While Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook hold their importance, photographers might be overlooking a hidden gem: pinning on Pinterest. Pinterest is a huge social media network that has expanded beyond hand-knit sweaters and DIY projects to encompass all types of visual inspiration. The platform offers a great way for professional photographers to build their brand and spread their work. In this article, we’ll explore Pinterest for Photographers and provide tips to maximize your exposure and workflow.
Pinterest for Photographers: At a Glance
This guide covers everything you need to know about using Pinterest to grow your photography business and attract new clients.
- Creating Your Pinterest Account – Setting up and optimizing your profile
- Maximizing Your Pinterest Presence – Strategies for reaching your target audience
- Integrate Pinterest into Your Client Workflow – Using mood boards to drive traffic
- Create a Board Full of Past Work – Showcasing your portfolio effectively
- Pin Client Testimonials – Converting browsers into booked clients
- Engage with the Pinterest Community – Building relationships and growing your following
- Measure Your Success on Pinterest – Tracking analytics and refining your strategy
- Set Up a Pinterest Business Account – Unlocking advanced features and insights
- Frequently Asked Questions – Common questions about Pinterest for photographers
Creating Your Pinterest Account
Start with these basic steps:
Start Your Profile – Before you can start using Pinterest, you’ll need to create an account. Once you’ve created an account, it’s important to optimize your profile by adding a profile picture, bio, and website link. Make sure that this is consistent with your brand messaging on your website and other social media profiles. Your bio should include relevant keywords that potential clients might search for, such as your photography specialty and location. Think about what a bride searching for “Los Angeles wedding photographer” or a family looking for “Orange County portrait photographer” might type into the search bar.
Create Boards – Next, you’ll want to create boards to organize your pins by category or theme. Consider creating boards organized by your favorite shoot locations, your favorite themes, or your favorite post production styles. Don’t be afraid to get creative with your boards and make it your own. For wedding photographers, this might mean separate boards for ceremony moments, reception details, couples portraits, and specific venues you’ve shot at multiple times. Portrait photographers could organize by session type, lighting style, or seasonal themes.
Pin From Your Website – Finally, create more pins by uploading your own photos or by saving photos from your website and other sources to your boards. We recommend saving photos from your website, instead of uploading photos, since images saved from your website will automatically link to the source, providing traffic for your website. This is one of the most powerful aspects of Pinterest for photographers because every pin becomes a potential pathway back to your portfolio or blog post.
Maximizing Your Pinterest Presence
To maximize your presence on Pinterest, it’s important to identify your target audience and create content that will appeal to them. Unlike Instagram where content disappears from feeds within hours, Pinterest functions more like a visual search engine. Pins can continue driving traffic to your website for months or even years after you post them. Follow these general guidelines:
Niche Down – Create boards that focus on specific niches or topics, and consider the niches within your niches as well. For example, in the niche wedding photography, you can niche down further with specific boards for ethnic weddings. Or in the niche of high school senior photography, you can niche down by activity like sports or music. The more specific your boards, the more likely you are to attract your ideal clients who are searching for exactly what you offer.
Use Keywords – You’ll want to utilize keywords in your pin descriptions to make your content more searchable. Pinterest’s algorithm relies heavily on text to understand and categorize your content, so write descriptive captions that include terms your ideal clients would search for. Include details like the venue name, city, photography style, and any relevant details about the shoot. Rather than a generic description, something like “Romantic golden hour engagement photos at Laguna Beach with soft natural lighting” gives Pinterest much more to work with.
Focus on Quality – Creating high-quality content is key to attracting and retaining followers, so be sure to use high-resolution images and well-written descriptions. Pinterest favors vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio (1000 x 1500 pixels is ideal), so consider this when selecting which images to pin. Your strongest vertical compositions will typically perform best on the platform.
Consistency in Your Efforts – Finally, consistency in pinning is important for keeping your audience engaged and growing your following. Aim to pin regularly rather than in sporadic bursts. Many successful photographers pin a few images daily rather than dozens at once, as Pinterest’s algorithm tends to reward steady, consistent activity over time.
Integrate Pinterest into Your Client Workflow
Have your clients pin images from your website when they create their mood board. The mood board is a collection of photographs that represents the desired style for a photoshoot in photography. When your clients pin your images from your blog onto Pinterest, they are essentially sharing your images on that social media platform.
Each of these images contains a link back to the source, which is your website. Therefore, these mood boards can serve as a significant source of traffic to your website, potentially increasing your online presence and visibility. This creates a virtuous cycle: your clients help spread your work to their friends and followers, many of whom may be planning their own weddings or photo sessions. For more marketing hacks, see our free ebook, 8 Marketing Hacks for Wedding Photographers that we created with Wedding Maps.
To encourage this behavior, you can add a “Pin It” button to your blog images or simply mention during your consultation that clients are welcome to save images from your site to their Pinterest boards. Some photographers even create a private Pinterest board to share with clients during the planning process, making collaboration seamless.
Create a Board Full of Past Work
Go through your portfolio, pick out your very best work, and create a Pinterest board or make a few and theme them. They’ll function the same way as a Facebook album, only Pinterest users will be able to easily re-post or “pin” your pictures, increasing their views on the site. With any luck, your images will be re-pinned, those re-pins will be pinned, and you’ll create a domino effect of exposure.
When selecting images for your boards, prioritize your most striking vertical shots since these perform best in Pinterest’s feed layout. Think about what makes someone stop scrolling: dramatic lighting, emotional moments, unique compositions, or stunning locations. Each pin should represent your absolute best work because it may be the first impression a potential client has of your photography.
