The Pressures of Social Media in Photography
How social media pressures began to influence my photography in a negative way
When I first started Random Photo Adventure, and began posting on Instagram, I can remember watching a video on Youtube. In the video, it discussed the pitfalls of photography and social media, but one idea stood out: “shooting for social media.” The video explained how they often adjusted their compositions in the field to make them more suitable for social media platforms like Instagram.
At the time, I told myself, “I don’t care enough to crop my photos for social media,” assuming I wouldn’t fall into that trap. But I couldn't have been more wrong.
For me, posting on social media became the “final” part of the process. I chose nature as my niche in photography because I wanted to share the beauty of my home province, and educate about our natural world.
I’m not exactly sure when the idea of shooting for social media began creeping into my work, but I can recall moments when I caught myself thinking, “A vertical would look better on Instagram later.” That’s when I started falling into the trap.
Before I knew it, I was increasingly prioritizing vertical compositions, cropping them to Instagram’s preferred 4x5 ratio. Sometimes, I’d even choose a vertical shot when a horizontal one would have better suited the scene. What started as a subtle adjustment quickly became second nature. Just like that, I found myself caught in the very pattern I once believed I could avoid.
At first, it wasn’t a big deal. After all, it was just a crop here and there, nothing major. But over time, I began to feel like I was following a formula for Instagram, more concerned with how my photos would appear on a screen than with showcasing the beauty of nature. I was no longer just capturing moments; I was trying to produce something that fit someone else’s vision, not my own.
That’s when I noticed the second trap: I had begun posting almost daily. Why? Because that’s what the Instagram algorithm demands if you want to be “competitive” or even be seen. My goal when I started was simple, share one photo per week. This kept me motivated to get out with my camera at least once a week while setting realistic expectations for something that was just a hobby. But somehow, this evolved into posting a photo every day.
That would have been fine if I had a backlog of photos to share. But since I didn’t, I found myself posting work I might not have usually shared, just to tick the box of “I posted today.”
As I went further down the Instagram rabbit hole, it finally hit me: “Why am I doing this?” I realized I didn’t have to comply with Instagram’s crop requirements, nor did I need to post daily for the algorithm—unless I wanted to. Instagram doesn’t pay me or provide any financial compensation. In fact, it might not even be the best platform for a photographer to post on.
Over 2024, I noticed my reach on Instagram slowly shrinking. Determined to figure out why, I started reading articles about “how to grow on Instagram.” Over and over, I came across the same advice: “post better content.” Now, I wouldn’t call myself the world’s best photographer, but I definitely felt I was posting better photos than the year before. Still, the decline in reach started chipping away at my confidence, feeding into imposter syndrome.
It wasn’t until I began experimenting with posting my content elsewhere that I realized, it might not be a content problem at all. I’m not chasing likes or fame, but I do want to make sure my work is actually being seen. Maybe it was just an Instagram problem. Everywhere else, my work was performing well.
Realizing this has been freeing, to say the least. It has helped me recapture a lot of the joy I found as a new photographer, prior to the addition of social media pressures.
You’ll still find me cropping to 4x5, shooting the odd vertical, and posting to social media, but it's now on my own terms and I feel better for it.
If you’re like me, finding yourself editing for social media, it might be a good idea to step back and ask yourself why.
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I always took pictures in different aspects. First how I thought was the best for the scene and then a second or third one for social media. I left IG long, long time ago when FB bought It. I noticed the change. Still have the account but don't really do much. I posted elsewhere.
I languished as a photographer subconsciously skewing my shooting approach to appeal to Instagram. Looking back I can’t count the number of times I’ve gone out to shoot in the hopes of getting likable images. It’s later than I would have liked but it’s incredibly liberating to be out of that system and shooting for myself again.