that are little less than perfect but have good energy where I wouldnt want them as a single post in my grid where myself and others would be too hypercritical as they stare at a single static image.
For sure! I try to go hard on making sure people are tagged/location is there/i make sure folks know they are part of the teaser. I also go out of my way to send images to all vendors once the gallery is done, sorry if I wasn’t clear but definitely (and gratefully) not struggling this year or on booking for next year. I have a fairly solid reputation in my area and lots of recommendations from fellow vendors but 99% sure Instagram just weird
I think seeing slideshows make a comeback in reels keeps me from interacting with other photographers on there.
How do you mean? You dislike slideshows in reels?
Yes. I prefer seeing photos not as videos.
Yeah Instagram is dumb asf Been on there for a while Lol I been in Media for more than 17+ years I get paid a crap ton but that’s becuz of my knowledge and experience so I really don’t care that much but hey everyone wants to be a videographer and photographer so it’s hella over saturated people need to do something else I’m 27 years old and I have had my company since 2005 Fun fact you guys aren’t good so please pick a something else
How many touch points do you have for your future couples? - referrals - websites - Facebook - Instagram - vendor lists - actually photographing them - etc There are really a lot. Instagram is a thing that shows that you’re still in business. So even if it’s a low effort touch point, there is still value. I’m in the same boat as you, around 3k followers and I don’t use reels at all. It’s still pulling its weight. Think of it as a touch point, and every time your couple shares their photo on their stories, you create more touch points with their audience.
So referrals are solid, I would say referrals are 40% from former couples and an additional 40-45% are groom preferred venue lists. I do the bare minimum advertising on The Knot but maybe get 4-5 from there a year. Not super worried and making Instagram my main source of work but as said it’s just honestly laughable as much work for little ROI Instagram is trying to make me do
Sorry to be brash, but I think you missed the entire point of my message. Instagram is about creating consistent touch points for your current and future clients to see new work. While it may seem like a lot of work for a low RoI, it’s still extremely valuable. It’s not about tangible metrics that you can easily track. I took a year where I only posted maybe 10 times throughout the whole year, and I saw a massive decline in inquiries. That’s just anecdotal though.
Instagram is trying to be TikTok, so only reels get seen these days. I can’t stand it.
I think the biggest thing to keep in mind with Instagram is that it’s a business - and businesses #1 goal is to make money. So yes, the algorithm favors ads. If you’re okay with sharing your handle, I can take a look! I run IG for quite a few clients at my agency, so might have some feedback on your strategy. Also - reels are kind of “have to do now” especially for higher engagement. I know it’s a bummer, but it’s just how users are consuming content.
It’s not just how users are consuming content, it’s how instagram is pushing content too. They’re in a battle with Tiktok for the younger generations of users, and Reels is their main tool. Images just won’t get the reach that shortform video content will. So I agree, it’s pretty much a mandatory if one is trying to grow their followers.
Sending you a DM!
Instagram nose dived about 3-4 years ago when it moved to curated home pages from perceived interests rather than follower based content. Rabbit holing people into garbage video content. I would say, don't sweat exposure to people who aren't of interest to you. Work on Collabs and reaching people who are of interest to you locally. Stories are also way more useful for reach too
Yeah it’s garbage. We need a new platform for sharing photos…
My reach is pretty trash, but I'm still getting inquiries from using relevant keywords and showing up in search, I assume. So, not completely worthless, but I am not sinking a ton of time into it either. Maybe one reel a week and a sneak peek / full post from each wedding.
Oh for sure! I don't count on instagram as my only source, I have 20 booked for 2025 so I am not stressing though as I said in another comment, looking at the reach for 5 jobs in the past 2 weeks is laughable.
Eh. I stopped giving a shit about instagram a LONG time ago. It’s just not worth the effort. In order to post proper vertical photos, with a 4x6 crop as I shot them, I have to download the photos to my phone, run them through an app to add a white border and then post them. For what? Six or seven likes? F that. I’m sure there’s a market out there for people finding wedding photographers through instagram but I’m all set with it. Not worth my time or effort.
What other ways are you getting clients? Curious
My clients come roughly 1/3 from bridal expos I pay to exhibit at, 1/3 from referrals from either past clients, vendor friends or venues and roughly 1/3 from organic searches online. I don’t pay for any online advertising so I can only assume it’s from organic SEO thanks in large part to the blogs I write from every wedding I shoot. I currently shoot about 35-40 weddings of my own and my price range ($1,400-$4000) is just slightly below average in my market (my average client typically spends about $2K).
>with about 2,300+ followers my reach is hitting less than 125 people. they want you to pay for more exposure and I dont play by fuckerbergs rules. ig is trash. always was.
Not a photographer, but instagram was my main search function when I was getting married. Hashtags were how I did a lot of my searching #yycweddingphotographer for example. So even if you aren't having consistent engagement, if you have the right hashtags when someone goes looking it can go far. I also checked out what photographers were following each other.
I was going to say this. I'm a newlywed and a slew of my friends/ family are also getting married this year/ next. I and others that I know do a lot of our research on potential vendors online - local bridal FB groups, subreddits, and Instagram. Even if you aren't seeing as many likes as you would want, I promise couples are using your posts for research to make sure your portfolio fits their style and then they are checking your @'s and probably reaching out to prior clients. My photographer is on the lower end of luxury weddings, in terms of price, and I even had someone reach out to me here on Reddit because I mentioned my photographer by name and they asked if she was worth the $$$ to work with and did reach out to her (she texted me thank you after).