Pin Client Testimonials
Pinterest for photographers is more than just sharing pretty pictures. You can also use it to help in the client conversion process. Pinterest users love a well-designed pictographic, which works out great for you because they’re a perfect way to showcase client testimonials.
Keep praiseworthy quotes short and use an eye-catching font that will grab pinners’ attention. For example, you can use Photoshop or Canva to place a testimonial over your most gorgeous photo. People will be attracted to the picture, and will simultaneously get to-the-point information about why they should hire you. A beautiful image paired with a glowing review creates powerful social proof that can help convert browsers into booked clients.
Consider creating a dedicated board for testimonials or mixing them into your portfolio boards. You might also create pins that highlight specific aspects of working with you, such as your turnaround time, your approach to making clients feel comfortable, or the experience of receiving a finished gallery.
Engage with the Pinterest Community
A successful strategy of Pinterest, and any other social media, for photographers requires consistent and genuine interaction with the community. Engaging with the Pinterest community is important for building relationships and growing your following. Implement these strategies into your workflow:
Follow Users in Your Niche – You can start by following other users in your niche or target audience, and liking and commenting on their pins. Follow wedding planners, florists, venues, and other vendors in your area. Their followers are often your ideal clients, and building relationships with fellow vendors can lead to referrals.
Consider Group Boards Carefully – Group boards allow multiple contributors to pin to a shared board. While they were once a major growth strategy on Pinterest, algorithm changes in recent years have reduced their effectiveness. Pinterest now prioritizes fresh content from individual accounts, and low-quality group boards can actually hurt your engagement metrics. If you do join group boards, be selective: choose boards with engaged members, active moderation, and content that matches your ideal client’s interests. A board filled with other photographers won’t help you reach brides and grooms, but a board curated for engaged couples planning their weddings might. Quality over quantity is the rule here.
Measure Your Success on Pinterest
To measure your success on Pinterest, you’ll want to track your analytics to see how your pins are performing. You can evaluate your engagement rate by looking at the number of saves, likes, and comments your pins receive. If you’re not seeing the results you want, you may need to adjust your strategy by creating new content or targeting a different audience.
You can also dive into the Pinterest Analytics to see how your account is doing and adjust accordingly. You can see the gender, age, locations, devices, topics and more. Pay particular attention to which pins drive the most outbound clicks to your website, as that’s ultimately what leads to inquiries and bookings. You might discover that certain types of images, locations, or topics resonate more strongly with your audience than others.
Set Up a Pinterest Business Account
With a Pinterest business account, you’ll be able to track which of your boards and pins are the most popular, as well as how much exposure you’re receiving on the platform. Business accounts are completely free and give you access to features that personal accounts don’t have, including detailed analytics, the ability to run promoted pins, and Rich Pins that automatically pull information from your website.
Are users flocking to your wedding portraits like moths to a flame? Throw together another board of beautifully photographed couples in love. Do pinners love your tips on styling fashion shoots? Make a video tutorial of your process and pin it straight from YouTube. Having a business account gives you more insights on what your clients are looking for, and by catering to their interests, you’ll get more business.
To convert your existing personal account to a business account, go to your settings and look for the option to switch. If you’re starting fresh, you can create a business account directly from the Pinterest for Business website. Once converted, make sure to claim your website in your account settings. This verifies that you own your site and gives you access to analytics about pins that originate from your domain, even if other people create them.
Frequently Asked Questions About Pinterest for Photographers
How often should photographers post on Pinterest?
Consistency matters more than volume. Aim for 3 to 10 pins per day spread throughout the week rather than pinning 50 images in one sitting. Pinterest’s algorithm rewards regular activity, and scheduling tools like Tailwind can help you maintain a steady presence without spending hours on the platform daily.
What size images work best on Pinterest?
Vertical images with a 2:3 aspect ratio perform best on Pinterest. The ideal dimensions are 1000 x 1500 pixels. While horizontal images can still be pinned, they appear smaller in the feed and tend to get less engagement. Consider this when selecting which portfolio images to share on the platform.
Can Pinterest actually bring in photography clients?
Yes, Pinterest can be an effective client acquisition tool, particularly for wedding and portrait photographers. Unlike other social platforms where content quickly disappears from feeds, Pinterest pins can drive traffic to your website for months or years. Many photographers report that Pinterest is their second or third largest source of website traffic after Google search.
Should I use hashtags on Pinterest?
Pinterest has moved away from emphasizing hashtags in recent years. While they still function, your focus should be on writing keyword-rich descriptions instead. Describe your images with the terms your ideal clients would actually search for, such as venue names, locations, photography styles, and specific details about the shoot.
Is Pinterest worth the time investment for photographers?
Pinterest offers unique advantages that other platforms don’t provide. Content has a much longer lifespan, the platform functions as a search engine where people actively look for photographers, and it drives direct website traffic. While it may not generate as many immediate leads as Instagram, the compounding effect of pins that continue working for you over time makes it worth including in your marketing mix.
Conclusion
Pinterest can be a powerful tool for photographers to showcase their work and attract new clients. By following the tips outlined in this article, you can unlock the power of Pinterest and increase your exposure and traffic. It might not ever replace the lead generation power of Instagram or TikTok, but the platform provides enough benefits to be worth some of your time and efforts.
Don’t be afraid to experiment with new strategies and techniques, and always remember to stay consistent and engage with your audience. With time and effort, Pinterest can become an essential tool in your photography business’s social media strategy.
