Minimalist photography is a major driver of the trend towards simplifying, decluttering and creating space in all areas of the modern lifestyle – from interiors to cars and fashion.
This photography niche has so much visual impact that minimalist photographers can’t afford not to be on Instagram.
The world’s most popular image library offers minimalist photographers an unparalleled opportunity to capture users’ attention and build an engaged audience.
However, unlocking the potential of Instagram is not as straightforward as simply posting images to your Instagram account.
To build your minimalist photography brand on Instagram, you’ll need a solid understanding of what Instagram hashtags are and how they work.
What are minimalist photography Instagram hashtags and what do they do?
The average poster on Instagram uses hashtags to describe their image and its setting or context.
This enables Instagram to crowdsource the difficult job of segmenting and categorizing its vast image library, thereby making it searchable for other users.
In this context, each hashtag functions as a keyword that other users can search for to pull up relevant content.
By tagging an image with a hashtag, you broaden the reach of your Instagram account beyond your followers by making your images available to other users searching for content on the platform.
How Instagram searches work
To run a hashtag search on Instagram, tap the search feature on Instagram and type in the hashtag.
Once you enter the hashtag in the search bar it will pull up the hashtag you searched for as well as related hashtags, along with the number of posts for each of these hashtags.
Clicking on the hashtag on an image or on the hashtag search listings will open a gallery for the hashtag. This is available in two views:
1. The default ‘top posts’ which displays the images tagged with the hashtag that have the most user engagement, typically in the form of post likes. The size of this gallery varies on mobile but is restricted to nine images on desktop.
2. The ‘recent posts’ tab that displays images that have been tagged with the hashtag in order of most recent to least recent. The size of this gallery is unlimited.
How to use minimalist photography hashtags on Instagram
Once you know how hashtags work on search, it can be tempting to go after the most popular hashtags thinking that this will get you the biggest potential search audience.
This is a common mistake that can all but guarantee that very few people will see your images – unless you already have a large Instagram following.
That is because:
1. You will require hundreds, if not thousands of likes on an image for it to appear in the top posts for a competitive hashtag.
2. Images in the recent posts section of a popular hashtag are visible only momentarily before being buried under a stream of newer images.
To consistently appear in the top posts and recent posts for a hashtag you will need to make your hashtags specific to your image.
This is easily done by including combinations of keywords directly relevant to your image in the hashtag, including image style, location, and the object or topic being photographed.
An example would be targeting #minimalistinterior (65,913 posts) compared to using the broader #minimalism (23,584,537 posts).
Once you narrow down the focus of your hashtag you’ll reduce competition levels, improve your chances of displaying in the top posts, and extend the amount of time your image is visible in recent posts.
Best of all, your image will be far more relevant to people searching for that hashtag, which will increase the probability of getting meaningful engagement with your image.
How many post likes do I need to appear in the top posts?
The more popular the hashtag, the more likes you are going to need to appear in the top posts.
The exact number of likes required to appear in the top posts will vary depending on how popular your account is and how many competing images you are up against at any given moment.
The most active and popular hashtags will typically require hundreds or thousands of likes for an image to secure a spot in the top posts.
As soon as a hashtag drops below the 100,000 post margin things become much more manageable. At 10,000 posts you can typically get a top posts position by getting your likes into double digits.
How many Instagram hashtags should I use?
If you keep your hashtags specific and avoid chasing after very popular hashtags you’ll by default use a relatively small selection of hashtags on each post.
This is for the best, as overusing hashtags on an image looks amateurish, makes it hard for viewers to figure out which hashtags are relevant to the image, and smacks of desperation.
If you decide to forge ahead with using as many hashtags as possible, Instagram will put a stop to this once you hit 30 tags.
The most popular minimalist photography hashtags for Instagram
Here are some of the most popular minimalist photography hashtags on Instagram.
| Hashtag | Post number |
| #minimalist | 13,873,697 |
| #minimalistic | 3,327,534 |
| #minimaliststyle | 772,161 |
| #minimalistics | 762,120 |
| #minimaliststart | 450,852 |
| #minimalistfashion | 445,479 |
| #minimalistdesign | 361,382 |
| #minimalistphotography | 215,065 |
| #minimalistinterior | 65,913 |
| #minimalistinteriordesign | 8,358 |
| #minimalistphotographer | 7,292 |
Connect with clients on Cherrydeck
Instagram is an important platform for building your minimalist photography brand. However, it was not designed to help minimalist photographers connect with potential clients.
That’s where Cherrydeck has filled the gap.
We recognize the challenges that professional photographers face in the competitive digital environment and offer a platform designed to help photographers connect with potential clients.
Signing up to our busy platform is 100% free and it is quick and easy to create a profile for your beauty photography business.
Once you have signed up with Cherrydeck you’ll also have access to:
- New commissions and collaborations made available on our platform.
- Tools to boost your Instagram reach and following.
- Discounts on software for creative professionals via our Partner Deals program.
- The ability to present your events to our large creative community.
Visit Cherrydeck now to find out more. Or visit our blog for more insights.
