After spending countless and long nights editing in LightRoom, you’re finally ready for your content to be discovered. Instagram is a marketing gold mine for businesses and it’s an opportunity that many photographers are taking advantage of. In order for your content to be discovered by your target audience, the use of hashtags is a must! Ready to dive into the world of Instagram hashtags for photographers? Let’s get started!
How do hashtags work?
Picture this: you walk into a library looking for a romance book. What would happen if the books weren’t organized by genre? It would be extremely difficult—and exhausting—to find all the romance book options the library has to offer. Libraries organize books by genre to make your search easier, helping you find the type of book you’re interested in.
Similarly, Instagram organizes content by grouping hashtags into categories to facilitate content discovery. When you use hashtags, you’re instantly exposing your content to new audiences that might be interested in the content you’re sharing!
How can hashtags help your photography business?
Let’s say you’re a wedding photographer targeting engaged couples. You share a post using the hashtag #weddingphotographer. Engaged couples looking to hire a wedding photographer might search for this hashtag and discover your content. Because of this, it’s also important to use location hashtags to target people in your area.
For example, if you’re a wedding photographer in Arizona, some ideal hashtags to include are: #azweddingphotographer, #azweddingphotographers, #arizonaweddingphotographer, etc.
Other important hashtags to include are the ones related to your photography style or the type of work you do: #azluxurywedding, #destinationphotographer, #intimateweddingphotographer, #destinationweddingphotographers, #wanderingwedding, #bohowedding, etc.
There’s a limit of 30 hashtags per post, but it’s important to choose wisely. Keep in mind that it’s all about finding not only the best Instagram hashtags for photographers but also the best hashtags for YOUR business!
General Hashtag Tips
Hashtags are pretty simple, but there are a few tips that will make your hashtag search and use easier:
- Focus on Instagram hashtags for photographers with under 500,000 posts. If you use a hashtag with over a million posts, the chances of your post getting discovered are pretty low, and these hashtags are also targeted by bots. The goal is to remain in a hashtag feed as long as possible to reach a targeted—and real—audience.
- Use a variety of hashtag types and sizes to cover locals as well as to maximize your reach. Targeting shouldn’t be too vague, but it shouldn’t be too specific either. Although it’s best to focus on niche hashtags, experimenting with bigger hashtags can increase the chances of your content getting discovered as long as the hashtag is relevant to your post. If the hashtag is relevant, you will receive quality engagement in return!
- Get some inspiration by checking out other photographers with a strong engagement on Instagram. What hashtags are they using? Do they apply to your audience?
- When it comes to finding new hashtags, Instagram autocomplete search is your best friend! Start by typing the keyword you wish to explore and Instagram will take care of the rest.
- Once you find a strong and good-size hashtag, scroll on the hashtag feed to make sure it’s relevant and appropriate content.
- There’s a limit of 30 hashtags per post and a limit of 10 for stories, but the recommended amount is 11 per post and 5 for stories.
- Don’t use the same set of Instagram hashtags for photographers on every post. It’s recommended to change it up in order to prevent a shadowban.
- Don’t make up your own hashtags, unless it’s for branding purposes. If you make up your own hashtag such as #bestphotographerinarizona, you might be the only person seeing that content.
- Remember to set your profile to public! If your profile is private, your posts will only be seen by your current followers, even if you use hashtags.
Now that we’ve reviewed the main hashtag do’s and don’ts, let’s dive into the ultimate guide of Instagram hashtags for photographers!
Instagram Hashtags For Photographers
Architectural
#architecturalphotography #archi #architecture #architecturelovers #archilovers #architektur #architecturaldesign #architecturedesign #archdesign #architectural #architectureporn #architexture #architecturephoto #archilife #archigram #archidesign #archilover #architecturelover
Black And White
#blackandwhitephotography #blackandwhiteportrait #blackandwhite_photos #blackandwhite_photography #blackandwhitephotographylovers #blackandwhitephoto #blackandwhitephotographyoftheday #blackandwhiteisworththefight #blackandwhitephotographer #blackandwhitephotograph #bnw_shot #bnw_planet #bnw_planet_2019 #bnw_diamond #bwstylesgf #bnw_one #bnw_world #bnw_lovers #bnw_color #bw_divine #amateurs_bnw #top_bnw #bnw_of_our_world #bnw_life_shots #bnw_minimal #bnw_sniper #bnw_shot
Equipment (Type of Camera) & Software
