I’ve had an Instagram for a while. After adapting my account to photography, Instagram has become the backbone of my social media presence. But I like most creators don’t like to use it. However, we still do.
Before we get started, let’s dig into what’s wrong with the platform, as those must be cleared up.
Algorithm
There are at least a thousand articles online about “algorithmic superiority”. Every year, even every month, there is something new and something changes. Instagram cares that its platform remains interesting to users. They choose to sort posts by popularity, among other metrics. This ends up pushing some posts onto others. The Instagram algorithm is not transparent, which makes it difficult to create content that “feeds” the aforementioned algorithm. 
Instagram says they care a lot about their creators, but I find they hardly care if they keep what makes up the social platform a secret. It has been reported that Instagram will reintroduce an option to enable the chronological algorithm for their platform, but there will be a problem as it is not the default option.
So the Instagram algorithm, which changes at random intervals and no one knows which way, is probably one of the easier to understand and helps you understand why photographers and creators create hate Instagram.
Censorship
A friend of mine and a colleague of Fstoppers, Jeff Bennion, is a great photographer who often shares her work on Instagram. Jeff and Instagram have been fighting over what is and isn’t a “sex-demanding woman”. The mechanism by which Instagram uses to remove or ban users’ work for violating their policies is very confusing. It’s simply not fair that creators like Jeff have removed their work for no reason while pages with clearly objectionable content about women and posting images against the will of the audience. allowed again. What’s worse is that Instagram goes to great lengths to remove art. The Albertina Gallery in Vienna (a must-visit), made a OnlyFans . account protest. So while Instagram is removing Carravagio, they are allowing bots to DM spam with “18+ pic with fire emoji” unsolicited. Hey Instagram, instead of censoring the artwork, how about troubleshooting bots? 
Mental health
Less commonly discussed is the negative impact of Instagram on creators’ mental health. I don’t quite understand why some images get hundreds of likes while others only get a hundred. If anything, images that seemed a bit boring if not mundane to me became the most common. Every so often, I can’t tell which images will work well. I only post what I like and try to keep my feed looking good. 
Wrong Description of Professional Photography
If you go to the most famous fashion and beauty photography sites on Instagram, you will see a lot of “glamorous” images of pretty girls in sexy outfits. Of course, if many people like it, it must be fashion photography demanded by the market and customers. The hard truth is that those images have no commercial value. In fact, a lot of “internet camera club” photography is just that, and it has nothing to do with the actual fashion and beauty genre sought after by clients. Some of the best photographers I know, such as my friend Oleg, has very few followers but earns impressive clients. Sadly, people can spend years taking “personal” photos of girls in sexy outfits before they get to what is considered fashion photography. Because fashion photography is not about the girl, it’s about the clothes and the feel. I can assure you that no one cares what light you use, what camera or lens. If you like the 6×7 medium format, go for it. As long as your image is what your customers and you want, life will be fine. So this is another reason why I hate Instagram. It makes a lot of beginners think that what they see on it is commercially viable. Sometimes someone comes to me private training sessionsand I turned their world upside down when I showed what fashion photography really is.
Should You Care? Why do people still use it?
Crying about Instagram, exactly what I just did in this article, can be helpful to point out the problems with the platform. But can we really change the system? I do not think so. Instagram is too big a platform to cater to a select segment of users. And after all, there are unexpected changes and advancements that we have to get used to. As artists, we must be able to adapt to the market, not try to adapt the market to ourselves.
Based on this thinking, many would say that TikTok is a platform not for professional photographers. Furthermore, some say that TikTok is ruining photography and is generally something professional photographers should ignore. However, it is still a huge market where a lot of money is made. TikTok influencers and creators can utilize the platform according to their needs. That doesn’t mean photographers should become TikTokers and quit. Photographers should adapt their working style to modern media, knowing that media is crucial to any successful commercial photographer. Even small things like snapping squares on Instagram can help. I wouldn’t have an open Instagram if I weren’t a photographer. My personal account is primarily a way to quickly share personal memories with those closest to you.
I have done campaigns with the aim of being on social media. Therefore, the fact that social media changes should not discourage you. If anything, it should inspire you to delve deeper into social in order to provide the best images for your clients. For example, maybe Instagram prefers darker images to lighter ones? Or perhaps Instagram prefers black and white photos?
Stop thinking
Yes, Instagram is an evil thing. But it is a necessary evil, without which you cannot reach a good enough audience for your image. Sure, you can send out your portfolio to people every day, but at the same time, when an art director goes to the bathroom, they scroll through their feed. Your work must be on that feed. You must have Instagram, I must have Instagram. Even though we both hate it.
