Hashtags

180 Photography Hashtags To Grow Your Instagram & TikTok

22 Mins read

Social media plays a pivotal role in the exposure and growth of photography skills in today’s digital age.

Instagram and TikTok, in particular, offer a vibrant platform for photographers to share their work and connect with a wider audience.

The power of hashtags cannot be underestimated as they serve as keys to ensuring your content lands in front of the right viewers.

The challenge, though, lies in identifying the right tags fitting your unique content and audience.

With the myriad of options available, it becomes crucial to select not just popular, but also relevant hashtags.

In this article, we will dive into understanding the importance and strategy of using effective hashtags, specifically focusing on photography-based content on Instagram and TikTok.

Photography Hashtags For Instagram & TikTok

#photography #photooftheday #photo #photographer #picoftheday #art #beautiful #picture #travel #naturephotography #photoshoot #canon #nikon #landscape #portrait #photographylovers #camera #instadaily #style #travelphotography #capture #photos #snapshot #DSLR #bokeh #lightroom #photographyislife #lens #composition #exposure

#photoshop #imageprocessing #depthoffield #color #frames #vignettes #geometry #contrast #exposurecompensation #autofocus #manualfocus #shadows #highlights #saturation #monochrome #blackandwhite #aperture #shutterspeed #iso #wideanglelens #telephotolenses #zoomlens #prime_lens #fullframe #macro_lens #cropped_sensor #mirrorless_camera #flash_photography

#mobilephotography #viewpoint #ruleofthirds #birdseyeview #wormseyeview #tripod #filters #underexposure #overexposure #panorama #hdr_mode #studio_lighting #multishot_modes #raw_format #burst_mode #time_lapse #slow_motion #foodphotography #streetphotography #eventphotography #sportsphotography #fashionphotography #commercialphotography #productphotography #wildlifephotography #macrophotography #infraredphotography #architecturalphotography #petphotography

#night_photography #candid_photography #aerial_photography #drone_photography #boudoir_photography #action_photography #documentary_photography #underwater_photography #vintage_photography #wedding_photography #selfie_photography #long_exposure #timelapse #photojournalism #painting_with_light #astrophotography #travelgram #focus #naturelovers #lovephotography #photoshootideas #photographerlife #photostudio #photographyskills #digitalphotography #filmphotography

#nature_perfection #justgoshoot #portraitphotography #photoart #agameoftones #streetphotographyindia #stilllife #concertphotography #snapseed #beautyphotography #click #photoartist #photomagic #piccollage #darkroom #cameraraw #iphoneography #photographydaily #skyphotography #landscapephotography #dream_image #photographyeveryday #topanga #photobug #picsart #pictureperfect #photogram #stylephotography

#photographyaddict #visualsoflife #photographysouls #ig_color #photographyisart #photosociety #photochallenge #holidayphotos #conceptualphotography #surrealismphotography #minimalphotography #street_bw #love_photography #iglobal_photographers #35mmphotography #lightphotography #abstractphotography #seo #excellent_photo #creativephotography #amateur_photography #ig_photooftheday #photographycommunity #instaphotographer #happyphotographer #moodygrams #photographylove

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Harnessing the power of hashtags can open new doors for your photography on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

The following sections will serve as a comprehensive guide on how to effectively use these photography-specific hashtags to boost your content’s visibility.

We’ll provide straightforward explanations and answers to common questions to help you make the most out of the hashtag function on these platforms.

We’ll explore a range of strategies to help apply this simple yet powerful tool to your online photography portfolio.

So, with no time to waste, let’s dive into the world of hashtags.

How To Effectively Use Photography Hashtags?

1. Use Specific, Relevant Photography Hashtags

On platforms like Instagram and Tiktok, hashtags serve not only as categorical markers but also as a tool to increase your exposure and reach a broader audience.

To optimise these benefits, using specific, relevant photography hashtags is key. This specificity enables your posts to be displayed to a target audience genuinely interested in your photography niche.

Using general photography hashtags such as #photography or #photo may expose your post to a larger pool of viewers, but also competition is much higher, detracting from your content’s visibility.

On the other hand, specific photography hashtags like #naturephotography or #streetphotography help in narrowing down the competition and gaining visibility among users interested in these specific niches.

