One of Karan’s many beautiful photos. For more, check out his Instagram.

1. What piqued your interest in photography, and how long after that did you join Instagram?

@sendingstache

I have long been an avid rock climber. Climbing takes me around to quite a few places and I decided to buy a camera to try and capture a couple memories while on climbing trips. I never intended to get into photography…I just wanted snapshots of things happening and views, to remember the climbs by. I soon learned that there was much more the camera could do and immediately fell in love with the process behind photography. I joined Instagram about 9 months later.

2. How has your account grown since you first started on Instagram?

When I first started, it was mostly just friends and family following me. It was rare to get more then 10 likes on a photo. I kept posting once a day, every morning, and slowly just started noticing people following me. I eventually started picking up on the community behind Instagram and became more involved and outgoing, as far as looking for other Instagrammers around the globe and meeting them whenever I could.

3. How would you compare your usage of Instagram to other social media outlets? Which ones do you spend the most time on, and which ones seem to generate the most exposure?

I definitely spend the most time on Instagram. I have a Tumblr and Twitter that I rarely use and a Facebook which I use far less, since Instagram. I would say 95% of my time spent on social media is spent on Instagram. As far as generating exposure, I can’t think of a better outlet. I know a lot of people who’ve built entire careers around Instagram and their photos.

4. Speaking of different marketing approaches, what advice would you give to a photographer looking to market themself on Instagram?

If you’re trying to market yourself on Instagram, the most important thing to do is engage with the community. Find locals and others and engage with them. A lot of my best friends were made through this app. The community recognizes people active in it and is welcoming. Integrating in the network that this app has created is a great way to build a reputation. It’s also obviously important to have stand out work.

5. If you could choose just one thing that has made the most impact on your work as a photographer, what would it be?

Rock climbing has definitely had the biggest impact on my photography. It opened me up to a world of landscapes and that spilled right over into my photography. Landscape is my favorite subject to shoot and that has everything to do with me already having spent a lot of time outdoors before hand.

6. Anything else you’d like to add?

Photography is a constant learning process. You never finish learning to shoot. There is always room to grow and improve. Embrace that and don’t be discouraged if your work isn’t where you want it to be. Use it as motivation to get better and never stop trying to get better

One of Andy’s many gorgeous landscape shots. For more, check out his website or Instagram.

1. Could you share a little bit about yourself and how you got started in photography?

I am a third generation photographer. My dad was always into photography and I took to it at an early age.

2. When did you start on Instagram, and how has your account grown since?

@andy_best

I started my first account in 2010. It grew quickly and I had an awesome community of followers. It was deleted in 2013 by Instagram because of some unknown issue. Very long frustrating story.

My account now I started at the end of 2013 and at the end of June I was around 7k followers. Today I’m over 100k.

3. Between Twitter, Tumblr, Vimeo, Instagram, word of mouth, and a personal website, there are lots of ways to market yourself as a photographer. How would you compare your usage of Instagram to the other marketing channels?

I use them all equally. I know Instagram is my primary marketing channel, but it’s important to keep everything current. The more places you can show your work the easier you are to find.

4. What is the one thing that has had the biggest impact on your work as a photographer?

I’d have to say that the biggest impact would have to be meeting and shooting with other photographers. Everyone knows more about something than you do. It’s important to always have that thirst of learning and growing.

5. Anything else you’d like to add?

It’s important to chase whatever it is you want to do in life and not allow your craft to be influenced by viewers. Always stay true to who you are. If you do, all the doors will open for you.

One of Hannes’ many great landscape photos. For more, check out his Instagram.

1. Could you share a little bit about yourself, how you got started in photography, and when you joined Instagram?

@hannes_becker

I am a self taught, 21 year old German photographer based out of central Germany. It’s always fun exploring and capturing the beauty around me. My hometown is surrounded by fields and forest which makes it easy for me to follow my passion about landscapes.

I joined Instagram 2 ½ years ago, just for fun and sharing random stuff with my friends. Over the years Instagram got more and more serious and so the fun turned into a passion. This summer I started an education as a brand and product photographer, it feels awesome to work with photography everyday.

2. Do you use other platforms to market your photography?

No. And I don’t want to be on other platforms, also just don’t have the time besides Instagram to care about another platform and the community there. The Instagram community is awesome, I met great friends through Instagram and I try to meet people very often.

3. What advice would you give to a photographer looking to increase their visibility on Instagram?

Just don’t take Instagram too seriously, give your photos a clean edit and try to specialize your Instagram on one theme, like Landscapes, Streetphotography or Portrait, etc. And don’t try to copy somebody. Try to find your own style. People will love it and you will get attention on your photos.

4. What one thing would you say has made the biggest impact on you as a photographer?

I think my family and friends have made the biggest impact on me. They always believe in me and help when I need it.

5. Could you share a little about your shooting and editing process?

I shoot with a Canon 5D Mark II and mirror-less Olympus OmD Em10 camera. Resulting photos are processed in Lightroom 5. Except the ones I take with my iPhone; I edit those shots just with Vsco Cam and Snapseed.

