If your calendar feels quieter than you’d like right now, this episode of The Motherhood Anthology Podcast is exactly what you need. TMA mentor Laura Esmond joins to share practical photography marketing tips for family photographers who are ready to stop waiting and start showing up. Laura brings 26 years of photography experience and a no-fluff approach to building visibility online and in your local community, and every tip she shares can be put to work this week.
Stop Hiding and Start Marketing Like a CMO
Before diving into tactics, Laura makes a point that’s worth sitting with: wanting your business to earn well is not in conflict with serving your clients beautifully. For a lot of photographers, there’s a quiet belief that appearing to want to make money is somehow distasteful, and that belief keeps them from showing up consistently. But as Laura puts it, the most sustainable way to serve your clients is to be financially healthy yourself.
“Strategy is not the opposite of heart. Strategy is actually what protects your heart.”
That reframe matters because it changes the whole energy around marketing. You’re not being pushy. You’re making sure the right families can find you, trust you, and choose to work with you.
Ways to Get Seen Online and in Your Community
Laura’s Be Seen list is split into two categories: showing up online and showing up in your community. Both matter, and neither requires you to post every day or crack some secret algorithm code.
On the online side, she recommends starting with a before-and-after reel that shows the transformation from raw session moment to finished wall art. The key isn’t just the pretty image; it’s helping families imagine their own story. Pair that with a behind-the-scenes reel showing your ordering process or the moment a client first sees their images. This kind of content pre-sells the experience before someone ever reaches out.
Two carousels round out a full month of content: one that walks through a real problem your ideal clients carry (like photos still sitting on a hard drive) and one that tells a single client story from planning through delivery. As Laura puts it, a list of five-star reviews tells someone you’re good. A story about a mother who cried seeing her daughter’s portrait makes someone feel something, and people book photographers they feel something about.
Talking head videos and Stories round out the online list. It doesn’t need to be long or perfect, it just needs to sound like you, because you are the differentiator in your market.
For community visibility, Laura’s tips are just as specific: reach out to past digital-only clients and offer to help them figure out what to do with their images, email a local business owner about a collaboration, send a personal follow-up text to your last few clients, write a newsletter that tells one true story from your week with no agenda other than connection, and offer an ordering meeting to your next client. That last one is about more than IPS, it’s about the math. One client who invests in wall art can be worth two or three digital gallery sales. One engaged client sitting across from you is worth more than a hundred Instagram followers.
Why Consistency Beats Volume
Laura closes with a reminder that matters: showing up is not about being loud. It’s not about posting every day or being everywhere at once. It’s about being consistent, being real, and being willing to let people actually see you and the work you do.
Pick two or three things from this list. Put them on your calendar. Do them. Then come back and add a few more. Over time, those small acts of visibility compound into real name recognition, real relationships, and a business where clients arrive already trusting you, because they’ve been watching and they feel like they already know you.
This is the kind of business-building that TMA is built around. Not hype, not hustle, but clear strategy paired with genuine heart. The membership gives photographers access to mentors like Laura, live coaching, monthly marketing tools, and a community of peers who are invested in each other’s growth.
Listen and Learn More
You can hear Laura’s full Be Seen list, including her exact language suggestions for client follow-up messages and collaboration outreach, on Episode 165 of The Motherhood Anthology Podcast. Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you tune in. Grab Laura’s free Be Seen download at lauraesmond.com/beseen.
Find Laura at lauraesmond.com or on Instagram at @reeseandcoportraits.
Ready to build a business that reflects your own creative voice? The Motherhood Anthology membership gives you access to expert mentors, live coaching, monthly marketing suites, and a private community of photographers who are invested in your success. Learn more and join at themotherhoodanthology.com.
Episode Sponsor: Willow Canvas
This episode of The Motherhood Anthology Podcast is brought to you by Willow Canvas. Speaking of creating work that is distinctly yours, every Willow Canvas is a one-of-a-kind, hand-painted backdrop created by artist Sara Bywaters-Baldwin. No two are alike, and they bring something truly unique to every studio session. If you want your work to stand out in a way that no mass-produced backdrop ever could, check out Willow Canvas.
The Motherhood Anthology is a community and educational resource for photographers who want a profitable and sustainable business they love. With 15+ expert mentors and 7+ years of proven content, TMA helps portrait photographers build confident, thriving businesses through monthly education, mentorship, and a supportive community of 700+ members.