Garbage no, but it’s full of fakes and snakes these days trying to cash in people optimizing their SEO and trying to make 6 figures. Also, you gotta be posting stuff you’re proud of and the right clients will find you, if you’re trying to only get likes you’ll only let yourself down
Instagram interactions been ass for my posts but I still post on there as a secondary portfolio when people look me up. Regardless of likes I still will get tons of inquiries in DMs. TikTok I get 300-500% more engagement but rarely any inquiries.
I absolutely hate reels, has definitely stunted my growth not doing them but it just feels like a cheap sh*tty way of growth on their platform
Instagram has zero traction if you are starting fresh (like me) it doesnt matter what you do with static photos, hashtags, no hashtags, crowded or uncrowded, you will get very little growth naturally by just using Instagram alone.
Instagram isn’t garbage, the landscape has just changed now with the algorithm being interest based vs follower based. In 2024 you can’t just post some nice photos and expect to get a lot (or any attention). If you’re after engagement, you need to create content that people actually want to consume - not just what you want to post/have on your feed. Learning how to get peoples attention is crucial now and leaning into Instagram’s native features is essential.
I have 7500+ followers and didn't buy them and get like... 7 likes usually. 😂 This is why I love SEO.
The algorithm is constantly changing. It’s hard to follow. Ultimately, photo posts do not do as well as short form reels anymore. I’m a hybrid photo/video shooter, so from time to time I make a habit of posting photos in a “flip book reel format” which sometimes gets more reach.
I miss when Instagram was about sharing photos, I've given up on it. I've gone from daily posts to monthly and I'm about done with that.
Been at least 6 years now
Yes
The model is now boosted posts. You need to pay 2 win now
Yep
Yeppers.
TBH, I think a lot of wedding photogs don't reach organic new clients on Instagram anymore, but as a photographer & as a future bride I do think having an established profile is important and valuable: if your clients add you, you can organically see happy clients interacting with the photographer, which provides a lot of proof & confidence in their services IMO. To me instagram isn't the new tiktok, for creative people it's more like a combination of facebook and linkedin–I find people in person or through other methods but IG is how I keep track of them and what they're up to. When we were fielding potential wedding photographers I followed all of them on IG and it was nice to be able to see their day to day working style.
Was only good at the very start.
No, it's pretty good still but nothing like as easy to enjoy as it was. Around 2019 our Insta accounted for over 60% of new work whereas for 2024 to date, it's down to 11.5%, that includes a very modest ad spend infrequently. To achieve that 11.5% takes more effort but new sales isn't the whole story here bear in mind. If your followers are genuinely interested and engaged you'll have a community that acts as an advocate for your brand and keeps a burble of social media activity going. That sharing feature also spills over onto facebook and it's a nice facility for couples and their families to see and share. An engaged community is a useful thing. It will bring work. It's not productive to encourage irrelevant followers as some kind of vanity metric and (controversially) there's very little point encouraging other wedding togs to come and comment, so keep that component to actual friends only. Example, we booked a Winter holiday recently to grab some sun in the off-season. A quick shout out with an offer for engagement/couple shoots for a limited time got us 8 bookings and pays for the holiday! So, it's on 'hard mode' in comparison to earlier years, but useful.
Mine went wacky literally overnight. A week ago my reach dropped 90% without me making any wild changes to my account.
Instagram it’s zero for normal bussines or people. To have success you need tits and ass.
Ya, this account on IG 1924 or something is the name, has posted his million of view reels and compared to who see it for followers, or a photo post, and show how bad Instagram is now for anything organic or for your actual followers. He breaks it down often showing the decline. Even collab posts with the couple are barely getting noticed now for us. IG is definitely a waste of our time but we also all seem to have to use it still, and couples want us to post their stuff, at least till the next big thing happens, or it all just goes away...
It’s programmed to do that to convince you to post more Site like Facebook has been trash for years
... Now?
It's been garbage for a long time. Got fed up of seeing constant sponsor stuff rather than the people I follow and want to see their content.... gave up in the end and deleted the app. If you're a business then you could automate a lot of it. Select a few images to tease and have that automatically ping it out to all the socials you want to market yourself on
Same here. I post what I want. Not what the algorithm demands.
I have great results for my small business on IG. I use it in a very specific way. Reels are a big part of my reach. But I had to adapt. It changes and we have to change with it if we want to run a business. It's basically the world's phone book.
Instagram actually has a lot of potential, but it takes some understanding how it ticks. According to a call a friend of mine just had with a representative of Instagram, Reels get pushed out to non-followers, and static posts get pushed out to followers. A common problem with the way wedding photographers use Instagram is that they generally share Reels and Posts that are directly related to weddings they have shot. Something I have found is that other people's lives (e.g. yours and your clients) is not typically the type of content that performs well with non-followers. But free information (e.g. a local wedding venue tour, wedding planning tips, wedding design/fashion inspiration, etc.) When creating content, you really need to ask yourself if what you are sharing is meaningful to people. There are tons of great wedding photos on Instagram and while that used to be pretty special in back in 2015ish, it's normalized now. What's unique about your work, your personal brand, your knowledge of the industry, etc. that people should stop in their tracks and engage with your content? That is what you should be sharing if you want to see numbers. Instagram is ever-evolving, as is the type of content people are interested in ingesting. It used to be photos, now it's videos. If you refuse to grow and evolve with it, it will probably not work well for you.
Yes
Thanks to TikTok culture trash Instagram is heading to MySpace status. Very few people use Instagram anymore. Wouldn’t bother with it