Wildlife photography: 5 Tips for Standing Out on Social Media

In wildlife photography and videography, as in many other fields, social media are ideal platforms for exchanging with other artists and sharing your work. In this article, I'm going to discuss 5 tips that have enabled me to build a community of over 350,000 followers on Instagram in one year in a completely organic way. These tips are particularly relevant to platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok and YouTube, where content related to wildlife photography is very popular.

No matter what platform you use, the frequency with which you publish your photos or videos is very important for building a successful page on social media. It's essential for two main reasons: to improve yourself quickly, and to get more visibility. 

Personally, when I started posting more frequently on my Instagram page, I set myself the goal of sharing a 5-30 second video every two days. This pace, which was neither too slow nor too fast, enabled me to maintain a certain quality while still encouraging me not to procrastinate. For some people, the frequency may be higher, while for others it may be slightly lower. The important thing is not to publish every day for two weeks and then stop for three months and start this loop again ad infinitum. You need to maintain a certain rhythm in order to stay active and build your community.

 Étienne Tremblay 
Canon R5 + CANON EF 500mm f/4L IS II USM
1/1250 | f/4.0 | ISO 800

Over the last few months, I've preferred to take a little more time over each video, which means publishing them less frequently. However, each one generates better results, and I feel a greater sense of pride about them. I'm now focusing more on quality than quantity, but at first it was the other way round.

In fact, it's that when you start publishing and you're a perfectionist like myself - as most artists probably are - always wanting to share THE best photo can be counterproductive. It's better to set yourself the goal of publishing frequently, sometimes to the detriment of quality. You'll see that, over time, your photos and videos will improve. 

Photographing is what makes you a photographer, isn't it?

There are many ways to stand out as a wildlife photographer: through your style of composition, your colour palette or your choice of subjects. However, beyond creation, a simple method of getting users on social networks to recognize your work and become attached to it is to put yourself forward as a photographer.

Interact with people who comment on your publications, share photos or videos of yourself, use stories (ephemeral content) to tell them what you're doing at the moment and what you're photographing, comment on the publications of other creators you like, and so on.

The aim is for people who look at your photos or videos to have an idea of who you are and to associate your work with the person behind the camera. It's more natural to support and interact with a publication when you feel like you're talking to a real person. 

Remember that social networks were designed for sharing with others, so do it!

With the craze for video content on social media, it's clear that an effective way of standing out and gaining more visibility is to create quality videos.

The three main platforms where short videos are popular are TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts. Personally, having studied film, I've always preferred video production to photography, but it's true that the process is quite long. That's why I've been concentrating for over a year on creating short animal sequences on social media.

 Étienne Tremblay 
 Canon EOS R + Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3, at 400mm
1/1000 | f/6.3 | ISO 2000

Making a video may seem complex at first, as it involves several phases such as the choice of recording settings, audiovisual capture in the field, editing, colourimetry, choice of soundtrack and more. The key is not to skip any steps, and to take it one at a time.

The world of wildlife photography is full of extremely talented artists on social media and elsewhere, but that doesn't mean the market is saturated. Rather, it's a passion that's more accessible than ever thanks to the capabilities of modern cameras and video cameras. That's why, if you want to differentiate yourself, you need to offer quality content that stands out from what others are offering. It's not always easy, but the important thing is to try to think outside the box and follow your instincts.

The advantage of using a digital camera is that taking 10 photos of an animal costs the same as taking 100 using different angles. Take this photo of a Canadian goose relaxing in a field of dandelions. At first glance, there was nothing special about this moment; it wasn't until I lay down on the ground to be at eye level with the bird that I discovered a wonderful opportunity to capture a unique photo. Sometimes, daring to be different also means not being afraid of ridicule and laying down on the ground to find a unique angle!

 Étienne Tremblay 
Canon R5 + EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM, at 400mm
1/800 | f/5.6 | ISO 800

Whatever the platform, the algorithm often plays the role of scapegoat for creators who complain that their content is not getting the visibility they want, despite the fact that they are following current trends.

In reality, the algorithm is simply a reflection of what people like to listen to, watch, comment on and share at a given moment. So there's no point in trying to understand exactly how it works, as it's different for each social network and changes every day.

There are lots of factors that go into making a successful social media post, some of which have already been mentioned in this article, but the most important thing is that the content should be fundamentally good and frequent enough. It also needs to be consistent with what you normally share and what your target audience expects. 

Regardless of the number of hashtags, the time the publication was posted or the alignment of the stars that day, quality, interesting content will always perform better than a publication that is nothing special. Personally, I define interesting content as original, relevant and engaging. In short, it's photos or videos that attract attention and provoke reactions from users such as likes, shares, comments, etc. When I talk about interesting content, I also include the caption and all the visible elements related to the publication that help people understand it.

Étienne Tremblay 
Canon R5 + 500mm f/4L IS II
1/250 | f/4.0 | ISO 1250

At the end of the day, I find it much more productive to question the quality of your content and try to improve it, rather than blaming an ever-changing algorithm. There are several ways of sharpening your judgment about what makes content more original and engaging. 

On the one hand, it's essential to analyze past publications and try to understand why some of them have achieved better results. On the other hand, it can be interesting to look at what other similar photographers and videographers are publishing and note what works best. It's important not to see them as competitors or threats, but rather as sources of inspiration.

 Étienne Tremblay 
Canon EOS R + Tamron 150-600mm f/5-6.3 G2, at 600mm
1/1250 | f/6.3 | ISO 2000

Finally, the main reason not to worry about what the algorithm thinks is to preserve your mental health. Social media can be incredibly positive or negative depending on how you use it.

Being successful on these platforms isn't a race against time, nor is it rocket science, let alone a necessity.

Create what you love, what makes you proud and who knows, maybe you'll realize that thousands of people have the same tastes as you.