Use specific photography hashtags to target viewers who are genuinely interested in your niche and thus, increase your visibility.

In selecting specific hashtags, it’s crucial to conduct research and fully understand their implications.

Each hashtag corresponds to a community of users who follow it. Hence, using a specific hashtag means you’re placing your content within a distinct community.

Also, remember to align your hashtags with the theme, style, and content of your photography. This inclination ensures your post will attract viewers who have a strong interest in similar themes or styles.

It’s also important to frequently refresh your list of hashtags as trends change. Keeping up-to-date can help you remain visible and relevant in your chosen communities.

Besides, you can also create your unique hashtag that reflects your personal brand, which can help your followers to easily find your works.

Using specific, relevant hashtags increases the chances of users who are interested in your work finding your profile.

Try to avoid overly generic or overly complex hashtags. Stick to keywords that are easily understandable and relevant to the photography community.

Remember, the goal is not to gain mass exposure but to reach the right audience who appreciate and engage with your work.

Experiment with different combinations of hashtags to determine what brings the best results.

Consistently leveraging specific, relevant photography hashtags will significantly improve your visibility and engagement on Instagram and Tiktok.

2. Mix Popular and Less Popular Hashtags

When using hashtags, there is a strategy to maximize your post’s visibility.

This strategy requires a mix of both popular and less popular hashtags.

The reason for this is quite simple – popular hashtags have a large volume of posts, which may cause your own post to get lost in the sea of content.

At the same time, popular hashtags indicate a high level of interest and a large audience which can help boost your visibility.

Therefore, including them in your posts is indeed useful.

On the other hand, less popular hashtags are equally vital as these have a smaller but more targeted audience which can improve your engagement rate.

By using a blend of popular and less popular hashtags, you’ll be hitting a wide spectrum of Instagram and TikTok users – from the masses attracted by the buzzwords to those who seek out more niche tags.

This makes them likely to spend more time viewing your post or even engage with it which, in turn, boosts the algorithmic favorability of your post.

Less popular hashtags are also less competitive, so your chances of appearing in the ‘top posts’ section for these tags is significantly higher.

However, finding a balance can be a bit tricky.

A good rule of thumb is to use two popular hashtags, two moderately popular ones and one niche hashtag.

Remember to research each hashtag’s popularity before adding it to your posts.

On both Instagram and TikTok, you can simply click on a hashtag to see how many posts have been tagged with it.

Never underestimate the power of less popular hashtags – smaller communities are often more engaged!

Utilizing this strategy in your posts can make a huge difference in your photography account’s growth and engagement rates.

This is why mixing popular and less popular hashtags is an essential practice for maximizing your potential reach on Instagram and TikTok.

3. Research Hashtags used by Photography Influencers

Implementing a successful photography hashtag strategy requires a considerable amount of research. Especially investigating the hashtags used by photography influencers.

Influencers in the photography niche have managed to build a large, engaged audience and their success is worth studying.

Start by identifying top photography influencers, who are followed by millions of people and have a strong engagement rate.

Your focus should be on how these influencers use hashtags to engage and grow their audience

Besides looking at the number of hashtags they use per post, study the relevance and the type of hashtags they are using.

For instance, are these influencers using hashtags related to their geographic location or the type of photography they specialize in?

By looking into the hashtag strategies employed by successful influencers, you can glean insights into what might also work for your own photographic content.

Another point of focus should be to analyze the actual hashtags they frequently use. Some influencers might have their own custom hashtag that they use and promote.

Take note of these custom hashtags and consider creating your own to enhance brand recognition and engagement.

Additionally, using hashtags that influencers use might bring your posts to their attention. It could provide you the opportunity to engage with them or even collaborate in the future.

As you start to apply what you learn from influencers’ hashtag strategies, always keep in mind the value of relevance.

Never use a hashtag just because it’s popular among influencers. If it’s not relevant to your post, it could harm your credibility with your audience.

Hashtag research should be an ongoing process because trends on platforms like Instagram and TikTok change rather quickly.

What’s considered a trending or effective hashtag today may become overused or irrelevant tomorrow. So, always keep tabs on the influencers and update your hashtag strategy accordingly.

