Blogging for Photographers: The 3 Types of Posts You Need (And the Mistake That’s Hurting Your SEO)

Blogging for Photographers Means More Than Just Local Posts — Here’s What Your Blog Actually Needs

Here’s a scenario that might sound familiar: you’ve been blogging consistently, you’re featuring local businesses, you’re sharing community events, and you feel like you’re doing the thing. But your website still doesn’t clearly say photographer when someone lands on it — and your bookings aren’t moving the way you hoped.

This week on the Get Booked podcast, Melissa and I are talking about one of the most common blogging mistakes we’re seeing photographers make right now — and more importantly, exactly how to fix it. We broke down the three types of blog posts every photographer needs, the right ratio to hit, and why your content strategy might be accidentally making you look like a mom community blog instead of a photography business.

If you’ve been wondering why your blog isn’t converting, this one’s for you.

Listen to the Podcast

Listen to the Get Booked Photography Podcast (Previously Keep It Moving) Whether you’re refining or completely relocating your photography business, this show is for you! We cover all the major topics from money, to relocating, marketing and more. Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts or Spotify.

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The Blogging Mistake That’s Making You Look Like a Community Blog

Melissa is the one who started the trend of recommending local content for photographers — and she’ll be the first to tell you it went a little sideways.

The original idea was solid: stop only posting session shares, and start writing content that gets your business name in front of your local community on Google. Best doulas in your area, top birth centers, Easter events near you — that kind of thing. It works. It drives traffic. We still recommend it.

But here’s what happened: photographers ran with it hard, and now Melissa is scrolling through blogs that are wall-to-wall local features with almost no photography content in sight. No client education, no FAQs, no product posts — just community roundups.

And the problem? If I land on your website and scroll your blog, I can’t tell you’re a photographer.

Blogging for photographers has to actually tell people — and Google — that you are a photographer. Your blog needs to establish your expertise, build trust with potential clients, and pre-qualify people before they ever reach out to book. Local posts alone can’t do that.

Here’s the framework that can.

Blog Post Bucket #1: Pre-Session FAQ Posts (50% of Your Content)

This is the workhorse of blogging for photographers, and it should make up roughly half of everything you publish.

Pre-session FAQ posts are your client education content — the posts that answer questions people are already asking (or should be asking) before they book a session. Think:

• What to wear for your family photos
• When to book your maternity session
• What happens during a newborn session
• How to survive a session with small kids (or teenagers — more on that in a sec)
• Behind the scenes: how a shoot actually works
• Your philosophy, your process, your approach

These posts do double duty. They pre-qualify your clients and they signal to Google exactly who you are and what you do. Google’s EEAT framework — Experience, Expertise, Authority, and Trust — is literally fed by this kind of content. Every post you write about handling big families, or what to expect at a sunrise session, is telling Google: this person is a photographer and they know what they’re talking about.

And here’s where it gets really good — you can multiply these posts fast. A “what to wear” post isn’t one post. It’s potentially:

• What to wear for a fall family session
• What to wear for a winter maternity shoot
• What to wear for teen girls (and yes, the knee-length rule is non-negotiable — no baby doll dresses, I’m sorry not sorry)
• What to wear for babies and toddlers
• What to wear for senior guys

Same goes for “when to book” — write it for families, seniors, maternity, newborns. We basically mapped out a full year of content right there in one conversation.

If you ever feel like you’ve run out of topics, you’re not digging deep enough. There is always another angle.

Blog Post Bucket #2: Post-Session Product Posts

This is the bucket most photographers completely ignore — and it’s costing them real money.

Even if you’re not doing in-person sales, I’d bet you have a gallery with a built-in shop. And if that shop is sitting there untouched, unloved, and unmentioned on your blog? You are leaving money on the table every single month.

Melissa made a point that stopped me cold: she has a past wedding client who comes to her every year to print her family photos — because her actual photographer never mentions printed products. That client is spending money somewhere. It’s just not with the person who took the photos.

Blogging for photographers means educating your clients on the full value of what they’re investing in — including what they can do with their images after the session. Some ideas:

• How to display portraits in your home
• What is a luxury album (and why it’s worth it)
• Gift ideas for grandparents from your session
• Why a family photo album matters more than a digital gallery sitting on a hard drive
• A blog series featuring each product you offer — one month per product

That last one is what Melissa used to do: one month loose prints, one month framed prints, one month albums, one month print boxes. Now she’s got a full product education series she can link to in her pre-session emails, use to pre-sell clients, and send to past clients who never got around to ordering that album.

