It may sound counter-intuitive that Instagram, once all about photos, is shrinking photos in favor of video, but that’s exactly what’s happening and if you don’t keep up, your photography brand could be lost. leave behind.
From Michelle Bali, Creative Strategist at Shopify, she details some serious numbers every photographer must sweat, namely content creators can reach 120% more from the use of film on images. That applies to single photo and carousel posts, and it’s also important to note that video posts were previously considered scrolling.
Undoubtedly, the pressure to do this comes from Instagram’s jihad against TikTok, where algorithms work to figure out what you like and what’s trending to serve a stream of videos that don’t. stop being customized. While this may sound great to dedicated YouTubers, this trend seems to have left traditional photographers in the dust.
As Bali notes, it’s no longer a matter of properly tagging photos with hashtags so people can find them. As all Instagram users know, the timeline left the conversation years ago and so it’s all about engaging videos. That means the first few seconds should have enough visual impact to engage the user, the video should have subtitles for most users to watch without sound, and everyone should post it at least once or twice a day. day to attract the audience.
As a photo-centric Instagram user, it’s also refreshing to see functions like captions and dual camera modes (possibly affected by BeReal) so you don’t have to go into Adobe Premiere or the app. other professional software to access these functions.
That said, there is also an element of sadness, as Instagram takes a lot more than other apps. The “in the moment” photo posts and chronological photo feeds with hashtags to group them all together, once a mainstay of Instagram, have been lost with all of those recent changes.
However, if you still want to up your Instagram game, Bali offers plenty of tips on how you can use your reels and posts more effectively to build an audience, which is very valuable to you. with every photographer.
What do you think about the idea? Are Instagram photos worth it anymore? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.