Imitating the hashtag strategies of successful influencers will be beneficial. But remember, your ultimate goal should be to find or create the right set of unique hashtags that best suit your own unique brand.

4. Don’t overuse: limit yourself to five hashtags

When using photography hashtags on Instagram and TikTok, you must be careful not to overuse the hashtags.

While it may seem tempting to fill your post with a plethora of hashtags, it is not recommended to use more than five hashtags per post.

This is because using too many hashtags can make your post seem spammy and desperate, which in turn can turn off your audience.

Furthermore, it can also lead to your post being overlooked in a sea of similar posts, thereby decreasing your visibility and engagement levels.

Hashtags are powerful but using too many can dilute the message of your post and make it harder for others to find your content.

In Instagram, for instance, posts with more than five hashtags have been reported to have lower engagement than those with five or fewer hashtags.

Moreover, using fewer hashtags but ensuring that they are highly relevant and targeted could increase the chances of your post being found by the right audience.

TikTok, on the other hand, allows users to add only a limited number of characters in the caption, which includes hashtags, forcing users to be more selective with their hashtag use.

On both platforms, it’s best practice to include 2-3 popular photography hashtags and 2-3 niche hashtags that are specific to the content of your post.

In this way, you can reach a wider audience but also appeal to a specific group of Instagram or TikTok users who are interested in your specific type of content.

It requires some research to find the right blend of hashtags, but the returns on this effort in terms of increased followers, likes, comments, and shares can be very rewarding.

Lastly, the limitation of five hashtags doesn’t mean you cannot experiment with different combinations of hashtags in your posts.

By varying your hashtag use, you can keep your posts from becoming too predictable and also prevent your content from being flagged as spam by Instagram or TikTok algorithms.

Indeed, a strategic and balanced use of hashtags is a surefire way to grab the attention of potential followers and establish your unique identity as a photographer on Instagram and TikTok.

5. Hashtag Your Equipment or Techniques Used

Utilizing specific photography equipment or techniques when composing your Instagram or Tiktok posts can help to broaden your audience and enhance your personal brand.

Frequent users of these platforms often search for content based on the type of camera or the photography technique utilized.

Often, professional photographers and enthusiastic amateurs alike follow hashtags related to various camera models, lenses, and unique techniques to stay updated with the latest trends and to find inspiration.

For example, if you used a Nikon D750 for your photoshoot, you can hashtag this specific camera model (e.g., #NikonD750).

There are also users who search for photos created using specific techniques, for instance, you can use a hashtag like #longexposure for long exposure shots.

Utilizing hashtags for your photography gear or methods not only assists in categorizing your own content, it also opens up new avenues for interaction.

These can lead to meaningful exchanges with fellow photographers who use the same equipment or employ the same techniques.

It can also foster a sense of community among photographers who share the same passion and interests.

Additionally, if the product you have used has an Instagram or Tiktok account, they may notice your post and potentially share your work on their account, giving your content more visibility.

You might consider also hashtagging photo editing software like #Lightroom or #Photoshop, which can attract other editors or graphic designers to your post.

Remember though, too many hashtags can feel spammy so it’s imperative to use them sparingly and relevantly.

In the end, incorporating hashtags that reflect the tools and techniques you’ve used can make your posts more searchable and connect you with others who have similar interests or skills.

So the next time you post that beautiful image you captured using your DSLR camera or that breathtakingly surreal long-exposure night shot, don’t forget to hashtag your gear and your technique.

Above all, ensure your hashtags are accurate and true to your content, as misleading hashtags may garner views, but they can also alienate potential followers if your content does not match their expectations.

6. Participate in Relevant Hashtag Challenges

Participating in relevant hashtags challenges is an essential factor in maximizing your online visibility as a photographer.

These challenges are frequently initiated by photography influencers and provide a great opportunity for photographers to show off their style and talent to a wide audience.

Not only can this trajectory boost your followers count, but it can also lead to potential collaborations and networking opportunities.

Keep an eye out for these challenges by following popular photography hashtags and influencers.

The rules for these challenges are usually straightforward and entail using a specific hashtag when posting your entry.

Embrace challenges and participate in them regularly, it will help gain exposure and might even lead to unexpected opportunities.

