Photographers: Do you care how many likes you get on social media? Be honest — Does it impact how or what you post? Does it bring you down if a post doesn't get as many likes? Or do you not give a damn?
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If you post and present your authentic self, your community will build regardless of who does or does not stop to hit the like button. Do you and we'll appreciate you on your merits.
Personally don’t give a flying rats ass what I get for likes.
Don’t share to get approval or fame and fortune, I share in hopes that my image might bring a moment of joy and wonder for a brief moment.
Well I deleted my Instagram and Threads accounts yesterday. Because of Zuckerberg. So there’s a clue. It’s liberating actually, which makes me think it’s not about the likes, it’s about the platform and the hours you’ll never get back. Likes are easily given and mean nothing. 2025 is about real life
I post to share my images and thoughts for others who come by to enjoy. It's more enjoyable to not dwell on social media metrics. Comments is another thing.
I did years ago, but not so much these days. I've never pursued the followers or likes, I follow those I like or who interest me or I can learn from. It's a lot less stressful that way
I don’t mind… but I’m a hobby photographer. There isn’t any value in my photos (I’m not selling them) beyond hoping that people enjoy them. I think that helps to not need likes. Not sure if that makes sense. That being said, if I love the photo, sometimes I really want more people to see it.
I will say though that likes are a good metric of how good a platform is for you. The lack of interaction on meta is really noticeable particularly on threads and that does make me consider if it’s worth posting there at all if the levels of interaction is so low.
I'd be lying if I said I didn't care about likes, but also – I realized years ago that the "prettier" photos I posted were the ones that got the most likes, and the more "challenging" ones that I posted, the ones that represented me pushing the edges of my vision and craft, got 1/10th or fewer likes
I’d like to say it doesn’t matter but it is deflating to share work that you are proud of only to have a handful of likes. I try to say it doesn’t really matter because of algorithms and other factors but the negatives still linger.
I like to be liked but don’t need to be liked. I post my favorites on here. I take a lot of pics. Sometimes I do a shoot and don’t have one favorite in the lot.
I didn’t really care until it was clear that an algorithm was preventing folks from seeing my work. Algorithm-free platforms like Foto provide more organic likes with 10K folks in a beta than the entire 3 billion of FB.
I want to not care, but sometimes it's hard not to, especially when it is a piece that you are particularly proud of. I need to remind myself of The Algorithm on a regular basis to even out those self-doubt thoughts.
I think we all care and if you say you don’t care, you may be lying to yourself. 😂 It’s the whole point of social media isn’t it? Would people bother posting if they literally got zero likes or interaction ever? I don’t think so.
Sometimes when I'm particularly happy about something from my various projects, I may message some specific people to look. I know the habits of some of my friends: I can tell if they're busy, but/and know they'll eventually look at my stuff/ comment not right away but a little after. fine w/me!
occasionally, but depending on the day or the platform it could be lost in the feeds, you know? sometimes I change the privacy settings to public if they weren't already. I miss so many things from people I care about, so I expect that they miss things from me, it's an issue on FB for sure, I feel.
It annoys me that it is difficult to increase eyes on work. So yes it affects me whether or not something gets likes. But I wouldn't say I've ever posted anything to generate likes specifically. I'm gonna post what I post and hopefully people see it.
Huh. I tend not to comment on photography posts as it felt intrusive, even more so as I'm not a professional photographer, so my grasp of how hard it was to take and edit the photo is limited. Or I do know, but wouldn't know how to express that and I'm afraid I'd use the wrong words.
For most people it's probably mostly about the aesthetics. And think that a like and a repost is enough as a tacit acknowledgement of appreciation. Even if that's counter-intuitive, as this is social media and the point is personal interaction, which is also what I'd expect to get from other people.
Likes are lovely. Chasing them on social media seems a fool's errand. That said, getting new assignments, print sales or sales of my photo books from postings gets the blood flowing. I strive for authenticity and giving a glimpse of what I am as a human as well as a photographer.
While it doesn't influence *what* I post, I do feel likes definitely influence my mood. I think because I just started sharing pictures, I'm hoping for engagement. It's something I am working on, as I just want to take pictures for me, and it's getting better 👌
For me it's share what I think is good without expection or worrying about likes (although, they are nice to get). I don't think social media is the place from proper critique via likes, there are much better, more fruitful avenues for that.
I've always used likes alongside other metrics as a measurement of how many people the work is reaching and engaging, but I also don't use it as feedback for if I should do something differently. I'm still ultimately going to make the work I want to make.
I've also noticed that often the work I'm most in to (in the sense that it feels personally significant) gets the least amount of traction, which is sometimes worth a good laugh, sometimes annoying. But, we press on, lmao.
I think “Imposter Syndrome” is big in most creatives so it’s good to get likes for something posted as a kind of reassuring pat on the back. But generally I don’t chase “likes” but post what I enjoy and am pleased when someone else likes it too. However I have1/2
Nobody wants to be ignored. Even those who say likes don't matter aren't being honest with themselves otherwise what's the point of sharing on social media?
I find a lot of it is just like chatting with people on a bus or maybe you sat next to them at a sporting event or something. Cool to talk to but not necessary to follow one another home.
Likes are appreciated of course, but I'm more interested in the connections and engagement that can grow out of posting. To me that's the real strength and potential of social media.
It's always nice for someone to like your post. But it doesn't mean much. The only thing it might indicate is that someone actually looked something. The only value I find is as an indicator that something broke through the algorithm and was seen by some of the people who follow me.
I appreciate likes but find they come from the same people, delightful supporters, and it's hard to get new followers. Comments and shares are more precious. I'm curious to see how different it feels here, but Facebook algorithms have been deadening my reach for a long time. That gets depressing.
I've been doing it too long to know neither will get you anywhere - in editing or finding your audience.
An organic feed from a decade ago could tell you if a particular photo resonated. Now, likes can only clearly tell you how you are performing with the algorithm with timing and consistency.
With socials and the podcast I make I refuse to look at the stats. I’m pursuing value based creativity. I make things because I want them to exist. Doesn’t mean I’d sometimes like to know but I think it’s the right way to think about making.
It was a huge motivation for me to take photos when they were liked and enjoyed by others but now it pretty much no longer matters. It's hard seeing others with a huge number, does it mean their work is better than mine? Maybe. I don't know. Then again I see terrible photos with way more.
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Don’t share to get approval or fame and fortune, I share in hopes that my image might bring a moment of joy and wonder for a brief moment.
Social media populists are the new mainstream.
Be real.
Be weird.
have little no followers
still blog
all for me
😊
However, it doesn't impact what or how I post.
I won’t totally change my whole feed for them, but I might not bother posting something folks might not be into.
It is nice to have likes - but I'll swap any number of likes for a sale.
An organic feed from a decade ago could tell you if a particular photo resonated. Now, likes can only clearly tell you how you are performing with the algorithm with timing and consistency.
https://www.iainfarrell.com/blog/value-based-creativity