Interview with an Instagram Photographer

Instagram is a funny thing. I wrote a post a while ago that I recently took down because it wasn't really ME. It was kind of negative and I was a little bitter about how I'm not pretty or skinny enough for Instagram. I didn't want my frame of mind to be deterred because of a darn post I wrote. 

But something's changed since that post. I've gotten a little more creative. 

And I've found a photographer.

A photographer that makes me look amazing. 

A photographer that has changed my LIFE. 

This is Anthony:

I met Anthony at work then learned we're pretty much neighbors. We hung out a little bit then I saw his Instagram page. It was beautiful. I really don't remember when we started shooting together, but he's been a DREAM. Don't believe me? Here are some pictures he's taken of me:

Now, I feel like I don't actually look like this. It's just Anthony's doing. 

I'm trying to get more creative and grow my Instagram because I would love a job in social media at some point, whether it be a manager or a promoter. I'm not sure yet, but I'm having fun playing around with pictures right now.

I thought it would be great to interview Anthony! He's smart, funny, and has such good insight (even when I go to him with friendship problems, I always end up saying "Anthony, you're right").

I asked him some questions and he answered! I hope you guys enjoy this interview!!

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Anthony, I owe all my great pictures to you and your photographic eye. You make me look REAL nice and I'm always shocked. Where do you get inspiration from for your shoots? 

"Well, I actually started photography back in high school. I always knew I had an eye for pictures, and wanted to know more about the art form and what demographic for business. After I took some courses and did some of my own practice, I learned how color and composition fused well with each other. My inspiration kind of stemmed for my passion for pictures and the many things you can do in the world of editing and photo-taking. Then, I began to follow photographer like Jon Wong, Jerry Maestes, Brandon Woelfel, and so many others, and it led me to try it out as a bit of personal work, portfolio building, and freelance work."

There are always trends on Instagram: the flow-y skirt trend, the mirror trend, ect. Do you have a favorite trend?

"The mirror trend, actually, is very recent. It was interesting to see people take on how they used a reflective surface, or mirror as a main source of prop, and used it to create compositions depicting creativity, self worth, mental health awareness, or just to be performative/ part of the trend. It really was interesting to see everyone’s own spin. Another trend I also loved was from our Instagram KWEEN, Tezza Barton, #benditliketezza!"

Instagram is a business for a lot of people. I know you're a student right now but have you ever thought of using your creative mind and turn it into a business of some sort?

"Yes, I’m currently doing so actually. I used to do it as side hustle about a year or two ago, and then I took a break. Now I want to take it more seriously and get a new business license and further my creative content freelance work. I also am going to school for photography, social media, and business. So down the line, I'd either like to work for a big time studio, agency, or continue down the line of freelance and see where that takes me. I always enjoyed the many opportunities photography can give you and business as my right hand in this can truly get me in the right direction of having my own brand someday considering other passions I have in mind, or be just where my idols are now!"

(He's holding my book OMG!)

When I see your end photos, I'm always so jealous that I don't have even an inch of your talent! Do you have any tips for people who would like to take better Instagram pictures?

Yes, and thank you! I always gain inspo from looking at fellow content creators and other influencers. Although most of the time a picture of mine either comes from my own creative mind in the moment or I’ve remembered a really good composition I’ve seen before and put my own creative touch to it.

Some tips I would recommend would be, work with the camera you have now. For those just getting into photography, having the most expensive equipment and camera won’t make you a better photographer, but work with what you have, do some research, and practice makes perfect. Once you feel comfortable, it’s time to move a step up, and maybe look at some cheap camera bodies. Like a nice Nikon or Canon DSLR. For those that like to constantly update their 'gram feed, invest in a phone tripod or camera tripod. If you have a camera, some DSLR's have built in WiFi to help you take timed shots. Adjust angle and check how you want your picture to be. For phones, it’s not that much of a luxury, except having a tripod and a clicker will help you the same; just a bit more work.

Don’t be afraid to try new things & new poses. Photography, modeling, creative content causes you to think outside the box, and like I said, practice makes perfect. Gain inspo from those you look up to or constantly admire. Reach out to fellow creators and see how they’re doing or what they’re working on.

In the world of photography, I feel like the skies the limit. 

And on social, you get to show that off to the world.

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Thank you SO much Anthony! You are a DREAM!

If you'd like to follow Anthony on his amazing social media:

Anthony's Main Instagram

Anthony's Photography Instagram

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My Research on Social Media

I was messaging a very lovely woman named Marlinde on Instagram the other day. She is a big part of the online world. We were talking about how I HAVE to get out of retail. It's wearing on me physically AND especially mentally. 

