Big Changes Coming For SJP

I've made some big decisions, for both me and my business but they are not completely out of nowhere. One has been in the back of my mind for a few years now but I didn't think I could do it. Now I don't know that I can't NOT do it.

I'm leaving Instagram and changing how I share my work in a big way. 

To be precise, my photography account is going dormant. There are a lot of factors in this decision and I'm going to try my best to lay them out here. 

When I joined Instagram in 2017, I had a great experience for several years. I found excellent community and really enjoyed being on the app. Over time, I’ve changed how frequently I am on, whether I allow notifications, and I adjusted my guidelines based on what each season needed. I enjoy following fun accounts, seeing what friends are up to, and connecting with people who don’t live near me; some I’ve never met in person! There were a lot of positive things that I experienced on Instagram.

At some point, Meta bought it and ads became huge. Now, instead of just having to contend with the algorithm, I also have to deal with ads and suggested content. I rarely see posts from the people I follow so I imagine they aren’t seeing mine either. It’s not the same place and it’s not as fun anymore, in my opinion.

Instagram made the most sense to me as the social media platform I should be on when I started my business. And if it were providing me with great traffic and bookings, then I might think longer and harder about leaving. But the fact is, Instagram takes a lot from me and my business gets nothing in return. With the algorithms and all the "rules" you have to follow (it's Reels, now it's Carousels; hashtags, now keywords...) to even have a chance of people seeing your content it gets really exhausting. I don't want to play those games which means it's next to impossible to grow. 

Don't get me wrong, there are things I really like about Instagram. I'm going to miss certain accounts and seeing things my friends who are not local are doing. But I firmly believe that tools should serve me and my business, not the other way around, and right now that is not happening. 

Another big part of this decision is AI. 

I don't know where you stand with AI, but I'm hesitant. In a perfect world, I see the benefits and uses, but we don't live in a perfect world. Our world is actually very, very dark. The more I'm learning and hearing, the more concerned I am and that has led me to make a big decision.

Starting now, I will no longer be sharing any photos of my clients where children's faces are identifiable. I'm also going to try and only share images of seniors and adults that are pulled back. I’ve always tried to respect and keep my clients’ privacy. That is why I don't share last names of my families or seniors and just generally try not to share identifiable details in my posts. and I believe that showing their photos is a privacy concern now. AI has just made the privacy concerns much bigger. This is going to severely limit what I can share on Instagram, which means I’d be posting even less than I do now.

Since I'm planning to be done with Instagram for the foreseeable feature, that is not really a factor anymore,  but AI is not just social media. So I'm going to be taking a good hard look at my website and portrait guides, to see where I can make adjustments. I don't believe in “too little, too late”. I subscribe to “better late than never”.

This may hurt my business. I'm aware of that. I've made choices in the past that work against my business but I have to do what my conscience demands. I can't run this any other way.

One final thing that I want to make very clear - I am not judging anyone for sharing photos of their kids. That is your decision. But I want it to be solely your decision and since I have a problem with AI and I would not want my children's faces online, I won't do that to your children. That is where this decision is coming from and that's as far as I'm going to take it.
I'd encourage you to do some research if you are curious as to what I'm talking about and to help you make your own informed decision.

I am also not judging anyone who is on Instagram. This is what is best for me. For my creativity. For my business. For my life. If this is making sense to you, maybe you want to sit down and think about it more for yourself. If you have more questions for me about the hows and whys of my decision, I am happy to have a discussion with you.

This may not be a forever decision. I try not to work in absolutes when it comes to things like this. But this is an open-ended departure. I may be back one day. I may pop in occasionally to post something. Only time will tell. For now, I am saying “farewell” and moving to focus on my blog and email list, which are things I have much more control over!

I'm really loving doing my emails so far! If you are not a part of the SJP email tribe and you'd like to be, you can join HERE, and if you're reading this in February of 2026, I'm running a giveaway until the end of the month. So join the list HERE and you'll be entered to win a one-year membership to Good Book Mom! I'd love to have you join me in email land :)



That's a lot!!! Please let me know in the comments if you have questions about any of this. I'd love to hear from you!