Just because I like to check everything out, I did set up an account on Instagram a while back but never really did much with it. I didn’t really see the appeal at the time for several reasons…
- Most of the photos I associated with Instagram looked like bad iPhone shots, made even worse by bad filters.
- Not really a fan of the square 1×1 format. Most of my images have a 2×3 ratio so it meant I needed to crop.
- Could only post from my phone. (showing my age here) That meant I needed to send my photos to the phone first, then crop, then upload.
But all that has changed!
My Main 3 Reasons for Loving Instagram Now
Reason 1: Huge Marketing and Exposure Resource
Instagram has become a huge deal these days. Some might even say, bigger than Facebook. I’ve heard from other photographers and models that they are using Instagram to get most of their work. That’s pretty good reason right there to start embracing this platform.
Reason 2: Not Confined to the Square Format
Images no longer require the square cropped format!!! That’s what really convinced me to get on board. I still have to send my photos to my phone first, but that’s alright.
Reason 3: A Lot of Great Photographers There
Now that I’m on board, I’ve started exploring more and have found a lot of really good photographers and some pretty stunning photography there. I love that because I’m always inspired by seeing what others are doing with photography.
Come Stop By!
I don’t have a lot of work posted there yet, but that will be changing. If you’d like to stay connected with me, come on by! (it’s a little lonely right now)
Instagram you can find me at:
http://instagram.com/tavphoto62/
Followup – 2×3 vertical photos are still being cropped!
When I posted this article yesterday, so far I had only uploaded horizontal shots to Instagram, ratio 2×3. Those seem to not be cropped and appear with the full image and composition. This morning I was uploading some vertical shots and noticed the image, while not being forced into a square, 1×1 crop, it was still being cropped to what looks to be closer to a 3×4 ratio (natural iPhone ratio). This is kind of a big deal to me because the full composition of the photo are important to me and so to crop anything can change the feel of the photo. Not good.
I guess I could still use one of the other apps to work around this but that still creates a smaller version of the image. Maybe I’m doing something wrong (totally possible), so if anyone knows a way, staying within the Instagram app to maintain the full 2×3 image, let me know. 🙂
