If you’re a wedding photographer or simply into engagement photography, social media is going to be your best friend in helping to increase visibility and reach new customers.
Besides getting friends to reshare your work and word of mouth, hashtags are a strategic tool that can help to get your content seen by hundreds and thousands of people.
Whether you’re going to be photographing your first wedding and you want to show your portfolio off to the masses, or you’re a professional wedding photographer and building your brand, it can be overwhelming trying to figure out which wedding hashtags to use each time you make a post.
To help you out, we’re going to be sharing some of the best wedding photography hashtags, as well as equipping you with some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Instagram. After reading this guide, we’re confident that you’ll be a hashtagging expert! So, sit back, relax, and let’s begin.
What are Hashtags, and how do they work?
Essentially, hashtags are interactive keywords that make your posts visible to a wider audience. Users can simply click on a hashtag, and they’ll instantly be transported to a ‘top posts’ and ‘recent posts’ section. Users can also do this by manually typing the hashtags into their search bar.
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Recently, Instagram has rolled out a new feature that lets users follow hashtags that they’re particularly interested in.
All they need to do is press the ‘follow’ button, and this will then lead to all the relevant posts featuring the hashtag being shown on their feed, just like the other accounts that they follow.
Hashtag Tip #1: Aesthetics
On Instagram, aesthetics are everything. So, when you want to add hashtags to your post, all you’ll need to do is insert your hashtags into your caption.
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Beware though, too many hashtags can look a little messy and unruly on a post, which can affect the aesthetics.
To keep the focus on your awesome wedding photography and away from the hashtags, we recommend doing the following:
- After you’ve prepared a caption, hard return, and then add a period.
- After you’ve added a period, do so another several times which will create a vertical line of periods.
- Add your hashtags in a block at the bottom of the caption, and voila!
By doing this, the hashtags aren’t going to be visible! Whoever views your post will have to press the ‘more’ button on your caption to actually view them. Clever, right? This brings us onto our next point…relevancy!
Hashtag Tip #2: Relevancy
Always remember, you can only use up to 30 hashtags on a post. Although, if possible, we recommend using less than 30.
Quality is better than quantity, and you’re likely to achieve a much bigger reach if you use a small number of relevant hashtags, as opposed to a bigger amount of general hashtags.
According to marketing experts, five to seven moderately popular hashtags, three to five niche-specific hashtags, and one to three branded hashtags is the magic recipe for social media growth.
Hashtag Tip #3: Your niche
If you want to be business savvy and truly succeed, you should stick to the mantra “You can’t please everyone. Just take a look back at your portfolio. Do you notice a particular pattern?
Perhaps you like to shoot in B&W, or maybe you’ve photographed a lot of beach weddings. Whatever it is, your ‘niche’ is going to be a catalyst when it comes to gaining new customers and a larger audience via hashtags.
Remember: your customers are planning their wedding, so they’re going to have a very specific idea of what kind of wedding inspiration content they’re looking for, so make sure that they’re able to find you.
Picture this: you post a selection of shots taken from a recent rustic themed wedding. You could consider pairing #rusticwedding (which has nearly 2m posts) with a hashtag specific to the location.
So, if you happened to be shooting in Michigan, you would also use the tag #michiganrusticwedding, which currently has fewer than 100. You might think that using a targeted hashtag with fewer posts is counterproductive, but that’s far from the case.
Just think about it: if you’re a newly engaged couple, one of the first places you’re going to go to for inspiration is Instagram, and it’s highly unlikely that they’re going to sift through millions of images in the hopes of finding something relevant and close to them.
As a wedding photographer, you want to be able to reach your target audience, which is more than likely going to be people living in the same location as you.
Hashtag Tip #4: Instagram feature accounts
A little trick to achieving visibility (and quickly) is to catch the attention of an Instagram feature account.
