For years, photographers old and new would enjoy sharing their favorite work across social media sites such as Instagram. Sharing your images was fun and would create conversation, engagement, and perhaps sales. Nowadays, the situation has changed.

I, like many others, have enjoyed sharing my photography on social media. Instagram has usually been my go-to, and for a long time, engagement was great. I would receive many new followers, comments, and likes. The feeling was amazing, as I felt my name was getting out there and I was receiving lots of inquiries and photography jobs. As time has gone by and the algorithms have changed, my engagement has dropped massively, the jobs from social media have declined and I was left wondering: what’s the point?

Instead of worthwhile comments providing me with valuable critique of my images and inquiries, now, I receive comments such as “cool tones bro” or countless comments from bots saying “DM me to be featured on such and such.” The number of accounts my images reach has fallen drastically, direct messages are now mostly spam, and the likes are almost nonexistent. These issues are not just experienced by myself, but many others that I talk to.

Platforms such as Instagram have changed so much that their preference is now for products such as Reels where scantily clad women try to attract you to their Onlyfans or useless financial advice from non experts about how you can make a million dollars in a year by investing $1 a month!

Social media has become so dangerous that it could destroy your self-esteem. For the vast majority of photographers out there trying to make a name for themselves using social media, the chances of being discovered are highly unlikely, even if your work is original and amazing. You can post the most amazing photo and perhaps only receive 20 likes, and this can leave you feeling invalidated, questioning your own ability, or worrying about where your next photography work is going to come from. 

Some photographers rely so much on social media engagement to find work. They want to run workshops and sell presets for Lightroom, prints, and other products. If the algorithm no longer supports them, they can lose so much in the long run and will have to find other ways to market themselves and diversify their options.

There is the option to promote your images, but is this really worthwhile now? Unless you can afford a large budget, for most, I would say this is best avoided. 

Did you become a photographer just to become famous? I don’t think so. You became a photographer because you enjoy art, you enjoy being out in nature or working with different people, trying to create something beautiful. What you create is for you and your clients, and anything else is on top is a bonus.

For those looking for more photography work via it, it might be time to look at additional ways of marketing yourself outside of social media, and I wish everyone the very best of luck, as it’s tough out there.