You sell what you show. If you’re not blogging your products, you’re not showing them — and you’re not selling them.

Blog Post Bucket #3: Local Feature Posts (One Per Month, Not the Whole Blog)

Local posts are not the enemy. Say it with me. We are not canceling local content.

But it needs to be one slice of the pie, not the whole thing.

Here’s the ratio Melissa recommends if you’re blogging four times a month:

• 2 posts: Pre-session FAQ / photography education
• 1 post: Products, gift guides, or heirloom content
• 1 post: Local feature

If you’re only blogging once a month, rotate through the buckets — FAQ one month, product the next, local feature the month after that. The goal is that when someone lands on your blog, they can immediately tell you’re a photographer who also knows her area really well. Not a community blog that occasionally mentions photography.

The strategy I use for local content: write about what your ideal client actually cares about — because chances are, she’s a lot like you. Is your family gluten-free? Write about the best gluten-free spots in town. Do you have small kids? Round up the best indoor playgrounds in your area. Are you a work-from-home mom? Lean into that.

These posts humanize you. They build trust. They get you in front of people who aren’t searching for a photographer yet — but now they’ve landed in your orbit. And then your lead magnet, your email list, your retargeting ads — those are what keep them there until they’re ready to book.

Local content supports your SEO authority. It just can’t be the whole show.

The Bonus Move: Refresh Old Posts Instead of Always Writing New Ones

Here’s a little blogging secret that saves time and boosts SEO at the same time: you don’t always have to write something new.

Go back into your Google Search Console and look for posts that have dropped in rankings, or posts that are sitting on page two of Google results. Those are your low-hanging fruit. A little update — fresher content, a better keyword, some additional information — can be enough to push them to page one.

If you’re only publishing once a month, pair it with a refresh of an older post. You’re maintaining momentum on what you’ve already built and adding new content. That’s a smart system, not extra work.

Your Blog Is the Crux of Everything

Here’s what I want you to really hear: your blog is not a nice-to-have. It is the foundation of your entire marketing strategy.

I have blog posts in three different cities that are currently ranking number one for their target search terms. One of them I haven’t touched in five years. That is the power of blogging for photographers done right — it keeps working long after you’ve moved on to the next thing.

Your blog feeds your email marketing. It drives people back to your website. It builds the SEO authority that gets you found organically. It pre-qualifies clients before they ever reach out. It shows Google — and your future clients — that you are experienced, trustworthy, and the real deal.

If your blog isn’t doing all of that right now, it’s not because blogging doesn’t work. It’s because the ratio is off, the content buckets are unbalanced, or you haven’t had a clear strategy to follow.

Now you do.

Start Where You Are and Fix the Ratio

If you just looked at your blog and realized it’s 90% local posts — don’t panic and definitely don’t delete anything. Those posts are still working for you. Just start adding to them.

Write your next FAQ post. Pull out a product post. Balance the ratio going forward. That’s it.

You don’t have to overhaul everything overnight. You just have to start shifting the tide so that when someone lands on your blog, they leave knowing exactly who you are, what you do, and why they want to work with you.

That’s what great blogging for photographers actually does — and you are more than capable of building it.

Grab your free guide → 39 Ways to Get New Clients

Want to build a blog strategy that actually gets you booked? Book a free discovery call and let’s map it out together.

Come find me on Instagram — I love connecting with photographers who are ready to do the work. 📸

More Resources for Photographers

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  Instagram Reels Photography Content: The B-Roll Bank That Saves You When Life Gets Busy
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  Photography Blog Ideas: The 3 Types of Posts Every Photographer Needs
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  Photography Website Homepage Ideas: What Your Homepage Actually Needs to Rank AND Book
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  How to Work From Home With Kids — And Actually Get Things Done
• 
  Blogging for Photographers: The 3 Types of Posts You Need (And the Mistake That’s Hurting Your SEO)
• 
  The 5 Photographer SEO Mistakes Sabotaging Your Website (And How to Fix Them Today)