I keep telling my friends (and I always felt bad about it), that I feel like I'm meant for more. 

But while messaging this woman, I told her "you know, I kind of want to be some kind of manager one day. I don't know. I love social media so maybe a legit career in that, but I don't want to go back to college."

She surprised me by saying "WHAAAAT? You don't have to go to college to be a social media manager! Absolutely not!" 

I was taken aback because everything I Googled said "You need to go to college for marketing. End of story". And I was not in the mood to wreck my mental health by taking more college classes. The first round of college was enough. 

But...a social media manager? Me? I only have 200 followers on Instagram. I mean, I have a good amount of readers on this blog (THANK YOU) but I don't have a legit "following." Could I still try?

I talked to my mom about it. I told her all the things that come with being a SMM (Social Media Manager) and for once in my life, she said it sounded like a really good idea. I usually have dreams way too big for my head and she's used to those. But she actually thinks this is great.

So I Googled. And I researched. I found a podcast called Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner. It has over 400 episodes and most of them are SO good and relevant on what I need to learn. 

I listened to 7 hours of that podcast in 2 days. I wrote notes. Learned a bit of lingo. 

But I still had questions. I HAD to talk to a SMM at some point to ask my question I've been dying to know: "How do you like your job?" So I went on LinkedIn and searched. I wasn't allowed to message any of them or connect with any because they were 'too big' for me, or whatever LinkedIn says. 

I went on Instagram. I messaged this another woman who I KNEW would give me some names. But as it turned out, her answer really peeved me. 

She said back to me: "Of course I know a lot of social media managers! But their time is too valuable and they won't answer you unless you build rapport. That means, you need to pay them to ask them any questions. Let me know what you decide to do!"

I was...shocked. I had one question. A simple question. I'm not paying for that! That's not good business, that's being rude. 

That led to me unfollow her and write what I've learned so far on here! FOR FREE! So many people on social media are WAY too secretive on what they do and how they do it. Which I get, but as a beginner, I need every tip I can get. No one is mentoring me, so I picked up a notebook and started writing notes down in it on what I learned through (ahem, FREE) podcasts. 

I really want a niche in individual branding (but definitely am willing to work with companies) and I'm going to start with one platform at a time, and right now, it's Instagram. Because Instagram fascinates me.

If you ever want to learn behind the scenes of social media, here's what I've learned so far:

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-When you're just starting out as a social media manager, or you coordinate some sort of social media, your pay rate most likely should be by hour. $15 is the lowest you should go. When you get more experience, you can get paid per campaign. 

-Organic social media= posts that don't have a paid promotion behind it. Some people say organic is dead. For me, I think it's the only way for someone small to build a following. Be organic at least some of the time! People can tell when you're getting paid; don't over do it. 

-ROI= Return on investment. The formula I've heard for ROI is 'money earned minus money spent divided by money spent'. Pretty much, you want to earn more than you spent. Keep in mind, doing online ads are not part of ROI. It's it's own separate thing. (sorry for the money talk. Trust me, I'm shocked I understand this...)

-For every $1 you put in for an online ad, you need to make $4. You need 400% . It is the simplest way to increase your income. I don't suggest small businesses do too many ads at first because it's pricey. One ad is fine; you need to make a name for yourself. But more than one without building a following first is risky to your paycheck.

-Utilize apps.
~I'm into Hootsuit, which I'm using for Instagram right now. Hootsuit is an app where you can schedule your posts, which is nice for people on the go. You say "hey I want this picture to be posted on my Instagram tomorrow at 12 pm" and Hoosuit will do it. 

~Mailchimp. I've always wanted a newsletter and I JUST got into it a few weeks ago. Mailchimp keeps my followers up to date on what I post and where I post. You can play around with templates to make it and really, it's not hard at all. People who subscribe care about what you post. Keep that in mind!

-For someone who is really into coding, UTM is the way to go for analytics. Pretty much, UTM will track where your followers came from. For example, I put a certain UTM code at the end of my blog link on Twitter. Whenever someone clicks that specific link, you KNOW it's from Twitter because I put a special code at the end. The more you know your analytics, the better!

- My go-to podcasts (as of right now) are: Social Media Marketing with Michael Stelzner, Blogging Unscripted with Danielle Gervino (I learned SO MUCH from this one), and Awfully Ambitious. If you want to learn from these podcasts, keep a notebook handy! 

