Ayup! For the first post of 2026, I’m sharing a few thoughts and insights on Mastodon for photographers. How to get the most out of your account, while finding your place and nestling into a community.
Mastodon is by far my favourite social media platform right now. If you’re looking to switch things up, step away from mainstream channels, or simply see what the Fediverse has to offer, this one’s for you.
Switching to the Fediverse is a leap, but it’s one I believe is worth it. It may require a little extra curiosity at the start, but the payoff—creative freedom, ethical engagement, and a real sense of community—makes all the difference. If you’re ready to rediscover the joy of online sharing (and leave algorithmic stress behind), give Mastodon or Pixelfed a try.
What is Mastodon and the Fediverse?
If you’re new to either Mastodon or the Fediverse, you’re in for a real treat. As photographers, we’ve come to expect (and even accept) reach limiting algorithms, ads, our data being sold and our every movement tracked. None of this happens on the Fediverse.
In short, the Fediverse is a decentralised network of servers that all communicate with each other. Everything is connected by a protocol known as ActivityPub. If this all sounds a little complicated, don’t let it put you off. You can delve as far as you like into that side of things, or not at all.
Instant global communication is too important to belong to one company. Each Mastodon server is a completely independent entity, able to interoperate with others to form one global social network.
What we’re really here to talk about, of course, is Mastodon. Think Twitter in terms of the layout and format, but without all of the bullshit. It’s a multipurpose platform, designed for sharing text only posts, links, images, audio, video and pols.
Mastodon is free and open-source software (FOSS). There’s no algorithm, no ads, and your feed is in chronological order. Additionally, it can be as busy or as quiet as you want it to be. You have full control over what shows up.
You know best what you want to see on your home feed. No algorithms or ads to waste your time. Follow anyone across any Mastodon server from a single account and receive their posts in chronological order, and make your corner of the internet a little more like you.
It’s different here
Things are undoubtedly different on Mastodon, and the Fediverse in general. Usually different in a good way, sometimes different in a way that takes a little getting used to. Either way, folks here enjoy a calmer, saner and much more relaxed social network.
The people are lovely. They’re kind, helpful and a world apart from the increasingly hostile and toxic environments that you might find on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
Fediverse platforms such as Mastodon aren’t engineered to keep you addicted. For this reason, the pace can sometimes be slower. This, however, in my humble opinion, in only ever a good thing.
Why Mastodon for photography?
One thing I’m coming to realise, as a photographer, is that it’s important to pick and choose your social platforms wisely. It’s easy to end up with more accounts than you have time to manage. Furthermore, when it comes to the Fediverse, you may also want to look at Pixelfed.
While Mastodon will give you as similar format to Twitter, Pixelfed aims to deliver more of an Instagram experience. Both are popular with photographers, but with Pixelfed being designed purely for photography, you’ll find a bigger community there.
That said, it all depends on your preferred format. I’ve tried both, and much prefer Mastodon, as you can post more than just images. Either way, as both platforms are part of the Fediverse, you can follow Pixelfed accounts from Mastodon, and vice versa.
This means that if you do go with Mastodon, you can still tap into the huge community of photographers over on Pixelfed. This is mainly achieved via hashtags. For example, if you tag your post with #blackandwhite, anyone following that particular hashtag on either Mastodon or Pixelfed will see your post in their feed.
On Mastodon, I follow the Pixelfed account of @dansup – its creator and developer. Whenever he posts a new photo on his Pixelfed account, the photo shows up in my Mastodon feed. And the comments sync between platforms (Mastodon and Pixelfed).
Setting up Mastodon
Accounts, servers and instances in the Fediverse can be as technical or non-technical as you want them to be. To be honest, the rabbit hole goes pretty deep. You can run your own server/instance, but that’s way above my pay grade.
Thankfully, for the less technically minded among us, you can quickly and easily set up an account with an existing provider.
The Join Mastodon page has a handy list of suggested servers that often cater for specific interests or regions. There are plenty of options tailored towards photography or art, and you can always move your account at a later date if needed.
Mastodon tips for photographers
If you’ve decided to set up an account on Mastodon, or want to show some love to an existing account, engagement is everything. Interacting with other photographers in the form of likes, comments and reposts (boosts/quote boosts) is crucial.
Engagement
Generally speaking, accounts that see little to no engagement are a reflection of their own interaction levels. Nothing new here. Social media isn’t ever just about you as a photographer. The more you engage with other folks, the more engagement you’ll get on your own photos. Simple.
Try to look past engaging for the sake of engaging. There’s a whole world of inspiration on Mastodon. Make the most of it. Follow the photographers you admire, support their work, and make sure they know you’re a fan. They will always appreciate it, plus giving praise is as rewarding as receiving it.
Tailor your feed
Next up, tailor your feed to suite your personal requirements. Some folks will be easier overwhelmed than others. Thankfully, Mastodon gives you full control over the busyness of your feed. This is another massive bonus, as certain platforms can quickly become too much for some people.
Your feed is made of two ingredients. Accounts that you follow, and hashtags that you follow. Nothing more, nothing less. Some hashtags such as #photography are incredibly popular and will fill your timeline up in an instant. Experiment with a few options to find the right balance.
Hashtags
Unlike most mainstream platforms these days, hashtags are still extremely important on Mastodon and the Fediverse. It’s how folks discover content and accounts based on their interests.
With this in mind, always include a few hashtags when you post a photo. Between three and five is usually the sweet spot. The ones I mainly use are:
- #blackandwhite
- #monochrome
- #architecture
- #photography
- #location (Liverpool, Birmingham, etc.)
Less is more
You might be glad to know that chasing follows on Mastodon won’t really get you anywhere. Instead, focus on quality over quantity. Of the three social media platforms I’m active on, I have the lowest number of followers on Mastodon. But guess where I have the most interaction?
Refreshing, to say the least. Grow a smaller, yet more meaningful community.
Provide value
Lastly, if you’re looking to offer a little more value, start sharing your knowledge and helping folks out. This is something that Mastodon in general does very well. The people here are friendly, generous and always happy to share their insights.
A prime example, and someone who I’ve mentioned in a few posts now, is photographer Ewen Bell. This guy knows how to do Mastodon. Give him a follow, and you’ll see what I mean. Super generous when it comes to sharing tips and info. You always see him engaging with other photographers and providing valuable pointers.
Ultimately, this is what social media is all about. On Mastodon and the Fediverse, it’s further enhanced due to the people it attracts.
Just from a photographer’s perspective, as someone who’s looking to share photos with an audience and connecting with people, I can honestly say that Mastodon has exceeded the wildest expectations. The amount of engagement that many of my photo posts are getting on Mastodon is, compared to Twitter, really quite astonishing.
Welcome to the Fediverse
As a photographer, if you’re looking to try out Mastodon (or spend some more time there), you might well be pleasantly surprised.
As more and more of us become mentally exhausted with mainstream social media, the Fediverse provides an energising alternative. A slower pace, full control over your feed and not an advert in sight. When you remove the corporate greed and addictive, manipulative patterns from social media, something really rather magical happens.
From a photography perspective, Mastodon is fast becoming the retreat that so many of us need. This is the internet, how it was originally intended to be. I absolutely love it, and think you will too. Hopefully see you over there.