Instagram is home to photo sharing.  Or is it?  Indeed, photo sharing is what built the platform.  However, that fact doesn’t seem to be what those in charge want to focus on.  Is Instagram still about photo sharing?  I don’t think so.  So, today I’m discussing why Instagram no longer supports photographers and offering some proof from my own personal experience.

I’ve noticed a trend lately which I’ve found concerning.  A couple years ago, or more, I found I was growing a bit on Instagram.  My follower base expanded and my post interactions were reaching double digits with some level of predictability.  However, that has been cooling off quite a bit lately.  It makes me wonder if Instagram no longer supports photographers.  But, before I dive too deeply into this, you need some back story.

Back Story

I’ve been a member of the Instagram community since April of 2014.  I still have my welcome email to prove it.  Since joining, I’ve changed content strategies multiple times.  This happens.  I didn’t know what I wanted to do when first starting out.  However, I eventually settled on a plan which included a strategy on posting frequency, post content, and hashtags.  As new features entered the platform (stories, carousels, IGTV, live, guides, reels, etc.), I slowly tried incorporating some of them with varying levels of success.  Not everything works for me as I’m a photographer and that’s ok.

Then, in September 2020, I stumbled onto a trend and hashtag combo which propelled my landscape photography into wider circles and netted me more attention.  The National Park Service put out a trend which brought lots of eyes and post interactions to my photography every time I participated.  Where my posts would rarely break into double digit interactions, I suddenly found myself with several hundred likes on individual posts.  I’ll admit it was a great feeling.  Also, I knew it wouldn’t last.  I knew the trend would cool down eventually, which it certainly seems to have by now.

However, last year, I saw this article come out on Petapixel.  It’s about the new direction for Instagram as of July 2021.  It’s where Instagram head Adam Mosseri announces that the platform will shift its focus away from photo sharing and onto video, entertainment, and shopping.  This was in response to the rise of TikTok and Instagram’s inability to dethrone them from popularity like they did to Snapchat before.  On the face of it, it sure sounds like Instagram no longer supports photographers.

At first, I didn’t think too much of it.  I should have.  Mosseri was literally telling me (and the rest of the world) that Instagram would no longer prioritize photos-the very thing which built the platform to begin with.  He was saying (in other words, of course) that the future of Instagram no longer supports photographers and static posts.  So, at first, I tried doing a few reels to see if I could work them into my strategy.  However, it didn’t work out the way I hoped.  So, I didn’t really use them.  Then, slowly, I noticed my stats changing and not for the better.

I thought it was something with me and my strategy.  However, I didn’t change anything.  My content (photos, carousels, captions, etc.) are still the same.  I use the same hashtags.  I still have some loyal fans which routinely still interact.  So, I pondered the problem.  The idea that Instagram no longer supports photographers never entered my mind.  Then I saw this Petapixel article a couple days ago (from time of writing) which clarified a lot for me.  The answer is “it’s not just me.”

So, I dug into my stats (which only goes a couple years back) and found the following.  Please keep in mind that the term ‘reach’ means the number of individual accounts where my post showed up in their feed.  It may be due to suggestions from Instagram, the Explore tab, hashtags, following me, or simply going to my account page.  I do not control the reach statistic at all.  This view is also organized by highest reach (or best performing) first rather than by date.

My Posts

Here we have actual screenshots of my Instagram stats from my account.  As I don’t want to fill up with screenshots of everything, I’ll settle with just showing you the reach stats.  I’ll share selected full post stats as necessary.

To properly analyze these stats, we need a couple other pieces of information.  These stats were generated during July 2022.  Instagram introduced Reels to the world in August of 2020.  Mosseri’s statement came out in July of 2021.  With this information, let’s now analyze what we see.  The statistic for post interactions includes many different interactions from likes and comments to clicking on shoppable links.  Instagram is a bit fuzzy on this, but it’s a good metric to use.  Here’s Instagram’s actual definition of content interactions just for clarification from me: “Content interactions: Actions people take when they engage with your content, such as likes, comments, saves, shares and replies.”

