# Instagram kind of sucks.



## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

I spend so much time on Instagram because I'm trying to get more followers and likes. I have to post certain photos, certain editing style, certain times of the day, certain hashtags and follow trends. It's an incredible amount of work to just get 15+ followers and then to only have them all unfollow you within minutes if you don't follow them back and it makes you depressed because you've spent hours doing it all that work.

I loose probably and hour or two a night of sleep because I have to stay up and do my "Instagram work" around 11pm - midnight because that is when my account apparently gets the most interaction.

Recently I had a follower comment on a photo of mine and they said they will unfollow me if I don't share my camera settings. I'm like what the heck? Seriously? Now you get threats of unfollow if you don't conform to them?

I hate it. This is not the way it should be. But that's the way it is on Instagram if you want to get any kind of exposure on that social media platform.

The thing is, you can't compete with a billion other users who have thousands upon thousands of followers which are probably not even real people to begin with anyways because more than half of them are probably bots & paid followers.

If you really think about it, Instagram isn't a photography app anymore. It's a lifestyle app. People's Instagram accounts are highlight reels in which portrays them as having an amazing life but they probably are having the same problems with life we all experience. It's just a persona.

So I thought about just deleting my account and moving on with my life but I was reluctant, why? Even though I don't have many followers or get many likes on my photos, I have connected with a handful of awesome other photographers and people who I have similar interests with whom I'd never would've met if it wasn't for Instagram.

Which leads me to another point. It should never be about quantity, but quality. I'm not saying necessarily quality work, because we all can't produce National Geographic quality work every day but what I'm saying is finding people to connect with who inspire each other and communicate frequently with is so much more important than getting that extra like or follower who will probably just unfollow you anyways.

What are your thoughts on Instagram? I don't what to do whether or not I should abandoned it or  continue to use the platform but not participate in so called Instagram mafia?

Yes, it was kind of a rant, but I felt like getting it off my chest since it's been on my mind for a while. It's just weird because I don't have this same feeling with Flickr or Facebook. Instagram is a whole different world of people.


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## Destin (Sep 25, 2017)

I use Instagram but I don’t really care how many followers I have. I don’t put that much thought into it.. just another fun way to share my images. 

In reality I use Instagram more to get inspiration and to find new photo locations than anything.


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## Braineack (Sep 25, 2017)

you just figured it out?


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## tirediron (Sep 25, 2017)

nerwin said:


> ...What are your thoughts on Instagram? ...


I don't have any.  I don't even have an account on Instagram.  I maintain a minimal social media presence via facebook and that is it.  The whole concept bores me to tears, and even though I put comparatively little time into it (<5 min/day) I see zero return on investment.  WHY do you really care who's following you?  Are they likely to be a client?


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## snowbear (Sep 25, 2017)

Had it, didn't use it, deleted it.


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## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

Braineack said:


> you just figured it out?



I knew. Just didn't wanna believe it.



tirediron said:


> nerwin said:
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> 
> > ...What are your thoughts on Instagram? ...
> ...



I blame it on dopamine. I guess the reason why I care so much is the fact that I put so much time into it and just don't get anything in return. Also it makes me feel like my work just isn't good enough which is fine because it pushes me to be better but I just don't think ACTUAL photography is a thing anymore on Instagram, it's just all marketing and I feel like I'm left out because I'm not cool as the other people. I'm not allowed at the cool kids table. It's pretty much high school all over again, lol.


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## Tomasko (Sep 25, 2017)

nerwin said:


> ACTUAL photography is a thing anymore on Instagram, it's just all marketing


Wait, when this wasn't the case? It's almost like to believe Facebook was created to bring people closer to each other...


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## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

Tomasko said:


> nerwin said:
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> > ACTUAL photography is a thing anymore on Instagram, it's just all marketing
> ...



Well what it was created for and what people use it for are two different things.


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## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

I suppose I made a mistake posting this. Just having a bad day and Instagram BS pushed me over.


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## SquarePeg (Sep 25, 2017)

What is your end goal with Insta?


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## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

SquarePeg said:


> What is your end goal with Insta?



Don't know. Billion followers, people buying me houses and cars.

I can wish right?

Just taking it day by day, but it's getting too much for me. I really wanna focus on my photography instead but it's hard to avoid social media sometimes, it's always in our face.