Ensure that your entry aligns with the theme or topic of the challenge. This isn’t just a requirement in most cases, but it also shows your versatility and adaptability as a photographer.

Always be respectful and positive when participating in these challenges.

Engage with other participants, their responses and maybe share on your stories, as this maybe lead to fruitful collaborations or even friendships.

Remember, it is crucial to stay authentic and true to your unique photography style.

Participation in these challenges must not mean compromising on your artistical identity.

Make sure to use high quality and clean images for these challenges, as this could be the first time potential followers or colleagues are seeing your work.

Always keep in mind that every post you make represents your personal brand.

Finally, as you participate in these challenges, keep track of the engagement your posts receive.

Understanding what resonates with your audience will help you refine your hashtag strategy and improve your visibility on these platforms.

7. Use location-specific hashtags for travel photography

Using location-specific hashtags in travel photography not only aids in categorizing your content but also lets your audience and potential followers know where the photo was taken.

This strategy could help increase visibility amongst users drawn to specific locations or those planning to visit the said place.

You could use a combination of general location hashtags (like #NewYork, #GrandCanyon, #Paris) and more niche ones related to specific landmarks or experiences (like #BrooklynBridge, #HikingGrandCanyon, #ParisCoffee).

However, research is key to finding location-specific hashtags that will give you the maximum reach.

Make sure to use the name of the city, region, country, or even continent in your hashtags.

Don’t forget to include even the smaller, less popular places or unique experiences, with hashtags like #HiddenGem or #OffTheBeatenPath, to attract a different subset of Instagram and TikTok users who love discovering new places.

This strategy not only enhances your reach but gives your content a distinct flavour that sets it apart from the sea of content on these platforms.

A significant advantage of using location-specific hashtags is that they are less likely to be overcrowded or overused, which could help your post stand out more.

Find out what other popular photographers or influencers in your genre are using.

Check the trending location hashtags related to your content and use them in your posts.

Avoid using only popular tourist spots’ hashtags as these might be saturated with millions of posts.

Experiment with a variety of location-specific hashtags and keep track of which ones bring more engagement.

Note that location-specific hashtags can have a significant impact, especially for travel photographers, as it’s a community with a keen interest in learning about new places.

Make it a habit to update your location-hashtag strategy regularly as trends change rapidly on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

Ignore the temptation to abuse popular hashtags, it’s essential to stay authentic and hashtag only relevant locations.

8. Hashtag the Photography Style or Theme

The style or theme of your photography plays a critical role in the selection of your hashtags. Not only does it appeal to a specific audience, but it also allows you to join a pool of creators with similar interests.

Applying genre-specific hashtags such as #PortraitPhotography, #LandscapePhotography, or #WildlifePhotography can attract fellow photographers and enthusiasts that appreciate your style.

Thematic hashtags such as #GoldenHour, #Bokeh, or #Minimalism can likewise connect you with a niche audience that is interested in that particular theme.

It’s crucial to commit time to understanding the different photography styles and themes to correctly use these hashtags. Applying inappropriate or irrelevant hashtags might attract temporary attention, but it won’t help build a loyal and engaged following.

This tactic revolves around the idea of showcasing your unique style and theme to find others who genuinely appreciate and identify with your work. This, in turn, can help your content stand out, boosts your chances of being featured in Instagram’s ‘Explore’ or TikTok’s ‘For You’ sections.

Cariying out a bit of investigation on what hashtags other photographers in your niche are using can also be useful. By doing so, you can discover new relevant tags and at the same time make sure that you’re catering to the right audience.

The use of genres and themes specific hashtags is a potent tool to connect with a specific audience and other creators who share the same interests.

Focus on quality over quantity – it’s more important to use fewer, but highly relevant hashtags than to clutter your captions with dozens of vaguely related ones.

As the popularity of a certain style or theme grows, so does the volume of related hashtags. Stay updated on trending styles or themes and adjust your hashtags accordingly.

Adding a unique twist to a popular theme can help bring a fresh perspective and boost engagement on your posts.

A word of caution: avoid overusing trending hashtags. This might come across as desperate and may frustrate your audience. Stick to those that are genuinely relevant to your work instead.

Another strategy to explore is the use of branded hashtags. If your photography style or theme correlates with the aesthetic of a certain brand, utilize their branded hashtags to attract their attention and potentially get featured on their social platforms.

