Image via Complex Original
Instagram is the hottest social-networking-photography based thingy going on right now. The amount of people shooting and sharing images is staggering and the people at the top of their game are producing some truly stunning images with a phone.. a fucking phone. Who would have thought people would be getting hired to do advertising campaigns, flown around the world, and selling fine art prints with images taken with a cellphone. You're lying if you said "Me!" So just sit back and check out some of these talented folk that you should be following, because these are the best Instagram users right now.
Written by Daniel Krieger, @smoothdude on Instagram, and an NYC based photographer who regularly shoots for the dining section of the New York Times. His work also appears in publications such as GQ, Time Out New York, Esquire, Elle Decor, and Rolling Stone. His food photography can be seen at www.nycfoodphotographer.com and his wedding work can be seen at www.danielkrieger.com.
The 10 Best Fine Art Photographers on Instagram
Scott Rankin
Scott Rankin
Instagram name: @othellonine
Followers: 29849
Photos taken to date: 287
Why you should follow: His photos are so good they make you want to punch your iphone in its face. Where the hell is he taking these images and how come they look so good? He told me he's not going to tell me (ok that's not true I didn't even ask him that). He's not a professional shooter, he's currently in school and doesn't even own what he calls a "fancy" camera. All the more impressive. You can check out his partner in crime @bittadesign who is also pretty talented.
Adam Senatori
Adam Senatori
Instagram name: @adamsenatori
Followers: 228038
Photos taken to date: 132
Why you should follow: The aerial shots this guy gets are impressive enough but his stuff when he lands is also pretty excellent.
13thwitness
13thwitness
Instagram name: @13thwitness
Followers: 85257
Photos taken to date: 690
Why you should follow: Really spectacular cityscapes by this user, an example of fine art photography as good as anything you'll find hanging in a gallery (and sometimes better than, in my opinion).
Hiro
Hiro
Instagram name: @hirozzzz
Followers: 63826
Photos taken to date: 464
Why you should follow: A few of my favorite instagrammers count hirozzzz as someone on top of his isntagame right now, I agree his work is pretty killer. He hits a lot of popular points of good photography in his whimsical, sometimes dreamy, and always well composed images.
Sam Horine
Sam Horine
Instagram name: @samhorine
Followers: 211234
Photos taken to date: 1550
Why you should follow: Sam is another Bearded Brooklyner slinging a dslr out of his holster for a living. He does a lot of instagram meetups and photowalks creating art with his camera as he weaves his way around the city. He's gotten a bunch of assignments through instagram for his professional career, which shows you the power of the 'gram (see its starting to sound good now right? the 'gram).
Pei Ketron
Pei Ketron
Instagram name: @pketron
Followers: 230141
Photos taken to date: 1934
Why you should follow: Pei is a professional photographer who just moved to NYC. She loves symmetry and manages to find the most interesting scenes while traveling with her instafamous partner Chris Connolly @chrisconnolly. Between these two giants of the small screen they have over 500,000 followers...damn!
Janske
Janske
Instagram name: @janske
Followers: 21247
Photos taken to date: 442
Why you should follow: If someone is shooting better landscapes than Janske with a phone right now, I haven't seen it. This lady captures amazing scenery catching the light, angle, and moment at the perfect time. Some of her shots look like they cold be hanging in a gallery, I think she's one of the best Instagram users right now.
Theron Humphrey
Theron Humphrey
Instagram name: @thiswildidea
Followers: 140771
Photos taken to date: 2060
Why you should follow: Theron has been getting donations to become a roaming photographer traveling around the country meeting a new person everyday and photographing them (Bill Wadman also did a similar thing a few years back and got some gorgeous portraits - 365 portraits). Along Theron's journey he picked up a dog which has become a bit of an instagram superstar and probably one of the best behaved subjects I've seen, man, woman, child, or dog. People go crazy for his instagram posts, with good cause.
Brandon Schulz
Brandon Schulz
Instagram name: @brandon_schulz
Followers: 4144
Photos taken to date: 409
Why you should follow: The best artistic shots on instagram are usually landscapes, cityscapes, or food in this humble authors opinion (ok so I'm not so humble) But to find someone who does really impressive portraits I find rare on the 'gram (I made that up I have no idea if anyone calls it that, they probably don't) but Brandon changes that with his stream, filled with artistic, thoughtful portraits where you can see a connection to his subject.
Dan Cole
Dan Cole
Instagram name: @dankhole
Followers: 181692
Photos taken to date: 1362
Why you should follow: Dan has a great name and great eye for composing shots and a minimalist quality I really like. There's some great symmetry and angles to his images. I met him in person and he said it was nice meeting me afterwards, so he's either a liar or has excellent taste.