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I hope you enjoyed what I've learned so far! I still have a ways to go (LOL) and a lot I have written down in my hand dandy notebook (pictures above). 

First and foremost, I HAVE to grow a following on Instagram before I can even think about doing any of this. So if you can, please follow me on Instagram HERE. Tell your friends to follow me too! I try and take cute pictures, I promise!

ALSO, please let me know if anyone knows of a NICE social media manager that I can talk to! I would love to see their website!

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Black Out Tuesday 2020

(Picture from The Violin Channel)

I have spoken out about the injustice of black people and people of color. 

As a white woman, I can't fathom what black people are going through. Having racism in 2020 is despicable. I have grown up with black friends, I have worked with amazing black people, and I can't even describe what I'm feeling, let alone be a person of color right now. 

I put on my Instagram that posting my regular content felt weird so I didn't want to right now. I had a (white) friend message me saying "yeah, but you have to because we need to make a change as influencers."

I didn't quite understand how posting new smiling pictures of myself will help, but I was also taken aback by how she called me an "influencer." I have 200 followers on Instagram. I don't have a voice. I, of course, did share some pictures that I found relevant on my stories.  But I didn't know what else to do. 

I went on Twitter and that was a whole different story. You can have a voice on Twitter, but it's all about opinions on there. Through the scrolling of hateful Tweets and capital letters, I found a link that was helpful for me.

I can't donate money. I can't go to protests. But I need to DO something. I found this link and signed all the petitions on it. 

Please click HERE for ways to help (I will also link it at the end of this post).

I also see big names on Instagram saying "I don't know what to say but I will educate myself." Will they? I sure hope they do. 

Last night, I attended an Instagram live with Dani from @Ohhappydani. She is a black artist and an all around great human. She talked to white Christians, such as myself, and how to be an ally. God isn't punishing you for being white. White guilt shouldn't be a thing. God made you how you are. BUT he also said to love everyone. 

She gave the example of the good Samaritan. How everyone saw the beaten traveler and even a PRIEST didn't help him. But the Samaritan stopped to help the traveler and then did even more. He put the worn traveler on his own animal and brought him to safety. 

That's when I started getting emotional. 

If you are silent, you are like the priest. But if you chose to help, you are the good Samaritan. 

(BY THE WAY, DANI IS HAVING MORE INSTAGRAM LIVES ABOUT BEING AN ALLY TO BLACK PEOPLE FOR A COUPLE MORE DAYS! Please follow her HERE. I will be tuning in every night)

I also found, through the link I showed above, that there are learning tools. I like to read, so I clicked on those for hours and learned things. I really got use of out this link HERE. It taught me that white people tend to see each other as individuals but see black people as a whole race. I will not lie but I see that in this country. People are grouping "blacks" together yet white people are "all their own person."

Then, I found (after reading and clicking around for some time), these journal prompts and conversation starters on race. HERE is the link. But I'd like to answer one or two below, with complete honesty: 

Prompt #1: "How do you feel about the privilege you have?" 

My answer: "If I say I'm lucky, that would be the truth. I only have had one person in my life follow me around the store because I had blue hair and they thought I was sketchy. But I will never know what it's like to be a person of color who gets followed ALL the time. One time made ME mad. My privilege was given to me at birth, but this privilege should be given to everyone."

Prompt #2: "Who can you have a conversation with about anti-racism and white privilege?"

My answer: "I do have a lot of friends who are P.O.C., but I have learned something in the past few days: they don't owe you anything. I have not reached out to them with questions because they are going through a hard time and I am respecting them. But it isn't their job to educate me. I will not go up to a black person and say "how do I do *blank*". I will ALWAYS take their input though. Even if I'm not doing something wrong, I want to know how to be BETTER. 

I always thought I didn't have a voice in this. I have a following of people on my blog, and I'm here to tell you, a voice is a voice , no matter how small. 

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If you can not donate, if you can not (peacefully) protest, here are the links that helped me. I hope they help you. Please share this post, not for the views, but for education. 

Ways to Educate Yourself: X

More Resources: X

Resources and Tools regarding anti-blackness: X 

Black Lives Matter Carrd: X

Conversation/Journal Prompts: X

Links on Anti-Racism: X

Black Lives Matter Ally Research: X

Why It's So Hard to Talk About Racism: X

 

By the way, if you DO have the funds to donate, my friend Annika (Click HERE to see her retweets on how to help) pointed me towards this thread:

Click HERE for donation links 

(THE MINNESOTA FREEDOM FUND HAS ENOUGH DONATIONS, BY THE WAY!)

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