In the end, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to hashtagging your photography style. What works for landscape photography may not work for portraits, so it’s wise to continually learn, experiment and evolve your hashtag strategy.

By incorporating these tactics, you can enhance your social media presence, build a community that appreciates your unique style and theme and ultimately grow your brand on platforms like Instagram and TikTok.

9. Avoid Banned or Overused Hashtags

When you’re crafting your hashtag strategy for platforms like Instagram and Tiktok, it’s essential to steer clear of banned or overused hashtags.

Banned hashtags are those which have been explicitly prohibited by the platform as they violate the community guidelines.

Using banned hashtags can lead to your content being shadowbanned, which means your posts won’t show up in searches or hashtag feeds potentially impacting your engagement negatively.

For example, hashtags such as #likeforlike or #followforfollow are considered spammy behavior and are thus discouraged on Instagram and Tiktok.

Using banned hashtags can not only decrease your engagement but also tarnish your brand’s image.

On the other hand, overused hashtags are those that are used excessively and hence, your content can easily get lost in the crowd.

For instance, while #photography is a relevant and popular hashtag, it is also vastly overused and hence your post could be buried under millions of other posts within seconds.

Even though these hashtags could potentially get you more reach, the engagement would be low as the users typically scrolling through these overused hashtags are not necessarily your target audience.

To identify if a hashtag is overused, you can simply input it into the social media platform’s search bar and see how many posts come up under that hashtag.

If a hashtag has over a million posts, consider it overused.

It’s more beneficial to use niche hashtags that are specific to your content and audience.

Doing so will increase your chances of being discovered by relevant users who are actively interested in your type of content.

To find niche hashtags, you can perform a competitor or influencer analysis to see what hashtags they are using.

You can also use Instagram’s tag suggestions feature, or TikTok’s trending categories for inspiration.

Remember, the key is to create a balanced hashtag strategy that considers relevance, popularity, audience engagement, and compliance with community guidelines.

10. Update Your Hashtag Strategy Regularly

To maintain an effective online presence, it’s crucial to keep your hashtag strategy updated regularly.

What worked a few weeks or months ago might not work today due to the ever-changing nature of social media platforms such as Instagram and TikTok.

Both the interests of users and the algorithms that dictate content visibility are constantly evolving.

Thus, keeping up with these changes is paramount for your continued success.

An outdated hashtag strategy can result in your content getting lost in the sea of posts, and your hard work might not get the recognition it deserves.

Regularly updating your hashtags ensures that your content remains relevant, appealing and easily discoverable in the vast social media landscape.

While doing an overhaul of your hashtag strategy might sound daunting, you don’t have to start from scratch every time.

By analyzing the performance of your past posts, you can identify which hashtags are bringing in engagement and which ones are underperforming.

Once you have this data, make necessary adjustments by capitalizing on successful tags and dropping ineffective ones.

However, do remember to try out new hashtags occasionally.

You never know when a newly trending hashtag might prove beneficial for your photography page.

Regularly refreshing your hashtags also helps to avoid seeming repetitive or spammy to your followers.

Moreover, Instagram and TikTok may flag accounts that use the same set of hashtags for every post as spam.

So, regularly updating your strategy helps preserve the credibility of your account too.

With various online tools available, you can track the popularity and performance of hashtags over time.

These tools can greatly aid in your endeavor to keep your hashtag approach up-to-date.

The key is to stay informed and adaptable, being open to experimentation and continually learning from your results.

How Can I Create a Successful Hashtag Campaign?

Creating a successful hashtag campaign begins with understanding your goals and determining what you hope to achieve.

The choice of hashtags can play a major role in expanding your reach and attracting potential followers.

For photographers on Instagram and TikTok, the right hashtags can help your content get noticed in the massive flow of images and videos.

You should consider using hashtags related to the photography niche to connect with the audience who have interest in the subject.

Additionally, think about using hashtags related to the type of photography you specialize in or the location where the photo was taken to create a targeted campaign.

It’s also a good idea to create a branded hashtag which is unique to you or your photography business.

A strategic hashtag campaign could be the key to significantly increasing your impact on social media platforms.

