Have you overheard general people talking about the number of followers someone got on Instagram?
You must have had. After all the number of followers has become a status symbol. For the general masses, this number can define a lot of things. One of them is a person’s worth as a photographer.
Very often people judge someone as a good or bad photographer by the number of followers s/he has.
This is a disturbing trend which doesn’t seem to end anytime soon.
Though, there are many great photographers with a large amount of following. But, there are much more amateurs and shitty photographers with a huge following too.
The Problem
The non-photographer mass is likely to hire someone with a good amount of Instagram following for any kind of photography job.
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The problem is that for general people, the number of followers but not the quality of work have become the decisive factor for hiring a photographer. Which makes it more likely for people to hire an amateur photographer.
The impact of this on the whole industry is that the quality benchmark is going down constantly. Also, more and more amateurs are starting to feel that it is easy to get paid for photography.
The Reality Of Instagram
Instagram isn’t a photography platform. It is a platform that lets you post photos and videos only but still it is not a photography platform.
Instagram’s purpose is entertainment more than showcasing talent.
Also, followers count doesn’t reflect the work quality, also popularity in some cases. Let’s see one common way people get followers.
Let’s say you have around 600 followers. And an Instagrammer with 20K+ followers likes multiple of your photos and also follow you. What would you feel about it?
For general people, mostly it would make them happy. Why?
Because they will think this guy is something that’s why he has got so many followers. And such a person has liked my photos. Oh, maybe my photos are very good.
And they will follow him back in most cases.
After a few days, this guy would silently unfollow and an average Instagram user wouldn’t get to know. Because s/he doesn’t check and keep count of the followers.
But this guy who followed you and liked multiple of your pics. He did the same to 100 other people every hour.
Also, the number can be increased in very less money too. Likes, followers, comments, everything is in the market if you wish to buy (Don’t, It’s not worth it.).
After knowing this, do you still think follower count is a reliable metric to judge a photographer?
The Ideal Photographer Hiring Process
If you start your search for a photographer on Instagram, you are doing wrong. And after reading the above you already know why?
Start your search with Google
Most photographers who are into a serious photography business, they have their business listed on Google. Also, Google, rank the results based on the reviews. Which makes it more likely to stumble upon a good photographer.
Call them or Meet Them
Calling photographers or meeting them is a good way to discuss your needs and understanding what they are offering.
Ask for portfolio on mail
This is how you will get to know the quality of work you are going to get. Most photographers would mail you the photos or a link containing photos. The best thing about this is that your decision would be based on if you like the work or not. And not of the number of likes the photos have got like on Instagram. As very often the number of likes cloud our judgment.
Thanks for reading.
Yatharth