Given what we have, along with the assumption that the NPS swatch trend would eventually die off, we can now test the hypothesis that Instagram no longer supports photographers.  I’ll tell you now that the numbers are interesting.  Also, I’ll discuss the top 3 posts from each time period to make things easier on me and more illustrative for you.

My Post Stats

During the trend, Instagram showed my swatch posts to literally thousands of people.  The top post there shows 13,500 or so people saw that post.  It displays 453 likes, 23 saves, 11 shares, 16 comments (several of which include replies from me), and a total of 503 post interactions.  The next post, while still on fire with reach, only mustered 10,400 or so separate accounts.  It boasts 554 likes, 57 saves, 32 shares, but 0 comments.  It received 643 post interactions.  The third post reached 10,000 or so accounts with 331 likes, 21 saves, 9 shares, 2 comments, and 363 post interactions.  Now, please keep in mind that these were posted in October and November during the height of the trend.  My numbers preceding this trend were no where near close to these.

Now let’s take a look at a year after the NPS swatch trend.  Things cooled down but those swatches still received an abnormally high level of attention compared to the rest of my posts.  Remember, I didn’t alter my strategy at all and I expected the cool down.

The first post brings in a modest by comparison 4,443 accounts reached, 184 likes, 0 comments, 13 saves, 3 shares, and 200 post interactions.  The second post comes in at 4,349 accounts reached, 198 likes, 4 comments, 19 saves, 2 shares, and 223 post interactions.  Then we have the third post with 3,515 accounts reached, 154 likes, 0 comments, 16 saves, 4 shares, and 174 post interactions.  So, things cooled down as expected.  However, those swatch posts still bring thousands of eyes in reach.  These were posted in July, September, and October of 2021.  I shared them around or only shortly after Mosseri’s announcement.

So, now we come out about 6 months from Mosseri’s announcement.  The numbers look very different and much smaller.  The swatches still continue to dominate my top posts.  The first comes in with a reach of 1,961 accounts reached, 86 likes, 2 comments, 8 saves, 0 shares, and 96 post interactions.  Next, the second scores a measly 1,910 accounts reached, 89 likes, 0 comments, 12 saves, 6 shares, and 107 post interactions.  Finally, the third brings in 1,862 accounts reached, 84 likes, 2 comments, 14 saves, 4 shares, and 104 post interactions.  Yes, these are still swatch posts.  However, there’s significant drop in numbers.  I posted them in February, March, and May of 2022.  We could account for the trend dying off, but perhaps not.

Next, let’s break down the top reaching posts of the past 3 months.  We get our first overlap with the May post from the 6 month group.  It’s the lead slot.  Just to reiterate, its numbers were 1,910 accounts reached, 89 likes, 0 comments, 12 saves, 6 shares, and 107 post interactions.  Following it up we have the second post with 1,480 accounts reached, 81 likes, 0 comments, 7 saves, 0 shares, and 88 post interactions.  Lastly, we have the third post with 1,406 accounts reached, 96 likes, 4 comments, 11 saves, 2 shares, and 113 post interactions.  Now the swatch trend should be dead but the swatches still lead the pack.  I posted these in May and July of 2022.

So, now we’re down to the last 30 days.  Again, we have an overlap in the lead.  Here’s its stats again.  1,480 accounts reached, 81 likes, 0 comments, 7 saves, 0 shares, and 88 post interactions.  Next, we come to the second post with 1,180 accounts reached, 47 likes, 0 comments, 3 saves, 0 shares, and 50 post interactions.  The third and final post of this group comes in with these stats: 1,169 accounts reached, 62 likes, 0 comments, 8 saves, 1 share, and 72 post interactions.  We have posts from 28 days ago, 21 days ago, and 7 days ago taking the lead.  Still the swatch posts lead out by far.

Now, our final set of raw data is from the past 7 days.  We only have a single swatch post so, for the first time in this data, we get to see some performance from other types of posts which I make.

