Here’s How I Went From Zero Followers To Winning Instagram

Off the bat, you should know that this is not an article about how to game followers. I possess no secret intel there. The main reason I have the numbers I do is because my personal account has twice been featured on Instagram’s suggested-user list. That, plus a couple of articles about it and regrams by big brands, including Design*Sponge, Steven Alan, and AFAR magazine, have accelerated my follower count. But none of this would’ve happened had I not been posting halfway decent photos. And that’s what this article is about, since it’s actually way easier than you’d think.

There are five quick facts you should know:

1. I wasn’t an early Instagram adopter. I put up my first shot in mid-2013.
2. I have no inside contact at Instagram, nor do I have insight into their selection process.
3. I am not a “photographer,” and have received no proper training outside the one film-photography class I took years ago in college.
4. I’ve shot 99% of the photos on both my account and Spot’s account with my iPhone, NOT a camera.
5. I work pretty much nonstop during the week, so I take most of my photos on weekends, making what I can out of limited shooting time.

So, what’s the big secret?

While there are overarching tips I could share — shoot during the day, pay attention to your background, avoid overly cluttered compositions — my No. 1 secret (or crutch, as true photographers might call it) is mastering photo-editing tools. And I don’t mean heavy-handed photo filters (I’m looking at you, Valencia).

Read on to see what I mean.