Many photographers begin their careers out of a hobby or simple interest in the field then eventually go part time as they continue to go to school or work another job in an unrelated field. I myself do this as a designer full time for an ad agency while also putting 40-50 additional hours into freelance photography and social media consulting on top of that. Only select few, such as famed photographer Eelco Roos, aka @Croyable on Instagram, get a chance to quit comfortable day jobs such as as an IBM Engineer to take on Intagramming full time.
When Instagram launched just over four years ago Eelco was easily one of the best shooters outside of major cities in the US, such as New York and San Francisco. His feed exploded with beautiful landscape and lifestyle photography in and around Amsterdam eventually catching the eye of Instagram themselves who then added him to their Suggest User list, his following growing well past 100,000.
Now with a following close to half a million on the social network, he has been able to work with brands such as Sony, Samsung, Ducati and various tourism boards across the world capturing stunning work to share to thousands. Eelco says his main source of income is Instagram campaigns with brands and various worldwide agencies.
Working in IT was never my dream job. Photography has always been a big passion of mine, a creative outlet so to speak,
Having worked at IBM for over 10 years it was the contrast of photography that gave him the drive to do something more with his career ultimately finding himself shooting full time giving him the ultimate freedom. Something very few creatives get to say in this day and age. He has taken the opportunities given to him and worked harder than anyone else to make them a reality each and every day.
Check out some of his work below as he travels the world and brings to life every location he visits with breathtaking photos.
To see more of his work and follow along on some incredible adventures be sure to check in out on Instagram.
Images used with permission by Eelco Roos.
[via Business Insider]
I'm interested in hearing more about how this makes the shooter money. I'm aware of the obvious fact that social media is a tool that brands use for exposure and interaction with their market, but why would they hire an "instagramer" vs any other professional photographer?
It sounds fun but also short lived. I wonder if a while from now we read articles about people who've been shooting only "grams" for over a decade.
The whole thing here, and in my case, is people will hire me as the photographer and its almost a bonus to have a few posts or a social media campaign created or added into the deal. That way they get all the photos a normal shoot gets along with exposure to potentially thousands or tens of thousands of people over a span of time (or posts in my case on Instagram). I have many of my clients around Instagram but not limited to it in the case IG just goes up in smoke come a few years though with the lifespan of FB and Twitter right now and its growing interest Instagram has the most punch over a longer timeframe, or at least in my opinion. You can learn more about what I do and how I go about building various points of a photogarphers business using Instagram as a tool on the Groups page on Fstoppers https://fstoppers.com/groups/instagram-business
Exactly! I've been quite surprised the first time a brand contacted me to "collaborate" as they say :)
We are in the future and it is quite amazing.
Yes I like to hear that too. And how he produces these images.
I don't know the technical side of things, but I imagine brands are now more savvy of social media than in the past, so they hire these Instagrammers to basically advertise for them (especially good for tourism I assume), because, it appears to users to be more genuine than New Zealand advertising how great New Zealand is. It might be kind of like how famous Youtubers now will do sponsored videos. It allows photographers to produce quality content that doesn't really FEEL like advertising, since the younger, tech-literate generation does not respond well to traditional advertising methods.
Right, many brands just look for someone with either a decent following and a strong portfolio or a huge following and a decent/poor portfolio. Either way they can reach a large audience with great return. Though the stronger photographres with th ebetter portfolio can push those photos further with rights usage and the brands can use them across multiple platforms rather than using the other guys. I feel photgoraphers have a stronger chance to push further in this market and can make an impact how brands go about working with influencers in the future.
that's what I was most curious about. It's more like paying photographers to Hashtag and talk about what brands and campaigns they'd like endorsed. The article should be more clear on that. I'm pretty sure it's a gig that you have to be approached for instead of seeking it out in most cases.
I'm currently working towards a marketing degree with an emphasis on brand management. Conversations with topics that cross my career goals with my hobbies/obsessions gets my ears to perk.
Hello Andrew, I just read your article "Quitting Your Job as an IBM Engineer to Be A Full Time Instagrammer". It stuck a cord with me as I too work in IT and have this passion for photography. I have been working on building a "travel instagram" for some time now and was wondering if you had any more "steps to success", I have tried commenting and liking other instagrammers, using hashtags, optimizing time's but can't seem to make any strides in growing followers. Could it be that i'm not as "focused" as I should be (ie. focus in one genre like only beaches)? My instagram is @travelingwithphil and would really appreciate any feedback. Thanks for writing your article!
Thanks man, building and always getting more engaged with your community is the best way to keep building. It takes time really. There is no formula for success but a few things to keep an eye on is consistency for sure, story and keeping these interesting. Always pushing your work to be better each shot. If you want to learn a bit more I have a spot on the Groups page here that goes into a little more detail on subjects about the business side of Instagram and how I go about it. https://fstoppers.com/groups/instagram-business
must be nice...