Instagram for photographers: learn how to create a professional profile

Creating a professional Instagram profile for photographers can be a great way to showcase your work to a wider audience and attract potential clients to your website. Social media can be very useful when it comes to helping you attract clients and especially Instagram. This visual social network has become a fantastic showcase to showcase your best photos and for your ideal client prototype to discover your work.

If you want to know how to use Instagram for photographers as part of your client acquisition strategy, in today’s article we are going to explain everything you need to take into account to get this tool to help you attract more clients through the Internet.

 

 

Learn how to use Instagram for photographers and take advantage of all the visibility that this social network gives you to get new clients.

 

Instagram for photographers: find out all you need to know before creating your profile

 

Instagram for photographers has become a very important tool in marketing strategies. It allows photographers to showcase some of their work, connect with potential clients and build a community around their images. But before creating a professional profile, it is important that you take into account a series of aspects that will help you make the most of this social network, such as: choosing a username that reflects your style and speciality, maintaining a visual coherence in your gallery, etc. Every detail counts to make your profile a true showcase of your talent.

It is also important that you understand how to use the tools that Instagram puts at your disposal, such as Stories and Reels, learn how to use hashtags strategically to improve the visibility of your publications, maintain a proper publication routine and get your followers to interact with your publications in order to have a quality community.

With the right tips, Instagram for photographers can be more than just a showcase of images; it can become a powerful marketing tool to boost your career as a photographer.

Learn how to create an Instagram profile for photographers

 

Instagram for photographers is the future and the present and although at first, it may seem complicated to use this social network to find clients, if you know how to make the most of it, we are sure that it will help you to give much more visibility to the publications of your images.

Here we are going to explain why it is important to use a professional account and how you can set it up to get the most out of this social network that is so popular among photography professionals.

Create a professional Instagram profile

Moving from a personal to a professional Instagram account will be the first step you need to take to make your profile look like a stable business account, rather than the page of a photography hobbyist.

This could be one of the reasons why we recommend that you use a professional profile on this network, but there is an even more important reason, and that is that with a professional profile you will be able to carry out many more actions that will benefit your digital photography business than if you have a personal account.

Whether you’re going to use Instagram for organic reach or you plan to advertise online on the app, having a professional Instagram profile for photographers will give you access to a wide range of tools and features for businesses and will be the perfect way to humanise your brand.

>> Branding for photographers: learn how to build your own personal brand

Advantages of having a professional profile on Instagram

In this article we are going to explain all the utilities of the Instagram dashboard for professionals and we already tell you that, as its name suggests, all these benefits will only be available for professional Instagram profiles.

But first let’s share with you some more advantages if you use Instagram for professional photographers.

Instagram algorithm for photographers

Until relatively recently, Instagram’s algorithm only took into account the number of posts, i.e. timing. And it only valued the most recent posts. This has changed, now it takes into account engagement and interactions, comments and likes.

If you encourage your audience to interact you will achieve greater visibility, you can use Instagram stories to make polls or question rounds so that users are encouraged to interact more with this type of publications.

Increase engagement

On Instagram it is very easy to interact, which is why it is the social network where users generate the most engagement with brands. Whether through likes or comments, consumers are constantly looking for visual impact when it comes to interacting with their favourite brands. Take advantage of your Instagram business profile to use hashtags that help you generate more engagement.

Generate more traffic to your website

The professional Instagram profile will also help you to increase visibility, which translates into more traffic to your photography website and therefore a better organic ranking. As an idea you can share your blog posts. Either by sharing the link in your bio, in posts or in stories. This way, we are sure that new users will come to your website.

Create a closer and more human brand

The current trend is to share the most human side of a brand on social networks. In your case, you can achieve this by carrying out some of these actions:

• Publish part of your photo shoots.
• Make visible the before and after of certain images.
• Record the ‘making of’ some photographs.
• Etc.

The idea is that you make public everything that can make your audience feel some emotion and so that they also appreciate that you are real and approachable.