All of the popular photography hashtags are regularly scanned by feature accounts, which then pick the best photos taken by other users and repost them onto their own feeds, giving the post owner credibility in the caption.
These kinds of accounts often have high engagement rates and thousands of followers, so if you can get yourself a repost, it’s highly likely that you’ll see your follower count spike.
It should go without saying, but as a wedding photographer on Instagram, you’re up against some pretty tough competition to stand out!
Your content should be eye-catching and stand apart from the rest, but, as your job is to take pictures, we’re sure you already have that part nailed.
Hashtag Tip #5: Analytics
To be able to properly understand what hashtags are working and which are not, it makes sense to switch your Instagram to a business profile.
By switching from personal to business, you’ll be given exclusive access to the “Insights” feature that allows you to see how many impressions your hashtags are bringing in, as well as other useful analytic information.
You’ll even be able to run paid promotions on your top-performing posts, which is where you can pay Instagram to promote your post to a target audience of your choice. You can even select the locations you would like your post to be promoted in.
Regardless, analytics will help you to track your growth and figure out what you’re doing well and what you could improve on.
As you begin to enjoy consistent success with your hashtag use and you notice more and more visitors traveling to your Instagram page, it’s highly likely a smaller percentage of those visitors will decide to click through to your website!
Make sure that you keep your website linked in your bio so that customers will be able to book you as their photography.
Popular hashtags for wedding photography
General wedding photography hashtags:
#weddingphotographyideas #weddingphotography #weddingphoto #weddingphotographysociety #wedding #weddinginspiration #bride #weddingday #weddingphotographer #weddingdress #photography #love #weddings #weddingplanner
#groom #bridetobe #prewedding #weddingideas #photographer #destinationwedding #photooftheday #indianwedding #weddinginspo #instawedding #weddingdecor #brideandgroom #couple #engagement #couplegoals #photoshoot #bhfyp #bridal #herecomesthebride #Ido #weddingotd
#bodas #instagram #photo #weddingplanning #weddingmakeup #makeup #weddingseason #instagood #bridesmaids #weddingstyle #engaged #bridalmakeup #bridestory #d #wedmegood #fashion #portrait #weddingku #weddingsutra #brides #makeupartist
#weddingdetails #beautiful #portraitphotography #marriage #theknot #like #canon #nikon #theytiedtheknot #sayIdo #preweddingphoto #daddydaughterdance #firstdance #matrimony #happilyeverafter #picture #photographer #weddingphotographyservices
Showcase your B&W wedding imagery with these hashtags:
#bwwednesday #igersbnw #bwstyleoftheday #blackandwhite #igblackandwhite #instagrambnw #blackandwhitecreators #monoart # #bnwprofile #blackandwhiteimage #bw_society #bw #blackandwhite
#blackandwhitephotography #bnw #bnw_captures #blackandwhiteonly #monochromatic #bnwcollage #photographicplate #photomontage #photojournalism #blackandwhitetype #blackandwhiteweddingimagery
#photographicfilm #bnwinstagram #picturetaking #blackandwhitetheme #bnw_society #bw_crew #bwstyles_gf #monotone #instablackandwhite #irox_bw #blackandwhitephoto #blackandwhitenow #digitalphotography #blackandwhiteshot #blackandwhitetoday #filmmaking #portraiture
Make sure the blushing bride takes center stage with these hashtags
#mrstobe #couplesweddinghoot#bridetobe #dreamring #theknot #engaged #engagement #engagementphotos #engagementring #engagementrings #engagementsession #fiance #futuremrs #futurewife #heproposed
#howheasked #isaidyes #love #marryme #proposal #shesaidyes #weddingforward#weddingphotographer #weddingplanning #wegettingmarried #wifetobe #engagementphotographer #weddinginspiration #ido #imengaged #gettingmarried
Got some great portraits of the groom? Check out these hashtags:
#groomsparents #groomsquad#groom #groomandbride #groomandgroom #groomandmom #groominspiration #groomlife #groomsbestfriends #groomselfie #groomsfashion #groomshoes #groomside #groomsmen