If you create a compelling branded hashtag, your followers might start using it themselves, increasing your reach even more.

Remember to promote your hashtag across all your social media platforms for it to gain visibility.

Make sure to keep the hashtags relevant and specific to the content you post.

Using popular and trending hashtags in your niche can help your posts get seen by a wider audience.

However, be wary of choosing hashtags solely for their popularity; your content should still align with the hashtag’s intended use.

It’s also important to monitor the performance of your hashtags.

This will help you figure out which hashtags work best and adjust your campaign strategy accordingly.

In the end, a successful hashtag campaign is about creating high-quality photography content that people want to see, and using hashtags that make it easy for your intended audience to find.

Consistency in your use of hashtags and in the kind of content you’re posting can go a long way in establishing a successful campaign.

What Makes a Hashtag Trend on Instagram?

Understanding the mechanics of how a hashtag trends on Instagram can be instrumental in having your own successful hashtag campaign.

Essentially, the popularity of a hashtag on Instagram depends largely on how often it is used.

When many people start using a specific hashtag within a short period of time, Instagram takes note of the sudden spike in popularity.

Once Instagram recognizes this rising popularity, the platform’s algorithm may choose to highlight that hashtag in their trending section.

The trending section on Instagram is often the first place users look when they want to discover the latest viral content.

To have your hashtag trend, it is essential to actively encourage your followers to use the hashtag in their posts.

Sharing it across your own images and captions can significantly enhance the chances of it trending.

But it’s not as simple as just using the hashtag frequently. The content accompanying the hashtag needs to be engaging and beneficial for other users.

If your hashtag is associated with content that is attractive and valuable to the Instagram community, it stands a higher chance of trending.

Moreover, it’s also crucial to ensure that the hashtag sticks to Instagram’s Community Guidelines to avoid any potential issues.

Besides, the best time to post with your hashtag may also affect its potential to trend. Determining when your followers are most active can help drive engagement.

Also, collaborative efforts by partnering with influencers or other photographers significantly boosts the visibility and usage rate of your hashtag.

An important note is that trending hashtags on Instagram often relate to topical events or discussions happening in real-time.

These trending hashtags can provide a good benchmark for what Instagram users are interested in at the moment.

Hence, incorporating trending hashtags along with your specific photography hashtag could increase visibility and possibly get your hashtag trending.

Lastly, remember that good things take time. Consistently leveraging your hashtag with quality content is the surefire way to eventually get it trending.

Why Are Hashtags Important for TikTok Exposure?

When discussing the importance of hashtags for TikTok exposure, it is critical to understand the fundamental purpose of these tags.

The strategic use of hashtags on TikTok can significantly boost the visibility of your posts, leading to higher engagement rates.

They function as a search mechanism, enabling users to discover your photography content more easily amongst the immense amount of material available on the platform.

Hashtags organically lead TikTok users who are interested in specific niches, like photography, to your content.

The TikTok algorithm uses the hashtags to suggest related videos to users, increasing the chances of your content being shown to a wider audience.

This ultimately results in more views, more likes, and more followers, thus improving your overall TikTok presence.

Furthermore, TikTok also has a unique feature known as the ‘Discover page’, which prominently highlights the most popular and trending hashtags.

If you strategically incorporate these trending tags in your posts, your content can potentially reach a substantially larger following.

Proper usage of hashtags is also noticeably useful when you are trying to create a brand or identity for yourself in the photography industry.

The right hashtag can make your content more identifiable, allowing you to connect with your targeted audience and fellow photographers more effectively.

Interesting enough, TikTok also often runs ‘Hashtag Challenges’ where users are encouraged to create content around a specific hashtag, fostering community and engagement.

By participating in these challenges with content related to photography, you can increase your reach significantly and potentially attract a surge of new followers.

Lastly, it is important to keep in mind that utilizing relevant and popular photography hashtags signals that you are an active and engaged member of the TikTok community, which can have beneficial results for your overall online presence.

The key is to strategically choose hashtags that not only describe your content but are also being searched for and viewed by TikTok users.

This approach will ensure that you are not just getting views for the sake of it, but these views are actually translating into meaningful engagement, and ultimately, greater online exposure for your photography content.

Are Too Many Hashtags Bad for Engagement?