Get to know your audience

Instagram is also going to take your audience into account, so in the Explore tab, you can find data on what content generates the most engagement among your audience or what type of posts are of most interest to your audience.

The idea is that you have a better understanding of the tastes and interests of the people who interact with your brand so that you can then use this information to your advantage to create content that continues to interest users.

Online advertising

On Instagram for photographers you can also create a series of promotions for your photography services. Although these types of posts can help you reach more people interested in your photography, we recommend that you intersperse them with more personal posts.

Steps to set up your professional Instagram profile for photographers

 

Instagram continues to innovate for businesses, brands and content creators. So if you are a photographer and you want to use this social network to get more visibility, you will be interested to know how the Instagram dashboard for professional photographers works.

Here we are going to give you all the steps to turn your personal profile into a fully professional one:

• If you have not yet created an account, register on the site with an email address or telephone number.
• Once you have created it, look in the top right corner for 3 lines.
• Select “Settings and Privacy”.
• Go to “Account” and then choose the option “Switch to professional account”.
• Choose the category that best suits your speciality, in this case: photographer.
• You will then be asked for a phone number, email and location so that users who arrive at your profile will find a series of data to contact you.
• In this step you will also be able to link to your Facebook Fan Page.

By now you will have created your professional Instagram account, now you can make it even more professional by completing a series of fields that you have to take into account:

• Name of the profile.
• User name.
• Link to your photography website.
• Biography.
• Your profile picture.
• Story highlights.

Let us look at each of these in a little more detail.

Profile name

 

 instagram.com/arcadina

In the profile name is where you will be able to write the name of your brand. This field will allow you to use up to 30 characters, so you can include a keyword that makes it clear who you are and what you do.

For example, Arcadina | Wedding Photographers. The name field is included by Instagram in searches, so adding a keyword will increase your visibility.

User name

 

The username can be different from the profile name. In this field you will have to create your Instagram identity and it will be part of the URL of your profile. It is important that the username you choose for Instagram is unified with that of the rest of your company’s social networks and more specifically with the one you use on X (Twitter) or Facebook, as the format will be the same (@name). This detail will be essential for users to quickly identify you on any other social network.

>> Discover the best names for photography studios thanks to creative naming

Include a link to your photography website

 

Instagram will give you the possibility to place a link so that it is visible in your biography. This will be the only link on Instagram that will work if the user clicks on it.

You can modify this link as many times as you want, so it is very useful to include information that is more up to date, for example: a temporary photo shoot, a new blog post or an offer you have just launched.

Add information about your biography

 

Your biography is going to be the first thing your visitors are going to see when they enter your Instagram profile for photographers, so it is important that it explains in very few words who you are, what you do and what your speciality is. In this short explanation you won’t be able to go on for long (maximum 160 characters), so be brief, precise and don’t forget to include a link to your website or blog so that your potential clients can access a place where they can find more information about your services and get in touch with you.

As an idea, you can use emojis 😆 to make the biography more visual and to emphasise some services.

Take care of your profile picture

 

For this important section, you can choose a photo of yourself or your main work. Another idea is that if you have a company logo like us, it is a very good idea to add it to the profile picture of your social networks to get that unity in all your social profiles that we were talking about before.

Story Highlights

 

Highlights are a kind of very visual folders with a header photo that will appear just below your biography and will make your profile much more eye-catching.

The highlights will give you the possibility to transmit your brand image beyond the logo or the profile images. You can include several highlights with different themes: sessions, news, articles, ideas, tips, personal branding, etc.

Extra tips to improve your Instagram profile for photographers

In addition to all the recommendations we have given you in the previous section to set up your professional Instagram profile for photographers in a more refined way, you can still do some more actions to improve it. Here we are going to give you some extra tips that you can follow to improve your posts on this booming social network.

1# Publish high-quality images that are aligned with your brand identity

The quality and consistency of your posts is key to gaining a loyal and engaged audience. Therefore, ideally, you should only upload your best photos so that visitors can immediately see your level and professionalism. In addition, these posts need to be aligned with your brand identity, so it is important that you try to maintain visual consistency in your gallery. This includes using similar colours, specific filters or a particular editing style.

