You post consistently. You've got the hashtag block. You post at the "best time". And you still get 14 likes, nine of them from other photographers.

This episode was requested by a photographer who was struggling, and it's for anyone doing everything they were told and getting nothing back. The Instagram advice most of us were given is out of date.

In this episode of The Loud Lens, I cover:

• Who to follow and unfollow, and why following only other photographers is quietly hurting your business
• Why your hashtags aren't working, what Instagram's five-hashtag limit means, and what to do instead (keywords in your captions and your voice)
• When to post, including the "brands don't post at weekends" myth and why the data disagrees with itself
• How to write hooks that stop the scroll in the first two seconds
• How to get more reach and engagement, including why sends matter and how to turn views into enquiries
• Is the blue tick worth it? What Meta Verified costs, what it does and doesn't do, and who it actually makes sense for

If your Instagram is full of beautiful photos and empty of bookings, this one's for you.

Follow The Loud Lens for blunt, no-fluff advice on photography, business and marketing. If this helped, send it to a photographer friend who's struggling.

Find me at Khandie Photography.

My phone takes great photos." Yeah, it does. So why are you still hiring a photographer?

This week's episode comes from a listener who asked how I communicate the value of good photography in a world where everyone has a camera in their pocket. So I'm going full Loud Lens on it.

In this episode:

📱 Why the phone isn't the enemy (and why arguing with it makes you look threatened)

💷 How your price point changes the way people see you, and who you attract

👥 Why certain platforms, Facebook especially, breed "who's the cheapest?" clients

✨ How social media and "tap to edit" have taught people that editing is just a button

🗣️ The exact things I say (and stop saying) to communicate value without sounding like a snob

If you're a photographer who's tired of being compared to a filter, or discounting yourself into misery, this one's for you.

Got a "my phone can do that" horror story? Send it over. The best ones might get read out in a future episode.

📚 Books: Take The F*cking Lens Cap Off and No One F*cking Cares About Your Photography

🎥 YouTube:http://youtube.com/khandiephotography1

🌐 http://khandiephotography.com

Subscribe, rate and review if you enjoyed it, and send this to a photographer who needs it.

Meta is limiting how many links non-verified businesses can post, and the internet is furious. Musicians, event organisers, course sellers, shop owners, MLM reps: if you use a link to get people to buy, this is aimed at you.

But the real story isn't the update. It's how little people understand about the platform their income depends on.

In this episode, Khandie (photographer, 15+ years in the industry, with a background in social media analysis) breaks down:

📌 What Meta's link limit actually is, and who it hits

📌 Why "but it was free" doesn't hold up (and why "we paid with our data" is only half the story)

📌 What you agreed to when you clicked accept, and the difference between owning your photos and licensing them

📌 Why that viral "I do not give Meta permission" post does absolutely nothing

📌 The things people genuinely don't understand about Meta: tracking beyond the platform, AI training on public posts, and why your page, group and audience were never really yours

📌 What this says about how photographers (and every small business) run things

📌 What to do instead: own your list, make your website the hub, and stop building on rented land

If one algorithm change can wreck your income, this one's for you. Blunt, uncomfortable, and useful.

🎧 Follow The Loud Lens for straight-talking business for photographers and creatives.

📺 Watch on YouTube: youtube.com/khandiephotography1

#Meta #Facebook #MetaVerified #SocialMediaMarketing #PhotographyBusiness #SmallBusiness #TheLoudLens

Everyone thinks you're always on your phone, but when you run a business online, "just scrolling" stops being simple. In this raw, personal episode of The Loud Lens, Khandie talks about the specific isolation of being a business owner on social media: getting accused of working when you're relaxing, and accused of slacking when you're working; wanting to enjoy your friends' posts without it feeling like more content to process; and the strange loneliness of not being able to vent the way everyone else can, because every post reflects on the business. No neat fixes here. Just an honest look at a cost of "being online for a living" that doesn't get talked about enough.

Trigger warning on this episode.

Everyone tells you to "switch your phone off after 6pm." Cool advice — if you don't have a day job, a toddler, or a client base that expects a reply at 11pm on a Tuesday.

In this episode I'm ditching the poster-quote version of work-life balance and giving you the actual mechanics: how automated responses protect you without making you look unavailable, why clients are quietly MORE likely to book you when you have set hours (yes, really — I'll explain why), and how to build all of this even if you're still juggling a full-time or part-time job around your photography business.

If you've ever felt guilty for taking an evening off, or like being "always available" was the only way to look professional — this one's for you.

🎧 New episode of The Loud Lens.

#photography #photographer

Parents are running school photo proofs through AI to strip the watermarks, and there are people locally who'll do it for a fiver. Is it theft, or a symptom of something bigger?

In this episode, I get into the part of this conversation nobody wants to have. Many families are struggling, and £30 is a real decision. But parents don't see the safeguarding checks, the insurance, the paperwork and the hoops photographers jump through just to get into a school.

I'm also turning the mirror on our own industry. Phone snaps are instant, packages can feel overpriced, and sometimes the photos just aren't good enough. One school ended its contract over the quality of the last batch.

Then we zoom out. Why does the UK treat "cheap" as a badge of honour when, in places like Norway, cheap is a red flag? Why will we happily pay nearly £7 for a drink that's barely a coffee, but balk at paying for professional photos of our kids?

We cover:

• Why the AI watermark workaround is happening and what it says about value
• What parents never see behind a school shoot
• The quality problem photographers need to own
• The instant-and-cheap expectation, and where it leaves professional work

Where do you stand? Tell me in the comments or send me a message. I'm genuinely listening.

Special guest: Matt Curtis https://www.mattcurtisphotography.com/

A local photographer tagged one of her own clients under my own advertising post. Another copied my entire website, word for word, then called it "an accident." Same person advertised her branding photography using stock images that weren't hers but advertised them to me. In this episode I go through exactly what happened, what it did to me mentally, and why the industry will happily drag AI for scraping images but goes silent the second the thief has a name and a face. We talk about the fear of being "that difficult photographer," why silence isn't the neutral option people think it is, and a practical framework for calling people out — locally or when they're bigger than you — without losing your mind or your reputation in the process.

If you've ever had your work copied, your pitch stolen, or your client poached under your own ad, this one's for you.

Is it legal — or even ethical — to photograph someone else's street art and sell it as a print? This episode breaks down the real copyright law behind graffiti and mural photography, in plain English, no legal degree required.

We're covering:

• What UK copyright law actually says about photographing graffiti and street art
• The H&M vs. Revok case that went viral — and why H&M dropped it
• Banksy — a UK print company that beat Banksy in a real trademark case
• A 2024 Tel Aviv ruling where street artists won on copyright AND moral rights
• Why photographers are being warned about shooting commercially in Digbeth, Birmingham
• The ethical steelman: when is photographing public art fine, and when does it cross into exploiting someone else's unpaid work?

If you're a photographer selling prints, a street artist tired of seeing your work monetised without credit, or just someone who's ever wondered who actually owns a photo of a mural — this one's for you.

🎙️ The Loud Lens — real talk on photography, business, and the industry nobody else will say out loud.