The first (may I note it’s from today, at the time of writing, and still likely to change) reached a total of 769 accounts so far with 34 likes, 0 comments, 3 saves, 0 shares, and 37 post interactions.  It’s been live for 8 hours so the algorithm should still feed it to more accounts over the next 16ish hours.  We follow that up with a 2 day old post having reached 531 accounts so far with 20 likes, 2 comments, 0 saves, 0 shares, and 22 post interactions.  This is not a swatch post, but a regular single photo post.  The final post we’ll discuss is a staged photo single image post with 363 accounts reached, 14 likes, 4 comments, 0 saves, 0 shares, and 18 post interactions.  This is a 3 day old post.  The algorithm might be done with it.

With these very recent posts, the overall stats are still somewhat likely to increase.  If someone else comes by and likes or otherwise interacts with a post, then these stats given here will become a little inaccurate.  Please remember that I extracted these stats at time of writing.

Partial Analysis

So, other than the fact that my national park swatch posts are, by far, my most popular posts and something I should continue, what do we get out of this?  Well, I calculated my percentage of post interactions using the raw post interactions and the reach data.  We have a range from 3.6% to 8% interaction/engagement.  However, the average places my interaction/engagement rate about 5%.  I used the data from every single one of these posts I shared above.  Yes, these are the cherry-picked best exposed and performing posts during the specified windows.  Still, they give a decent window as I’m comparing best-performing to best-performing.

Overall, we see a 63% engagement/interaction drop from 2 years ago to 1 year ago.  Next, a 53% drop from 1 year ago to 6 months ago.  We follow that up with minor drops of 16% and then 20% in interactions/engagements during the 6 months to 3 months and 3 months to 30 days respectively.  The final engagement/interaction figure is a 56% drop from 30 days ago to this week (at time of writing).  This is a serious downward trend.  We also see the number of accounts exposed to my posts (reach) drop dramatically as well.  We’re talking an over 89% drop in exposure from 2 years ago’s height of 13,500ish to this 30 day height of 1,480.

This peek leaves me with a few questions.  If my engagement over a 2 year period remained rather stable (around 5%), then why are my posts seeing less and less exposure over time?  People still clearly love the swatch posts in spite of the trend being long over.  Remember, I haven’t changed a bit about my strategy.  I’m still using the same hashtags as before (30 per post too).  I maintain the same caption strategy which I did 2 years ago.  I share the same quality of images which I did then.  Also, I tag where appropriate just like I did then.  I still have a small but loyal following who routinely interact.  I know their account handles.  So, why has my reach dropped so dramatically, especially on historically popular and still popular content pillars?

Now, I know I’m a small-time creator.  Perhaps the problem is on my end.  This is something I’ve pondered for months.  Then that recent Petapixel article brought out that other photographers find themselves suffering that same problem.  They also claim that Instagram no longer supports photographers.  Instagram wants reels not photos.  So, ok.  Let’s look at my reels data.  I haven’t shared many reels, but let’s look at things anyways.

My Reels

I’ll go through the same stats as before.  As reels are little more than a year old currently (at time of writing), I won’t have data older than a year.  Also, it seemed pointless to grab more recent data than 6 months ago just given how few reels I’ve shared.

My Reels Stats

Starting with the reels from the past year, we have the top listing the following stats: 3,023 accounts reached, 25 likes, 0 saves, 740 plays, 0 shares, and 26 interactions.  Next comes in with 1,721 accounts reached, 15 likes, 0 saves, 1,753 plays, 0 shares, and 16 interactions.  Finally, the third brings 1,136 accounts reached, 21 likes, 0 saves, 1,169 plays, 0 shares, and 22 interactions.  I shared them in November and December 2021.