One of Lauren’s many wonderful photos. For more, check out her website or Instagram.

1. Could you share a little bit about yourself and how you got started in photography?

@laurenepbath

Sure. Most people don’t realize this but I actually got into photography through using Instagram, not the other way around. I was an early adopter on the platform starting in August 2011. Before too long I found myself hooked on taking and sharing mobile images and decided to try my hand with a dslr. After purchasing my first camera, a Nikon D7000, I fell head over heels with photography and this was a love affair that I was able to share with my already burgeoning Instagram community.

Before Instagram I was a chef with 15 years in that industry. Despite what many think I actually enjoyed this career for many years and I find myself incredibly fortunate to have found and worked at two passions consecutively. I made the transition from chef to photographer/ instagrammer two and a half years ago and I’ve never looked back.

I describe my work as more of a marketing role than a photographer although my photography does factor in. I work within the tourism industry promoting destinations to my social media communities using pictures and telling stories. I’ve transitioned into project management, consultancy and education as well which means from job to job I am constantly challenged. I’m passionate about travel and the tourism industry, which makes me strive towards creating quality images to share my experiences.

2. There’s lots of ways to market yourself as a photographer these days. What platforms do you use? Do you use different strategies to reach your audience with each platform?

One thing that I will say is that I really don’t like it when photographers put exactly the same content out to all of their platforms at the same time. If I follow someone on, say, Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Google+ I might be subjected to seeing the same photo and story four times in 24 hours. What photographers should be striving towards is driving their followers to different platforms and giving them the incentive to cross over.

I personally use Twitter, Instagram, Personal and Business Facebook, Google+ and Steller. In addition I write for several online publications and have just launched my own website. I try new platforms regularly and occasionally pick a new one up for regular use. The latest was Steller.

I use Twitter to retweet interesting tidbits about my career and announcements on upcoming events I am involved in. I use business Facebook for “highlight” album posts of travel campaigns, usually one to two albums per destination with up to ten images per album. I use personal Facebook for people that I know where I post funny and interesting behind the scenes stories and snaps. I use Google+ for high resolution and hero shots and Steller for creating funny little stories than encompass behind the scenes shots, selfies, field notes and settings.

Instagram is my main place where I post up to four images daily and tell the story of my travels and the destination I am in. I’m very engaged here and it’s the best place to ask me a question and expect an answer.

When I write articles the topics can be anything from travel/destination writing to how I got into this industry to photography specific pieces. What I’m trying to achieve is that people who are genuinely interested in me can learn more about me on every platform.

3. What advice would you give to someone looking to build up their own community of followers on Instagram?

This is a tough one for me to answer because everything that I did on Instagram was organic and the thought of being a professional instagrammer was unheard of. I find that the problem now is that professionals are starting Instagram with the firm goal of using the platform to monetize or attract opportunities and for this reason their approach isn’t natural.

If you truly want to succeed on Instagram you need to love Instagram. Building a strong community, sharing and putting yourself out there take time and effort and nobody wants to invest that kind of time into something they don’t love. When I first started using Instagram it wasn’t uncommon to spend 6-8 hours a day on there and even now I’m usually present on the app for at least two hours a day.

The trick is to use Instagram because you want to. Seek out amazing people to follow, be interested and invested in others, give back and be SOCIAL. I think Instagram is a lot less about photography than many believe. Instagram is about community, support and inspiration, the pictures are just the cherry on top.

4. As a travel photographer, you get to go on a lot of cool trips. How do you manage planning trips, exploring, taking photos, editing, and business inquiries while on the road?

This is a great question and something that I’m not asked often enough. Balancing my life is tough! Everybody sees the
cool trips and experiences and assumes that I have the best life ever when in reality I work my butt off every minute of every day.

Yes, I love what I do and I believe I have the best job in the world but I work for it. For every laugh and amazing shot captured and career highlight is a Saturday night spent on the computer or a missed family engagement or a decline in my health. This year I am focused on bringing more balance into my life and my fingers are crossed that I can achieve this.

To answer this question more helpfully, this is my current workflow on trips. I wake up early every day for sunrise and the time varies significantly from country to country and season to season. After a sunrise shoot I eat breakfast with my laptop where I edit the mornings “keepers” and make my first Instagram post for the day. If I’m lucky I grab a shower and a half an hour break but more often than not I’m on the road straight after breakfast. Throughout the day I am shooting, scouting for places to shoot and spending more time on Instagram.

Afternoons are spent on my laptop again and I usually try to keep on top of emails while I’m away. Considering my average time spent on emails is 2 hours a day this can be tough. Reporting, book keeping, new pitches and other business tasks are usually left for my limited time at home. I shoot sunset daily and occasionally manage a night shoot too. I like an early dinner, a beer or two and an early night. Catching 8 hours sleep is important for
my energy levels.

When I am the project manager for a trip and I’m also hosting I can find that my photography suffers as I put the needs of my influencers first.

5. If there’s one thing that has changed the way you work as a photographer, what would it be?

I guess I’m a funny case because the way that I work as a photographer has been dictated by learning in front of an audience. From my very first post using an iPhone 4 to learning my dslr to upgrades and more, it has all been on public display. So in saying that, nothing has changed for me.

