Scouting New Locations
Ah, Instagram
I have been on Instagram (you can find me here -
@valencia32photo) for a few years now and have somewhat of a love-hate relationship with it. I love sharing my work and receiving feedback, but I also find myself comparing my work, along with number of followers, likes, comments, etc.…., with others and becoming disappointed. Why did Jimmy (obviously not his real name 😉) get two thousand likes and I only received ten? He has how many followers? My work is ten times better and I do not have anywhere near that many! This is despite telling myself that it does not matter, I am not competing against Jimmy – I am competing against myself; challenging myself to get better each time.
My Instagram Feed
I am primarily a landscape photographer, but you can find a little bit of everything in my feed – nature, flowers, wildlife, macro, still life, you name it. The only thing you will not see a lot of is portraiture – maybe an occasional self-portrait or an environmental portrait of someone but that is about the extent. It just is not a genre that has ever excited me. My portrait work is mostly private and restricted to family and friends.
I try to publish new work on a regular basis but since the pandemic hit in March 2020 things have been a bit hit-or-miss. I do not get out nearly as often as I used to but try to make the most of any time that I do have. This past year has seen me embark on a “Backyard Boredom” project that I documented in my Instagram feed – follow #JoeValencia_BackyardDiscoveries and #BackyardBoredom to follow along. The #BackyardBoredom hashtag is also being used by others so you can follow their adventures, too.
My Followers
I do not have a lot of followers – there are 436 as-of this writing – but the core is very faithful, been with me for a long time and very supportive. I started March 2020 with 325 followers, steadily increasing each week. I am happy to see a 30% increase but still puzzled by the low number. I do know that in the last year I have (almost) always started each caption with a quotation appropriate to the image, along with a paragraph or so about the image – what, where, why, how, etc.… - and tried using the most efficient hashtags.
Who I Follow
There was a time when I followed a lot of people with the hope of getting a reciprocal follow. There were a lot of accounts showing up in my feed that I just did not enjoy; I decided to only follow accounts I was truly interested in and to constantly update the list. There are 533 accounts that I now follow, and I usually end up adding one or two a week, on average. These accounts make up a wide variety of genres of photography, but they are not all photographers; over the years I have followed painters, sketch artists, sculptors, celebrities, and “normal” people posting photos of their friends and families. I follow accounts for a variety of reasons, too. I like to be entertained and I also like to see what other creatives are doing – not so that I can copy them but to draw inspiration.
My Featured Work
You may be aware of “Feature” accounts on Instagram – they, typically, do not produce original material but rather feature the work of others that fit their focus of their account. If you want to get a chance at being featured, you use their hashtag – they monitor the images and choose the ones they deem worthy. This is a great way to get your work in front of people who might normally never see it. All the images used to illustrate this post were featured at one time; clicking on the image will take you to it. I have also had features in #SimplyNJShots, #NJspots, #NJinBloom, #NJShooterz, #NewJerseyHikes, and #SignatureShots; some have featured my work more than once. If I have forgotten any, I apologize for the oversight. It is exciting to see your work deemed worthy of a feature and to read the comments that follow. If you are interested in trying to get your work featured, you can try these accounts or search on Google – “Instagram macro photography feature accounts”, for instance.
Hashtags
I have already touched upon hashtags a little bit, along with some that I frequently use. Choosing the “right” hashtags is a tricky thing and I have no idea if I am doing it right. You want to use popular hashtags because that is what people are using to find things, but you do not want to use extremely popular ones because you end up being a drop in the ocean, making it difficult for you to be found. I usually include any equipment manufacturers involved in the image - #TeamCanon and #MadeWithMeFOTO being two of the most common. I also have made up hashtags for people who want to follow me, specifically – like #JoeValencia_Photography, #JoeValencia_BackyardDiscoveries, and #JoeValencia_Macro. I have a worksheet in Excel with 100’s of hashtags, many grouped into categories, so I can copy-and-paste the ones I need for an image.
Here is a list of New Jersey hashtags that I frequently use - #BeautifulNJ, #CentralJerseyExists, #GardenState, #GetOutStayOut, #HikeNJ, #HikeVibes, #JerseyCollective, #Just_NewJersey, #KeepItWild, #NewJersey, #NewJerseyHikes, #NewJerseyHikes_, #NewJerseyHiking, #JerseysBestCreators, #NewJerseyIsntBoring, #NewJerseyOutdoors, #NewJerseyPhotographer, #nj, #NJDotCom, #NJInBloom, #NJIsBeautiful, #NJRadiant, #NJOutdoors, #njPhotographer, #njShooterz, #NJspots, #NJSunriseSunset, #NJSunset, #OnlyInNewJersey, #OptOutside, #ScenicNJ, #VisitNJ, #WildNJ, #Allaire, #AllaireStatePark, #SharkRiverPark, #SharkRiverParkNJ, #HowellNJ, #WallNJ, #NeptuneNJ, #ManalapanNJ, #ManasquanReservoir
In Conclusion
Instagram is a great way to share your creative work, family photos and short videos and, if you manage your expectations, a lot of fun to use. I hope you enjoyed this post and hope you will take some time to check out my Instagram account – follow me if you like what you see!
Until next time – stay safe, be healthy and enjoy life!
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