Next, we tackle the 3 reels from the past 6 months.  As there’s only 3, we’ll cover all of them: the highs and the lows.  Our top reel from the last 6 most saw 568 accounts reached, 9 likes, 0 saves, 586 plays, 0 shares, and 9 interactions.  The second best/worst reached 404 accounts and received 20 likes, 0 saves, 412 plays, 0 shares, and 25 interactions.  Now, the absolutely final reel (and the most recent) reached 63 accounts and received 8 likes, 0 saves, 72 plays, and 0 shares, and 9 interactions.  I shared these in February 2022 and 4 days ago (at time of writing).

Partial Analysis

Now, if we crunch the same numbers the same way we did with the posts above, we get the following.  There’s a range of .9%-14% interaction with my reels based upon this tiny window of a small overall reels population on my account.  The average comes to 4% but that includes a significant outlier at 14%.  When we remove that outlier, we get a much healthier 2% interaction.  It’s only that latest reel which received that high of an interaction percentage.

Again, if we look at the reach numbers specifically, we notice about an 82% drop-off in accounts my reels are exposed to.  For a platform claiming to favor reels and video content heavily, that’s a steep drop.  Now, one might make the argument that I need to produce and share more reels for the algorithm to favor me more there.  You might be right too.  However, this engagement/interaction rate does not scream out to me that reels are what my audience wants.

Now Let’s Compare Reels vs. Posts

So, while I have far less data on reels than I do posts, there’s still something to compare to.  We find an steady average interaction/engagement rate of 5% for my photo posts of various kinds (mostly swatches) and a 2% interaction/engagement rate for reels when adjusted for an outlier.  However, my posts received an overall 89% drop in algorithm exposure vs. an 82% drop for my reels (something I make FAR less frequently).  I know the reels numbers are small and easily skewed, but what is going on here?  Why is something which has historically performed reasonably well on my account (photo posts) taken a harder hit on reach than reels?  Remember, we’re comparing best to best here and using averages.  I know this smaller sample size makes my data a bit shaky, but it still raises eyebrows.

You can see a massive percentage drop overall with every kind of post type dropping more than 80% reach over the 2 year span.  However, the static photo posts receive less overall reach by percentage than the reels do.  In other words, when compared 1:1, reels receive slightly more exposure than regular posts do on my account.  This certainly seems to suggest that Instagram wants reels (perhaps exclusively) and no longer supports photographers and static single-image posts.

Let’s bring this point out too.  When I spent quite a bit of time making some reels for my account, and posting them almost weekly around November and December 2021, my photo posts were still experiencing a serious drop.  It was during that 53-63% drop window.  Remember, this was after Mosseri’s big Instagram refocus announcement.  Was I not doing enough with reels?  Apparently not.  These stats seem to suggest nothing else as the engagement/interaction rate remained constant.

My Conclusion

So, I’ve looked at raw numbers, even if cherry-picked a bit.  I calculated some rough figures to work with.  With this info, I find that my photo post engagement/interactions remained steady in spite of my overall reach dropping through the floor.  Remember, we’re talking peak to peak from 2 years ago to 30 days ago giving an 89% drop in optimal reach.  I know that the algorithm will “penalize” you for not playing by its rules, so I wonder.  I know I might just be chasing an all-time high I didn’t deserve and need to earn.  However, if it wasn’t for other numerous photographers complaining about the same problem, I might conclude it’s something with me.

However, this is where Mosseri’s statement about pivoting Instagram into a video, reels, and entertainment-centric app also comes into play.  This new stated purpose for Instagram no longer supports photographers like it did before.  Simply put, my photo posts, however delightful and enjoyed, don’t meet that new definition of Instagram’s mission.

Zuckerberg and Mosseri have entered a competition with TikTok which they intend to win.  They want to dominate the short video clip social media scene.  However, that throws photographers like me under the bus.  We built the platform into the respectable space it is now, but the head honchos want reels now.  So, do I think Instagram hates photographers?  The answer is no.  But I do think they forgot the base which made them a social media powerhouse in favor of chasing a new shiny.  Sadly, with how things are going, I don’t see Instagram walking things back any time soon if at all.  We as photographers might just lose a prominent platform just because Instagram wants to be TikTok.  It certainly seems like Instagram no longer supports photographers.