JOE THOMAS written by Nadia Naeem
@joethommas joethomasphoto.com
Now, more so than ever, competence with Instagram and other social media platforms is necessary for the survival of creatives. New York based photographer and Northeastern alumnus Joe Thomas understands this better than anyone. He has united his skills in photography and comprehension of social media to achieve great success in his photography career.
the Instagram community and discovered many photographers that inspired him to create. He prides himself on his perfectly curated feed and believes that sticking to a niche on Instagram is important despite its limitations. Although Thomas may not feel like he has the freedom to share a diverse array of photos, finding his niche with architectural and travel photography has allowed him to cultivate his expertise in these subjects and develop a distinct style. His keen understanding of social media, and what photos will do well, has allowed him to amass a huge following on Instagram of more than 50,000 followers. Thomas knows how to shoot photos that will be popular on Instagram, and his understanding of the platform has opened many doors for him career-wise.
It all started when Thomas moved to Boston to attend Northeastern University. Despite having begun as an engineering major, he soon took a turn towards a more creative field: journalism. This shift was due in large part to his love for photographing the city of Boston with his cellphone. In the beginning, Thomas was apprehensive about pursuing a career in photography, a saturated market, with everyone now having a camera in their pocket. However, his use of, and success with Instagram is what allowed Thomas to overcome these hurdles. Starting out on Facebook, Thomas quickly realized that Instagram was going to be a better home for his photos. He had fun exploring the city, taking and editing photos with his phone, and enjoyed learning how to manipulate them to achieve his own vision. Thomas found out more about
His initial interest in photography led him to his first co-op with a wedding photographer. This was an important step for him to learn more about fundamentals, advanced cameras, lighting setups, direction, and running a photography business. His second co-op was at a non-profit doing social media work and content creation, which allowed him to cultivate his skills and apply them towards an outside entity. His third co-op was at Amazon Robotics doing photography and videography 18