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## Derrel (Sep 25, 2017)

nerwin said:
			
		

> I guess the reason why I care so much is the fact that I put so much time into it and just don't get anything in return. Also it makes me feel like my work just isn't good enough which is fine because it pushes me to be better but I just don't think ACTUAL photography is a thing anymore on Instagram, it's just all marketing and I feel like I'm left out because I'm not cool as the other people. I'm not allowed at the cool kids table. It's pretty much high school all over again, lol.




Wellll, then, FFS, just STOP! posting to IG. Or spend your time and effort on a new hobby, like onanism.


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## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

Just delete this stupid thread. I give up.


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## dxqcanada (Sep 25, 2017)

Umm, what's an Instagram ? Honest ... I have never paid attention to a lot of these things ... and Pinterest ?


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## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

dxqcanada said:


> Umm, what's an Instagram ? Honest ... I have never paid attention to a lot of these things ... and Pinterest ?



I never understood Pinterest.


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## Braineack (Sep 25, 2017)

I've asked clients to setup a pintrest board with pictures they like, so I get an idea of what they are after with a shoot.


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## nerwin (Sep 25, 2017)

Braineack said:


> I've asked clients to setup a pintrest board with pictures they like, so I get an idea of what they are after with a shoot.



Thats a pretty good idea.


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## vintagesnaps (Sep 25, 2017)

To me it never was about photography, really. It seemed like it was about sharing 'fun' pictures with filters to make them look like, well, I don't know what exactly! lol I say fun because it seemed like it was just for people to post pictures of whatever stuff they ate or saw or whatever... just daily run of the mill stuff. 

I heard people starting selling stuff on there. 

I looked at it, then as usual I had to go and look at the Terms... so that was it, I never set up an account, I'm not putting my hard work on that site on their terms, and it looked mediocre at best to me anyway. I see a photo occasionally that's a friend (someone I actually know in real life) who posted it just for fun and put it on their Facebook (or Twitter) too where I saw it. 

Can't you connect with the people you actually like and have gotten to know in other ways? like friend each other on Facebook or something? It's ridiculous for people to get mad if you don't friend them back or don't give your camera settings (honestly, who does that kind of thing??). I don't think you need people like that in your life. Let them go be miserable on their own.


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## Cody'sCaptures (Sep 26, 2017)

For what's it's worth, I like your work. Pretty much everything I've seen you post. What's your handle?I'll follow you. 

Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk


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## nerwin (Sep 26, 2017)

Derrel said:


> nerwin said:
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I'm single. So go figure.


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## nerwin (Sep 26, 2017)

Cody'sCaptures said:


> For what's it's worth, I like your work. Pretty much everything I've seen you post. What's your handle?I'll follow you.
> 
> Sent from my SM-G920T using Tapatalk



Thanks. 

It's just Instagram seems to take a lot out of me because you gotta post certain times, use special hashtags and you gotta like and comment on other people's photos. It's a lot of work when you have other things you wanna do. It does take a lot of time. Is it worth it? I really don't know.


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## waday (Sep 26, 2017)

nerwin said:


> If you really think about it, Instagram isn't a photography app anymore. It's a lifestyle app


IG has always been for social media. Always. I don't think I've ever considered it to be for photographers, except those who want to advertise and make money off of number of followers.

FWIW, and absolutely no offense meant with this because my IG account is the exact same way, but our IG accounts don't lend themselves well to increasing followers. We have a variety of photos, different processing styles for each photo, and we post what WE like. Whether its a car, mountain, chipmunk, those are three distinct categories, of which you could have three different IG accounts.

I have a friend who is a very big food Instagrammer/food blogger. She regularly gets 1000+ likes per photo, nearly 50K followers, etc. She posts the same types of shots, from the same angles, with the same lighting, of mostly the same type of food.

She's constantly following the changing hashtags, she tags lots of restaurants, and other food IG accounts.

If you're in it for companies to give you free stuff, you'll need to get famous fast. 

Otherwise, it's a rat race you won't win.

I was ecstatic when Canon shared my one photo. All that brought me was feelings of being a decent-enough photographer. I didn't see a bump in followers or likes. I didn't see any new (free) gear. Just free emotions.


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## nerwin (Sep 26, 2017)

waday said:


> nerwin said:
> 
> 
> > If you really think about it, Instagram isn't a photography app anymore. It's a lifestyle app
> ...



