How to get photography clients on Instagram: couples, families and brands, by DM

How to get photography clients on Instagram: decide which shoots you want (weddings, families or brand work), find the people announcing exactly that moment, and send each a short message about their own post before you mention a booking. Once they look, your portfolio does the convincing. The DM is what gets them to look.

Below: who buys each kind of shoot, where they are on Instagram, a first DM, follow-ups and a safe pace.

Who buys photography on Instagram

Photography gets bought around moments and launches. Couples book after an engagement. Families book around a new baby, a move or a milestone. Brands and local businesses book when they open, when they launch a product, or when their feed is obviously shot on a phone. Each of these needs a different message, so pick one per campaign.

• Weddings and engagements: newly engaged couples, who usually post the ring within days.
• Families and newborns: pregnancy announcements, new homes, first birthdays.
• Brand and product shoots: new cafes, restaurants, salons and small product brands.
• Real estate: agents with active listings. Our page on Instagram for real estate agents covers how agents use the platform.

Where photography clients are on Instagram

Engaged couples show up in engagement hashtags and in the follower lists of local wedding venues and planners. Families show up in local parenting accounts. Brands show up in location tags for your area's shopping streets and among the followers of local business pages. Whichever group you're after, look for the people posting, not other photographers.

Ideas to test:

• Hashtags such as #engaged, #shesaidyes, #[yourcity]wedding, #[yourcity]bride, #newbornannouncement, #[yourcity]smallbusiness and #grandopening.
• Location tags for wedding venues, popular proposal spots, and new shopping streets and markets near you.
• Followers of peer accounts: local venues, florists, planners and bridal shops for weddings, local parent groups for families, and your city's business association for brands.
• People commenting on venue or planner posts to ask about dates.

To get a search plan for your niche and city, try the free Instagram lead generation tool.

What the first DM should mention

Congratulate them or compliment one specific thing, ask about their plans, and leave your portfolio out of it. Your profile is one tap away, and anyone curious will look. A price list or a link in the first message reads as a pitch, and when you're writing to a stranger, plain text is the safest first message.

An example opener:

Hi [name], congrats on [the engagement / the opening / the new arrival]! [One detail you liked from the post]. Have you picked [a date / a venue / a launch day] yet?

The cold DM script generator writes versions for each type of shoot.

Follow up after they accept

When they accept or reply, keep the conversation on their day or their business. Ask one more question, then offer something useful, like a few photos from a similar shoot or tips on choosing a photographer. Bring up your availability for their date once they ask, or once the timing is clear. If they don't accept, don't send a follow-up.

A safe daily pace

Photography leads are seasonal and local, so a small number sent steadily is enough. InstaReacher's pace rules start with a quiet first day. After that it sends 10 new requests a day and adds 5 every two sending days, up to a cap of 30 for accounts under three months old, 40 for accounts up to a year old and 50 after that. These numbers come from vendor and community sources, not from Instagram. Check your own limit with the Instagram DM limit calculator.

What not to do

Don't DM people on their wedding day or in the week after a birth. Don't use their photos in your reply or your feed without asking, don't tell them their current photos are bad, and don't message the same couple twice before they accept. And don't let other photographers fill your engagement hashtag search. Filter them out first.

If you shoot video too, the same buyers often need it: see how to get video editing clients on Instagram. Brands that need photos often need design as well, which is covered in how to get graphic design clients on Instagram. For every niche, see how to get clients on Instagram.

Questions

Should photographers DM engaged couples on Instagram?

Yes, if it's personal and you congratulate them first. Send one short message about their post with no price list, and don't send a second unless they accept.

What hashtags do photography clients use?

Pick hashtags about the moment, not about photography: engagement and wedding tags with your city, birth announcements and grand openings. Photography hashtags mostly turn up other photographers.

Should I send my portfolio in the first DM?

No. Keep the first message to plain text. A pitch with a link puts people off, and it's the kind most likely to be filtered. Share examples once they reply.

How many DMs should a photographer send a day?

Start at 10 new requests a day and build up slowly, as above.