It is also important to think about your target audience. If, for example, you are mainly a wedding photographer and during the communion season you also do some of these sessions more sporadically, it is ideal that you focus on publishing posts about your main service, although it does not mean that, before the communion period arrives, you can launch a post that is related to this other theme.

2# Use the best time to publish your posts

It is important that you research your audience to find out what are the best times to publish your photos and posts on Instagram. There are all kinds of studies on the best times for each social network, but as we said a moment ago, the ideal and most effective thing to do is to know your audience very well to know for sure at what times they will be most active on the networks.

Knowing this type of data will increase the likelihood that they will see your new publications and, therefore, that your list of followers will grow and eventually end up consulting your services through your photography website.

>> A photographer’s ideal client: what do you need to know to find them?

3# Plan the periodicity of your network posts

We know that you have many fronts open in your photography business: attending to clients, preparing temporary reports, doing photo shoots, dedicating time to your website and blog, posting on social networks, etc. But if you manage to organise your time and post regularly on Instagram for photographers, you’ll manage to keep your audience interested and you won’t lose followers.

It is true that you don’t have to saturate them with too many posts, nor bore them. The best thing to do is to publish constant and regular posts of a certain quality. If you have several photographs, it is more advisable to publish them in doses instead of posting them all at the same time.

You can also use Instagram stories and use them several times a day. In contrast to posts, here you can feel more free to show any kind of news.

4# Create content that brings value to your followers

The most important thing when creating Instagram posts is to provide quality visual content to show that you are good at your job. We recommend that you don’t use Instagram filters for your work photos, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use them when posting casual, every day, more casual photos.

It is also important that these images provide value to your audience, whether it is by answering a question, showing a service that might be of interest to them or sharing an important moment in your professional career.

5# Harness the influence of hashtags

In addition to the quality of the photographs, it is important that you describe well the style of photography you do and here hashtags come into play, as they are the easiest way for new followers to find you on the network. Keep in mind that these tags have to be related to the photograph, but you can also use tags that are popular on the social network or that are in fashion at a specific moment.

Research the most popular hashtags in your niche, such as #photographer, #photography, #weddingphotographer, or hashtags that are specific to your city. You can also create your own hashtags, such as one with your name or business name, to make it easier for people to find all your posts.

When using hashtags, it is best to use between 5 and 15 hashtags per post. You can combine the most popular ones and other more specific ones to reach different audiences.

6# Harness the power of Instagram Stories and Reels

When it comes to creating publications on this social network you will have several options:

• Stories: use them to show the behind the scenes of your sessions, give a glimpse of your techniques, or share client testimonials. Stories are perfect for showing your day-to-day life in a more casual and personal way.
  • Reels: this is a great tool to reach more people. Create short videos showing your shoots, the editing process, before and after photos, etc. This can help you highlight your expertise and creativity.

7# Encourage your followers to interact

Think that Instagram for photographers is a big community and if you participate in it actively, you will probably get more and more followers. That’s why it’s important that users follow you, like your photos and comment on them. But it is also very valuable that you also follow and comment on your own posts.

If you receive comments on your photos, it is very important that you reply to them, even if it is simply by thanking them for the gesture. It is also advisable to reward and encourage your followers, for example, by inviting them to events, with exclusive discounts if they share your posts.

Another very interesting idea that you can put into practice is to collaborate with other photographers or brands that are related to photography (such as suppliers, collaborators, professionals from other sectors with whom you have worked, etc.). This can give you more visibility and open up new opportunities.

In addition, if you use Instagram’s Insight feature, which is only available on professional accounts, you’ll be able to analyse what type of content works best, what are the ideal times to post, and other interesting demographics of your audience.

8# Share your Instagram profile

Once you have all your Instagram profile information set up and you have started uploading content, a good idea to give it more visibility is to share this profile on other social networks you already have active, such as Facebook, X, LinkedIn, and also on your website or business cards.