You make a good point, we do use our Instagram accounts different and that's okay. I'd get bored posting landscapes all the time, I like to post what I want as well. I'm thinking about doing something else and using it as another way to view my photos and I'm probably just going to share my best work on it or atleast what I think is my _best_ work. If people wanna follow me, cool..if not..so be it. I don't generally follow people who post the same exact photos everyday, I like to see different stuff. 

Today I was browsing my IG account and went all the way from the beginning and I've actually noticed how much I improved over the years. So that gave me a bit of motivation to just keep on going. 

However, I don't plan on posting photos all the the time. I usually posted 1-2 photos a day and it was just hard to keep up. I've also followed many accounts and what's the point when you can't see them all? So I culled through them and unfollowed people who I have no interest in, accounts that post 10 photos in a row and abandoned accounts. I should follow WHO I WANT and not people who ask me to follow so they can follow me. 

It's my IG account at the end of the day, I'm going to do what I please!


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## benhasajeep (Oct 1, 2017)

Are you getting refferals from Instagram?  Getting paid work from Instagram?  If not it sounds to me like Instagram is using its users by mandating so much "work" to be done.  It gurantees them so many hits, so THEY can collect advertising money.  If your not getting anything in return but  "kudos" and self satisfaction.  I think you need a new social media provider!  It's like a simple business accounting sheet.  Do you get a return that is more than your investment?  If you don't, you need to cut ties!  You will be in the red and stay in the red!


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## OGsPhotography (Oct 1, 2017)

I like IG for the chronicling effect it had. I mostly only post gardening/ food type and it evolves over time which IG is good for. 

If I was to start posting more lifestlye, baby girl photos, like the ones I post here for critique, I would start another account as it wiuld be contrary to the garden/ food stuff.

Hope that helps a bit. I've went to conferences sith talks aboht sociL medi and its all a big racket really. Do what makes you happy. Take a break if your lising sleep ovdt it. It'll still be there tomorrow.


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## nerwin (Oct 2, 2017)

It's disheartening. 

Because you see other photographers or "popular" Instagram users get thousands of likes on a photo that is mediocre and you can post a photo that is outstanding and completely blows away that popular person's photo and you only get 10-15 likes. That user could probably post a pile of dog poop and get thousands of likes.

It isn't fair..you know? But social media is NEVER fair.


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## waday (Oct 2, 2017)

nerwin said:


> It isn't fair..you know? But social media is NEVER fair.


Since when did things have to be "fair" in social media? If IG had to be fair, wouldn't we each have to see every single person's photo that got posted? No, we only see who we follow.

You're assuming: (1) Instagram was developed for professional photographers, (2) Instagram is a level playing field, and (3) people are liking the photo's quality.

(1) It's a social media company. It's never been anything but that, except for professional photogs who use it as an additional advertising method.
(2) The more famous or well-known you are, the more people follow you, thus the more likes your photos get. That just makes sense, because their image is in front of more people than your image. See #1--it's a social media company.
(3) People are probably liking the content of the photo more than the image quality. I like my friends' photos, because I like my friends. What they're posting is relevant to them, and I support them. There is no image quality standard set, at least not for me. If they post a tilted photo that cut off part of their head while they're in Greece overlooking an amazing landscape with a blown out sky, I'm going to like it. See #1--it's a social media company.


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## nerwin (Oct 2, 2017)

I give up, I don't wanna pursue this conversation anylonger.


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## fmw (Oct 4, 2017)

nerwin said:


> I spend so much time on Instagram because I'm trying to get more followers and likes. I have to post certain photos, certain editing style, certain times of the day, certain hashtags and follow trends. It's an incredible amount of work to just get 15+ followers and then to only have them all unfollow you within minutes if you don't follow them back and it makes you depressed because you've spent hours doing it all that work.
> 
> I loose probably and hour or two a night of sleep because I have to stay up and do my "Instagram work" around 11pm - midnight because that is when my account apparently gets the most interaction.
> 
> ...


I think social media in general does more harm than good for society.   I think you should unfollow Instagram.


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## nerwin (Oct 4, 2017)

fmw said:


> I think social media in general does more harm than good for society. I think you should unfollow Instagram.



I think I should unfollow the world.


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## vintagesnaps (Oct 4, 2017)

Or, be more choosy and follow who and what you want, and the rest of the social media world can go blow! lol 

There was once an incident locally and when I first looked at the social media page for that place/organization, I was shocked. It had the most nasty hateful crude rude comments imaginable. People even went after a day care because they had an employee who inadvertently had been involved in the incident - there's no excuse to go after a place like a day care (who had to delete their social media page it was so bad). I was at first stunned and then disgusted and stayed the heck off anything like that.


