Years ago when I worked in local government I had a chance conversation with an amateur photographer.
“If only we could have access,” he said, “Maybe a group of us, to the museum, we could take some great pictures.”
So we did and eight photographers took more than 150 images of the town museum’s which was in a converted industrial workshop.
We ended up using some of them on council channels and the response was overwhelmingly positive. Local people taking pictures of local things posted to the local council channel.
This has now evolved. Amateur photographers now congregate on Instagram but the idea of asking to use amateur pictures and share them with credit to a council channel still stands.
It was Argyll & Bute Council who I first noticed using this. Local government’s Sarah Lay, a regular visitor, had flagged this up.
They searched hashtags like #argyll #bute and #abplace2b which gathers images together that celebrate the place.
It remains a great idea.
And here’s the image…
But can other people do it? Of course.
Here’s Dartmoor National Park.
Look at that engagement…
And look at the picture…
But is this just a technique that can be used by visually attractive areas?
Not at all. It works in urban areas, too.
Would you look at that?
I particularly like how multiple pictures are gathered together as a carousel. A carousel is a form of content that algorithms will like.
You are also going to get engagement from the original photographer and their network.
Here’s another…
And a picture of early Spring in Bristol…
If it can work in visually beautiful places like the west coast of Scotland it can also work in urban areas too. In many ways, the photography in built-up places is even more creative.
How to do it
Approach people on Instagram itself.
Always ask permission.
Always give credit to the person whio took it if they agree for you to use it.
Enjoy.