Another way to give your profile more visibility for free is by participating in Facebook groups or related forums. In these spaces you will be able to share your Instagram posts organically to attract people who may be interested in your work. In these cases, we recommend that before advertising your services, you ask the administrators for permission so that no misunderstandings arise later.

9# Instagram dashboard for professionals

The main objective of the Instagram dashboard for professionals is to follow the performance of Instagram accounts, access and discover professional tools and explore educational information selected by the network.

This functionality has arisen due to the increase in sales on the main social networks, such as Instagram and Facebook, and as we said at the beginning of this post, it is only available for business accounts and content creators.

Instagram has long since launched badges, the Instagram Store, Instagram Paid and other content tools for brands, and they are now focused on helping content creators and small businesses with these types of tools.

10# Instagram Ads for photographers

One of the features of Instagram for photographers that will help you get more visibility is the ability to make customised ads in different formats. By optimising the reach and frequency of your ads, you’ll be able to predict and manage the number of people your post will reach and how often your ads will be shown.

Instagram Ads is arguably the platform that generates the highest ROI (return on investment). The ads are based on images or videos, i.e. multimedia content. In this way, brands can publish different types of ads to promote their products or services in a segmented way for a much lower amount than what we can see on other platforms or social networks.

Steps to using Instagram Ads

The first thing you need to do is to link your Instagram account with your Facebook account in order to start advertising. If you are a Facebook user and are familiar with Facebook Ads campaigns, this will be a piece of cake for you. If not, here are the steps you need to follow to start promoting your posts on Instagram for photographers.

• Within Facebook’s ad manager click on “create ad” and select an objective for your campaign. Note that some of these aren’t available for Instagram yet, but they’re pretty obvious, so you should have no problem identifying them.
• Define audience segmentation by: age, location or by interests.
• Select the budget and choose between the total or daily option. You will also have to define the time you want to show the ad and the location. In this last section you will have to select the “Instagram” option.

At this point you will only have to configure your ad, and you can choose a publication that you already have in your Instagram feed or create a new one. After choosing all the characteristics of your ad and having filled in the copy and the destination URL, all you have to do is confirm, and that’s it! Your Instagram ad is now created.

Once you have started running your first ads and after you have analysed the first results, you can optimise your next campaigns.

Arcadina is also on Instagram

 

In case you still don’t follow us on social media, you can find our Arcadina brand on Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Pinterest, X, Threads and linkedin.

If you take a look at our Instagram posts, you’ll be able to keep up to date with the latest news from our blog, meet great photographers who rely on our business solutions and see some of their work.

If you want, you can try our services for free for 14 days and connect the content of your website with your most important social networks.

 

Set up Instagram for photographers and give your business more visibility

As you can see Instagram for photographers can help you create a much closer brand image, it will allow you to show your best work and, most importantly of all. You will be able to create a bond of trust with your potential clients that will become the first step for them to visit your photography website and, consequently, finally become your clients.

In addition to Instagram for photographers here is more information about which social networks are ideal for photographers.

>> Social networks for photographers: everything you need to know about them

If in addition to creating a brand image on social media, you need a space that is 100% yours where you can: showcase many other works, explain your services, tell your story and continue doing business. We encourage you to try our business solutions specifically for photographers. They are free for 14 days and have no ongoing costs.

 

Before we say goodbye, we would like to share with you the interview with photographer Cristian Soto.

>> ‘Arcadina has everything an image professional needs’, Cristian Soto

And to say goodbye, here’s today’s question: do you use Instagram for photographers professionally or do you only interact on this network on a more personal level? We’ll read you in the comments.

 

Arcadina goes with you

Fulfil your dreams and develop your career with us. We offer you to try our web service free for 14 days. And with no commitment of permanence.

Arcadina is much more than a website, it is business solutions for photographers.

If you have any queries, our Customer Service Team is always ready to help you 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. We listen to you.