Like it or not, using hashtags in your photos will significantly improve your visibility on Instagram and other social networks. Below are the tags I’ve found most effective when I share photos of the night sky.
Astrophotography Related Tags
#astrophotography #astronomy #milkyway #stars #space #longexposure #longexpoelite #amazing_longexpo #lazyshutters #nightphotography #nightsky #night_excl #supreme_nightshots #milkywaychasers #night_shooterz #nightscaper #natgeospace
Don’t forget to include tags for your equipment too. If you’re shooting with a Canon or Nikon camera, include those tags and do the same for your lens as well.
Location Tags
Along with star-specific tags, I also include a handful of tags related to the area where the photo was taken. For example, most of my photos come from New Hampshire, USA so I often include these location tags:
#newhampshire #NH #603 #visitnh #igersNH #newengland #igersnewengland #igersnh
Nature & Travel Tags
Lastly, there are a lot of general nature and outdoor travel accounts on Instagram that are worth targeting. These are just a few examples but there are many more:
#neverstopexploring #memoriesbeforestuff #travelstoke #ourplanetdaily #wildernessculture #rei1440project #awesomeearth #nature
Tag Placement
This is a matter of personal preference but I don’t put my tags in the actual photo description. Instead, I publish the photo, then add all of my tags in the first comment. The reason I like this is better is because after I get a few comments on my photo, Instagram will automatically start hiding earlier comments in the thread. This is a simple trick to hide tags and declutter your photo.