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## Braineack (Oct 4, 2017)

nerwin said:


> I think I should unfollow the world.


youre such a Debbie downer.


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## nerwin (Oct 4, 2017)

Braineack said:


> nerwin said:
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> ...


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## benhasajeep (Oct 4, 2017)

I never understood facebook or instagram or twitter.  I did facebook for about 2 weeks and realized it was a huge waste of time.  Some of the things people posted were just mundane daily things of no real importance even to the original poster.  And yet if you have a houndred friends posting similar.  You would never get off the computer.  Everyone says it's great for "networking" but how do you filter through the "mudane" (bul# #hit)!


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## Vtec44 (Oct 4, 2017)

I stopped comparing myself to others and just focus on doing my best work.


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## nerwin (Oct 4, 2017)

benhasajeep said:


> I never understood facebook or instagram or twitter.  I did facebook for about 2 weeks and realized it was a huge waste of time.  Some of the things people posted were just mundane daily things of no real importance even to the original poster.  And yet if you have a houndred friends posting similar.  You would never get off the computer.  Everyone says it's great for "networking" but how do you filter through the "mudane" (bul# #hit)!



I'm a bad person because I unfollow just about everyone on Facebook so I don't see their BS..including family. I basically only see photography related things or family/friends who post meaningful things.

I actually left Facebook for over a year and it was the best thing. I came back and was no longer addicted to it. I just use it to share my photos and important moments in my life (which is not much lol).


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## nerwin (Oct 4, 2017)

Vtec44 said:


> I stopped comparing myself to others and just focus on doing my best work.



But we live in comparative society. lol


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## Vtec44 (Oct 4, 2017)

nerwin said:


> Vtec44 said:
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> > I stopped comparing myself to others and just focus on doing my best work.
> ...



Then you should let your work speaks for itself.    In my case, the true test is getting people to actually PAY for me and not just like my photos.


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## benhasajeep (Oct 4, 2017)

nerwin said:


> benhasajeep said:
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> > I never understood facebook or instagram or twitter.  I did facebook for about 2 weeks and realized it was a huge waste of time.  Some of the things people posted were just mundane daily things of no real importance even to the original poster.  And yet if you have a houndred friends posting similar.  You would never get off the computer.  Everyone says it's great for "networking" but how do you filter through the "mudane" (bul# #hit)!
> ...


I was never one to talk on the phone a lot.  I blame my sister for it.  You would have thought the reciever was glued to her head.  Finally by the time she hit high school they actually got a 2nd phone line.  Her biggest punishement was grounded off the phone.  .  I don't put up with gossip either.  My mom will start on the phone and start gossiping and I will go, hey mom I have to go.  And she will say "oh, am I gossiping, ok honey, love you bye".  So, I even kick my mom off.  Not sure if I am a bad son for that or not.


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## nerwin (Oct 4, 2017)

benhasajeep said:


> nerwin said:
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Sounds exactly like my mom and grandmother. Hahahah!


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## Braineack (Oct 4, 2017)

Vtec44 said:


> nerwin said:
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## nerwin (Oct 4, 2017)

Braineack said:


> Vtec44 said:
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That was a good episode haha.


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## birdbonkers84 (Oct 5, 2017)

I've only been on IG for around a year, but only really started posting on it maybe less than 6 months ago.  My biggest gripe are people that only follow you to get followed back lol.

I follow people that post material that I'm interested in, I follow quite a few artist, because that is my background, I follow 3d modellers, Design companies, wildlife photographers, people I went to school with that have interesting lives or live abroad, landscape photographers, Sports photographers.  The list goes on.  I keep it relevant to me.

I treat IG as just another way to get my photos seen or speak to people about the subjects we have in common.


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## gckless (Nov 3, 2017)

IG can be a great way to get new people interested in you through others. For example, I used to shoot racing/drifting, and a lot of the people following me on IG and Facebook are from that. I've gotten a few sales that way too. That's harder to do with other genres, I will admit. I also agree that I primarily go for inspiration. I follow all sorts of photogs, much like Flickr.

It has some frustrating things about it, but there's not many easier or cheaper ways to market yourself than spending an hour tapping your phone's screen.


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