If you’re a creator, you’re most likely on Instagram. I mean, duh. Instagram is a great place to share your work for those who are interested. But how do you navigate Instagram as a creative? Isn’t it hard?

H sat down with Dotun Abeshinbioke, also referred to as Dot, and asked her about her experience as an artist and Instagram user. Dot is a Nigerian photographer, graphic artist, and digital content creator, born in New York and raised in London. During her last year at university, she started taking photos and taking advantage of the photo lab at her art school.

Her art is a reflection of things she can relate to: Nigeria and the culture, London and the culture, and her experience as being a young person and being in a creative industry.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Br8uTmrlZfk/

When she started to get more and more involved into her creative outlets, she made a point to clean up her Instagram. She sat down and unfollowed all of the accounts that she couldn’t relate to or didn’t have any interest in. In other words, she unfollowed people who were clogging up her feed.

Taking the time to clean up your feed is one of the best things you can do, especially as a creative. Sometimes we tend to follow people out of obligation (for whatever reason), but sometimes they’re not giving us enough of what we want to see.

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“If you surround yourself with people that inspire you and that are inspired by you, there’s no way you can’t be successful,” Dot says.

Her friends are great motivators. They push her. If weeks have gone by, friends will reach out and ask where photos are or when videos are coming out. Sometimes you need people to hold you accountable for your content. You need people to tell you the truth, in terms of your work. They’ll critique you, not criticize you, and that’s what you need to keep going.

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Her Instagram feed is now full of art pages, photographers she admires, and friends who are artists too. She wants to consciously consume images that she cared about or that motivated her in some way.

Still, she challenges herself out of Instagram. She wants to share her work on a broader scale, like magazines and exhibits. She wants people to see her outside of the Internet.

Dot’s advice for other creators, trying to navigate the creative industry in the hot and busy Instagram era? Share your work outside of social media.

https://www.instagram.com/p/BlgbCtNBVeD/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BuUGiVFlvjX/