How my photo’s got 2.5 million views

Today I surpassed 2.5million views, 27,000 downloads and almost 300 likes on Unsplash. This post outlines how this happened

I started to use Unsplash around December 2018. For those who have no idea what Unsplash is, it's a website where you can download high-resolution imagery, for free.

I started off uploading imagery I didn't have much use for. My initial reasoning for giving them away for free, was primarily to give something back to the platform I regularly take advantage of. I consider Unsplash like those "give one, take one" book exchanges (or, little free libraries) you often see in old telephone boxes in obscure places around the world.

The initial photo's I uploaded were of Sarajevo. I left them there without much thought. A month or two later, I saw one of them had something like 25,000 views.

This was a pleasant surprise. Imagery which would of otherwise sat on my hard drive, collecting dust, had been enjoyed by 25,000 people.

That dopamine hit was enough to get me to upload some more images. However, this time, I made a conscious effort to upload some of my favorite shots from Dubai. This is when things got a bit crazy

I received an email from Unsplash Editorial team, which read:

"2 of your photos were promoted to the Editorial feed! Every day, thousands of new photos are submitted to Unsplash and only the best of the best are featured by the Editorial team. Sorry if your stats go crazy :)"

Initially, I didn't think too much of it. Until I saw my stats, social media and inbox. This was one of those rare occasions when the exposure I received felt particularly rewarding.

I then began uploading more imagery. These were also favored by the Unsplash editorial team and subsequently boosted my exposure further.

The ability to see and understand what resonates with people is particularly useful. The images which receive the most compliments, views and likes are a great marker for future projects.

And that's basically it! If you'd like to know more about my photography work, what equipment I'm using, how I take my photo's etc. I'd be more than happy to write something which outlines these types of things in more detail

Thank you for checking out this blog. You can see more of my work on my website, darceybeau.co.uk, or my Dribbble profile, or my Behance profile. You can email me about working together at info@darceybeau.co.uk You can also follow me on Twitter, Instagram, or Unsplash. Have a great day!