It was always very important to me as I monetized off my social media reach that I would never “sell out”. I wanted to continue to do the things that made people interested in me only in cooler places. I’m honest, I over share, I’ve always got a funny story to tell and I put it all out there.

The only thing that has really changed is that now I play with more expensive toys. 😉

6. Anything else you’d like to add?

For those that are interested my kit is:

Camera and Lenses

• Nikon D800
• Nikon D750
• 14-24 f2.8 Nikkor lens
• 24-70 f2.8 Nikkor lens
• 70-200 f2.8 Nikkor lens
• 50mm prime
• 85mm prime
• (Nikon does not sponsor me.)

Tripod

• Manfrotto (sponsored)
  • Current model is a carbon fiber with a ball head.

Filters

• Lee (sponsored)
• Various graduated and straight neutral density filters and a circular polarizer

Bag

• F-stop (supported)
  • I have a bad back and f-stop is the first camera bag that distributes the weight of my kit and doesn’t hurt my back
• I also use a Manfrotto sling bag for active days

Tech

• Apple iPhone 6+
• Apple iPhone 5+
• Ipad 2
• Macbook Pro 15″
• (Apple does not sponsor me)

One of Kirsten’s many beautiful travel photos. To see more, check out her blog or Instagram.

1. In another interview, you mention that Instagram and Twitter played important parts in your success as a travel photographer, content creator, digital marketer, and speaker. When did you start on Instagram, and how has your account grown since then?

@kirstenalana

I posted my first photo on October 19th, 2010 and it grew very steadily for years, a few followers a week. Gaining 100 followers in a month was a really good month for a long time. Once in a while a blog would feature me as someone people should follow on Instagram and it was incredible every time it happened. People asked me to speak in public about mobile photography and best practices for Instagram and of course I always said yes, and that helped a bit with growth. But then in very early 2014 when I’d managed to get myself to 10K completely organically and all on my own — all of the sudden the followers started pouring in and instead of a 100 a month it was suddenly 1,000 a week.

I did some Google tracking and found that I was being featured by the likes of Huffington Post, Grazia, British Airways High Life, Paste Magazine, American Photo, Marie Claire, and even some German, Turkish and Brazilian magazines. All of the sudden, I’d hit 60K and then 75K and at this point I have no idea if it will continue to grow or not. I’m just incredibly humbled and grateful that it’s gotten to where it is now. I never really believed that I’d have more followers than my friends, family members and maybe a few colleagues in the travel industry!

2. How would you compare your usage of Instagram to Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and Tumblr? Which ones do you spend the most time on, and which ones result in the majority of your revenue?

I spend the most time on Instagram without a doubt. I look at it as short form storytelling. A sort of blog really. And I endeavor to always give something of value with each image I post beyond just the photo. So whether that’s a bit of history, some travel advice, tech advice or just a story that people can connect with — there’s something. There’s a caption that’s more than a few sentences of empty words.

Because I approach it so differently I think that’s why so many people contact me, interested in paying me to post. If I said yes to every opportunity, Instagram would most definitely be my biggest income generator. And then my stream would be nothing more than a glorified billboard for brand messages. I’m trying really hard to not have that happen by continuing to curate as I’ve always done, and saying yes only to the sponsorship or paid promotion that genuinely makes sense and can offer, I hope, something to my followers. Of course between the sponsored content, is a lot of content that no one is paying me to come up with. And it will always be like that no matter what.

3. What strategies would you give to other people looking to build up their own community?

Realize first and foremost, and most importantly, that a truly engaged and valuable community takes time to build, it doesn’t happen overnight. And it takes an investment of genuine care and concern for said audience. There are shortcuts to large numbers but there are no shortcuts to an engaged and responsive community of a larger size.

Of course you also have to be posting images and information that is of value. If your photos aren’t good, your captions are only hashtags or in some other way you what you are posting is not compelling — you’ll never get anywhere. Unless you’re a brand like Nike or a celebrity like Justin Bieber and then the rules do not apply. But that’s beside the point of what you’re asking of course.

4. What’s the one piece of photography advice you’ve heard that will always stick with you?

I couldn’t narrow it down to just one. These two pieces of advice have stuck with me my whole life since learning them from my high school photography instructor:

1. Get it right in camera.
2. Remember that the most expensive or sophisticated camera in the world means nothing in the hands of someone who doesn’t know how to use it manually or who has no creative vision.

5. If I were going on a 2-3 month trip around the world next summer to see if I could make it as a photographer, what tips would you have on how prepare myself over the next 6 months?

Honestly, I’d sign up for the Matador Network “travel photography course” and see how you get on with that. It’s less than $200 I think and there’s no better investment I believe that would help you see if you can make it long term or not. Also, follow backpackers. That’s not my style of travel but I know it works for a lot of people. Start with my friend Matt of Expert Vagabond. He’ll help you with the practicals of long term travel and Matador will help with the “can I make this a business” part of your trip.