"I am tired, I edited these photos really well & used all the right hashtags, tagged the model and studio yet I still can not get the exposure I want".

Have you ever said this as a photographer? Chances are you have at one point in your journey and if that's the case then you are actually going through something that the best of the best go through. Why? How?

See, most people really want to develop these larger than life profiles with millions and millions of followers, likes, shares etc. But what separates you from "most people" is that you are thriving to get better, going through the long path to victory, learning to walk before you can run!

Its unpopular, sure, we all want to wake up and be successful right away but the reality is simply that we are not there - right now. So how do you get to this point?

What I have done to get my profile to get the attention I want it to have, is to look at who does what I do & see how they do it. Seems to easy right? Wrong. I take deep dives into who they tag, how they respond to comments, what content they post, what time of day they post and how many times a week they post. I message them, see how they respond to my messages and I study their follower base and who they follow, sounds like a "fan" so to speak, but to get where you want to be - you need to know how its done. This method can be repeated several times, and I promise you - if you study how the pros do it, you will soon be the person who is studied.

Okay, you have the profile views now, followers are going up and your seeing more traffic - But my posts just aren't as good as "insert name of person / profile". Firstly, you should never judge the way you edit your photos. Each photo you edit and post is unique to your style, that is what makes you who you are, you can pull inspiration from what other styles are out there but never let that overtake what you create. At the end of the day, if we all did the same thing exactly the same way, then there would be no need for your work or my work, as the work is already being done at a massive scale.

So, you have the profile working, now the confidence for the editing, but now I cant get the photos to reach the right audience - help. Hashtags, hashtags and hashtags. Think of these as little tabs on a book you read that help you find exactly what you want when you want it from a book of 500 pages. Look at your profile and the photo you are posting and think to yourself, what audience do you want to reach?

The goal we all want it to grow and be known, take the steps above and take the the time to study your account to make the best choices you can make - it will work out.