#groomsmenideas #groomsmenswag #groomsshoes #groomssocks #groomsthatarefun #groomstory #groomstyle #groomsuits #groomswag #groomswithstyle #GroomTheory #groomtips #tuxedo #groomparty #GroomPortrait #groomsattire #groomvsbride
Connect with your creative community with these general photography hashtags
#photographysouls #photographyeveryday #photographylover #worldbestgram #composition #art #instag#JustGoShoot #InstaGood #InstaPhoto #PicOfTheDay #PhotoOfTheDay #Photogram #Capture
#PhotographyDaily #PhotographyIsLife #iPhoneography #Camera #Composition #Photoshop #Instadaily #Igers #HDR #HDRspotters #Instafocus #IGworldclub #Visuals #Aesthetics #ThroughTheLens
#Snapshot #Exposure #Moment #photooftheday #photo #picoftheday #PhotographyAddict#exposure #moment #snapshot #pictures #photos #design #cinema #light #agameoftones #exclusive_shots #pixel_ig
#photographyislife ood #focus #photography #perspective #color #beautiful #shots #capture
Additional Advice
- If you like to save hashtags and use them as you go along, double check when you copy and paste that you have spelled each hashtag correctly! Otherwise, your target audience isn’t going to be able to find you.
- Make sure to switch up your hashtags frequently and per post. Instagram tends to shadowban accounts that use the same hashtags, or too many.
- Make sure to use relevant hashtags for each post, as opposed to solely using random popular ones.
- If you’re ever stuck for hashtags ‘Display Post’ is a great way to generate popular hashtags that you may not have used before.
- Lastly, make sure to use a mixture of popular wedding photography tags, as well as hashtags that are relevant to your post and relate to your niche. It’s easy to get lost in the bigger hashtags, and the less popular hashtags are likely to attract people who are actually going to want to pay for your service. You’ll also have way fewer posts to compete with – you might even make it into the ‘top posts’ section!
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is my Instagram post not showing up in the ‘recent’ or ‘top posts’ section in the hashtags I used?
It can be pretty hard to understand why this happens. Instagram isn’t overly forthcoming with the way their system operates, however, one of the main theories as to why a post doesn’t show up in the hashtags is due to Instagram flagging your post as spam, and then shadowbanning it so it isn’t given any visibility.
If this happens, try not to feel disheartened. A popular theory is that, when a big bulk of hashtags are used in one post, Instagram can instantly interpret the post as spam, even though it’s not.
We recommend switching up your hashtags per post, as well as keeping the number of hashtags you use to a minimum amount.
What are the best hashtags on Instagram for wedding photographers?
The best hashtags for your posts are going to vary frequently. However, as a foundation, we recommend keeping in mind the following when selecting the best Instagram hashtags: who your target audience is, what it is that you’re posting and where it is you’re located.
You should also think about whether or not you’re trying to get a regram on other Instagram channels!
If so, we strongly recommend tagging some relevant Instagram accounts in the post, as this will bump up your chances of getting a re-post.
How can hashtags help my follower count to grow?
Hashtags = visibility! Hashtags are a great way for all kinds of photographers to increase exposure to their work.
When you hashtag your photos, your post will become more easily discoverable, as it gets put onto the hashtag’s discovery area.
So, the moment that you start to kill the hashtag game and notice more users visiting your page, you’ll no doubt start to notice your follower count creeping up.
Sure, you might not gain 1000 followers in a day, but if you consistently hashtag correctly, you’ll be able to enjoy considerable growth in just acouple of months!
Besides potential clients, professional photographers and photography enthusiasts will be able to discover your posts, so you can connect with people that have the same profession and interests as you.
Like we mentioned earlier, hashtags can also help to get your work reposted on popular photography pages, which can also help to spike your followers up.