#canon_photos #nikonnofilter #vscofilter #vscoedit #vscocam #vsco #canonphotography #canon80d #canon80d #canon6d #canon6dmarkii #canont6 #canonrebelt6 #canon5dmarkiv #canon650d #canon_photos #canon550d #canon_camera #canonusa #nikon #nikond750 #nikond3400 #nikond5600 #nikonphotography #nikonphoto #nikon_photo #nikonistas #canoneos #canonrebel #canonphotos #teamnikon #teamcanon
Events
#eventphotography #eventphotographer #djphotography #concertphotography #concertphotographer #musicphotography #livephotography #stagephotography #concertphoto #livephotography #livemusicphotography #bandphotographer #concertphotos #liveconcertphotography #festivalphotography #festivalphotographer
Family/Maternity/Kids
#pixel_kids #lookslikefilmkids #magicofchildhood #clickinmoms #dearphotographer #galleryoflightfeature #cameramama #dearestviewfinder #thesincerestoryteller #candidchildhood #momtogs #jj_its_kids #shared_joy #childhoodpure #hellostoryteller #theeverydayportrait #dpmagfaves #cpcfeature #documentyourdays #pixel_kids #childrenseemagic #purelyauthenticchildhood #stunningbabies #atdiff_kids #letthembelittle
#maternityphotography #maternityshoot #pregnancyphotoshoot #pregnancyphoto #pregnancyphotos #pregnancyshoot
Fashion & Models
#fashionphotography #fashionphotographychannel #fashionphotographyoftheday #fashionphotographyeditorial #fashionphotographyappreciation #fashionphoto #fashionphotoshoot #fashionphotographer #fashionphotograph #profile_vision #editorialphotography #editorialshoot #editorialstyle #editorialwork #editorialbeauty #beautyshoot #ftmedd #bravogreatphoto #bleachmyfilm #musephoto #humansmagazine #featuremeseas
Food
#foodphotography #foodphotographyprops #foodphotographyandstyling #flatlaystyle #flatlays #flatlayoftheday #vzcomade #food_vsco #foodblogfeed #foodie #foodiesofinstagram #foodies #foodie_features #foodiefeature #foodfluffer #feedfeed #healthyish #theeverygirlcooks #tablesituation #eatcolorful #savorthejourney #gatherandfeast #mycommontable #myopenkitchen #heresmyfood
Lifestyle
#lifestylefamilyphotography #lifestylephotographer #lifestyleportraits #lifestylephoto #lifestyleblogger #lifestylephotography#lifestyleshoot #lifestylesession #lifestyleinspo #lifestyleblog #lifestylebloggers #lifestyleblogs #lifestylephotos
Nature
#naturephotography #naturephotograph #naturephotographer #naturephotographers #earthpix #earthofficial #visualsoflife #nightimages #camp4pix #theearthoutdoors #folkmagazine #wildernessculture #natgeo #earthpics #discoverearth #naturephotographs #nakedplanet #naturephotographyday #naturephotographylover #ourplanetdaily #naturephotographychallenge #awesome_earthpix #nature_wizards #naturephoto #theworldshotz #arthfocus #earthfocus
Photography- General
#fotograf #thevisualcollective #watchthisinstagood #feedbacknation #artofvisuals #alphacollective #agameoftones #folkscenery #awesome_photographers #complexphotos #lensbible #justgoshoot #photographysouls #flashesofdelight #featurepalette #peoplescreative #photographylovers #shootandshare #bloggerphotographer #lookslikefilm #nothingisordinary_ #stunning_shots #clickpro #wanderinginfilm #moodygrams #creativesontherise #photographie #fromabove #gramslayers #artofvisuals #fatalframes
Portrait
#portraitphotography #pursuitofportraits #postthepeople #discoverportrait #thebloomforum #portraitmood #lifestylephotography #portraitcentral #quietthechaos #featuremeofh #makeportraits #portraits_mf #theportraitpr0ject #kdpeoplegallery
Sports
#sportsphotography #sportsphoto #baseballphotography #canonsports #sportphoto #basketballphotography #soccerphotography #tennisphotography #baseballphotography #sportphotographer #vscosport #sportpic #canonsportsphotography #sportsshooter #handballworld #handballphoto #actionshot #gettysport
Travel
#voyaged #createexplore #exploretocreate #exploretheglobe #stayandwander #theglobewanderer #natgeotravel #globe_travel #roamtheplanet #tlpicks #exploremore #adventurephotography #wanderingphotographers #travelphotography #travelphoto #travelstoke #discoverearth #travelphotographyoftheday #travelblogging #borntotravel #travelworld #worldtravelpics #mytravelgram #traveladdicts #globetrotting #optoutside #roamearth #traveltheglobe #worldshotz #getlost #shesnotlost #travelcaptures #roamnation #travelpassion #instapassport #passportlife #travelblog #travelblogger #travelblogging #travelbloggers #travelblogs #instatraveling #instatravelingram #igtravel #travelingram
Wedding/Bridal
#bridalinspiration #bridalshoot #styledweddingshoot #weddingstyle #engagementphotos #photobugcommunity #engagementphotographer #ocphotographer #adventurebrides #adventurewedding #wanderingweddings #authenticlovestories #weddingphotographers #weddingphotographer #weddingphotographersociety #weddinginspo #ogdenphotography #belovedstories #dirtybootsandmessyhair #elopementphotographer #destinationweddingphotographer #radstorytellers #wildrootcollective #authenticlovemag #couplephotography #b1withlove #elopementlove #adventurouslovestories #adventurousstorytellers #lookslikefilmwedding #justalittleloveinspo
Best of luck, and happy Instagramming!
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