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Is Instagram revolutionizing photography? This is a stale question at this point. We all know that Instagram owns the right to use your photo if you post it with their app, and that it has potentially democratized photography – everyone can be a photographer now, and the photographer with the most followers wins! (What they “win” we have yet to know). Nevertheless, while iPhone and Instagram-only weddings have occurred, they are still by far the exception. Photographers that hope to make money from their photographs – and not just from contests sponsored by corporations – can use Instagram to help establish their personal brand without giving all their work away for free.

Behind the Scenes Content

Instagram can be considered a portfolio, but if you’re serious about becoming a professional photographer, it shouldn’t be your only portfolio. As you well know, you can’t shoot with your phone in the same way that you can shoot with a DSLR, and very high-quality #latergrams don’t necessarily thrive in a filter-happy context.

Nevertheless, photographers can use Instagram to connect users to who they are as a photographer. It can be a great home for behind-the-scenes shots or other quick peaks into how you work and what interests you. It can show how your eye operates within limitations, or even what colors and shapes that you’re drawn to. Instagram allows you to be a human social media user in addition to a professional, and this human connection is especially desirable when you’re being hired to capture one of the most important moments in a person’s life.

In order to connect your Instagram to the rest of your brand, make sure that your user name is your name or your business name. Include a link to your real digital portfolio or business website in your profile so your followers know where else to find you. Similarly, integrate your Instagram account with others that you’re using to build your brand, whether it’s your Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter, or Pinterest. All of these platforms are becoming increasingly visual, and your active participation can only bring you more fans and clients.

Tagging Along with Relevant Communities

Hash tags are now being used across social media platforms in order to reveal and connect related content. Instagram is no exception to this, and applying relevant hashtags to your photos will help to connect you to interested users. For instance, you could use the #weddingphotography hashtag to behind-the-scenes or sample shots from a wedding set. Additionally, you could come up with branded hash tags to use when appropriate.

As you can see here, InkedFingers enhanced this engagement photograph with an #ifportrait hashtag, which Carli Kiene adds to all professional samples on her Instagram, which also includes a link to her site and personal photographs that give users an idea of what she is like.

Learn from Big Brands

Many of these ideas can be learned from looking at the Instagram accounts of big brands. My favorite example is J Crew. J Crew has done an exceptional job of using social media to create a community around their products. They don’t just post pictures of their clothing on their account – they picture objects and moments associated with the lifestyles of those who might buy their products. They know their target audience and participate in their communities online by responding to comments and hashtags.

Also, if you take the time to follow big brands, you may gain their attention. Whole Food’s Dark Rye Tumblr has been known to reblog beautiful photos. Other brands such as Warby Parker allow Instagram “artists” to take over their accounts for a day or two in exchange for products. This gives these companies access to your innovative content at a reduced rate, but it also gives you access to these companies’ followers and the happy marriage between your personal brand and Warby Parker’s.

In the end, no matter what your field may be, Instagram allows users to put a face to a brand which forges a desirable human connection. For photographers, Instagram can be a valuable addition to your digital arsenal and will undoubtedly draw interested users to your real portfolio.

Amy Cobb blogs on all things media and media-education-related. Most recently she’s worked on cataloging the best photography colleges for Photography-Colleges.com. When not writing, Amy is thwarted by square foot gardening or playing with her Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Snarls Barkley.