One key question that many photography enthusiasts can often find themselves asking is: Are too many hashtags bad for engagement?

The simple answer to this is: yes and no. It essentially all depends on how you use them. A sea of hashtags in your posts can indeed seem spammy and can potentially turn off some viewers.

On the contrary, when used correctly, hashtags can help to increase engagement, especially on Instagram and Tiktok. These platforms utilize hashtags as a method of categorization and discovery.

It is important to strike a balance between using sufficient hashtags to gain exposure and not overwhelming your audience with hashtag spam.

The truth of the matter is, using too many unrelated or popular hashtags may result in your post getting automatically marked as spam by Instagram and Tiktok algorithms.

It is generally recommended to use between 5 and 9 hashtags per post on Instagram for optimal engagement. Too many hashtags can distract from the content of the post itself and can seem desperate or unprofessional.

On TikTok, you can use even fewer hashtags, typically between 2 and 4, as the focus there is more on the content of the video rather than the accompanying text.

In the realm of photography, it is particularly delightful to use a few select photography-specific hashtags. These would include the niche you’re shooting in, your style, and even your location.

However, it’s important to remember that only using popular, broad-based hashtags, like #photography or #photo, can result in your post getting lost in the millions of others using the same tags.

This is where the art and strategy of hashtag research comes in. It’s advantageous to find less competitive, but still active, hashtags that can help your post stand out.

It’s also crucial to regularly update and change your hashtags. Instagram and Tiktok both favour posts using a variety of hashtags, as opposed to repeatedly using the same ones.

In summary, when it comes to using hashtags on Instagram and Tiktok, it’s not just about quantity, but very much about the quality and relevance of the hashtags used.

As a photographer, it is imperative to understand the hashtag game to maximize your content’s visibility, reach, and ultimately, your engagement with the audience.

Remember, while hashtags are indeed powerful tools, they are just that – tools. Your content’s originality and quality are what will genuinely drive engagement and growth.

How to Research Effective Hashtags for My Niche?

When it comes to using hashtags on Instagram and Tiktok, it’s important to use ones that are relevant to your specific content and industry. This is where niche hashtag research comes into play.

Firstly, look at the hashtags other successful photography accounts are using. They have already done some of the research for you and figured out what works.

However, you should not just blindly copy them. While it can give you good ideas, their audience might be different from yours and not all hashtags will be applicable to your content.

To find the right hashtags for you, try using Instagram’s search function. When you type in a hashtag, it will suggest related ones which you can then check out.

While checking them out, it is important to consider the number of posts a specific hashtag has. Highly popular hashtags might make your posts lost among thousands of others.

Identifying lesser-known hashtags in your niche could be a more effective strategy to reach your target audience.

Then, you may want to consider utilizing online tools such as Hashtagify or other keyword search tools that can help you identify trending hashtags in your niche globally or locally.

Look at the type of content that is being posted under the hashtags that catch your attention. This could give you ideas for new content or how to present your existing content in a way that attracts more attention.

The quality of your content matters too. High-quality content combined with suitable hashtags will likely garner more engagement.

A/B testing is a useful method to find out which hashtags work best for you. This involves using different hashtags on similar posts and monitoring the engagement levels.

After you have identified the right hashtags, use them consistently in your posts. Regular use of the same hashtags can help build a following over time.

It might be useful to create a list of hashtags relevant to your niche and keep it updated.

Remember, the use of hashtags should complement your content strategy, not replace it.

Also, Instagram allows up to 30 hashtags per post and Tiktok allows up to 100 characters for hashtags. However, make sure to only use as many as are relevant to your content and audience.

Finally, constantly evaluate and tweak your hashtag strategy. What worked once might not work in the future as trends and algorithms change.

Hashtag research requires time and effort, but it can significantly improve your Instagram and Tiktok performance when done correctly.

The Bottom Line

So, using the right hashtags can make all the difference in the world for your Instagram or TikTok photography content.

It’s not just about having great photos, it’s also about making sure they get seen by a larger audience.

When you use appropriate hashtags, you’re likely to engage with more users who share your interest in photography.

Remember to mix it up and experiment, use both popular and niche hashtags to reach the widest audience possible.

Happy snapping and hashtagging!

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