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John Foster Photographer

Photographer · Avonhead, Christchurch

What your customers see when they look for you, and where that puts you among 194 Christchurch photography businesses.

ReportLocal marketing report
Checked13 October 2026
Your marketChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
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Executive summaryExclusive Marketbase business report

John Foster Photographer

Photographer · Avonhead, Christchurch

Where you stand#112of 194 photography businesses
Overall health4.2/10across the eight areas

Going well

05Facebook page7.403Map positions6.601Google listing6.4

Where we can help

08Opening hours5.802Reviews5.104Listings and social4.007Google search and traffic0.006Your website-
How AI describes youMarketbase business report

What AI tells people about you

John Foster Photographer is a Christchurch-based master photographer operating from Avonhead with 30 years' experience. He specialises in portrait, promotional, commercial and travel photography, and offers photo courses and private tuition. Clients include individuals and businesses seeking professional imagery and practical tuition from an experienced photographer, with an emphasis on clear, hands-on teaching.

John Foster Photographer is a master photographer based in Avonhead, Christchurch, with 30 years' experience. He works across portrait, promotional, commercial and travel photography, serving both individual clients and businesses in the local area.

The studio offers commissioned photography for portraits and commercial projects, as well as travel shoots. Photo courses and private tuition are available, giving customers options for group learning or one-on-one instruction tailored to skill level and photographic interests.

Customer feedback highlights a willingness to share knowledge and help people learn about photography. Clients commonly report practical, hands-on guidance during tuition sessions and describe the photographer as approachable and willing to assist those wanting to improve skills or learn more about the craft.

Locally, John Foster Photographer is known for combining long experience with instructional offerings, making the service relevant to both clients who want professional images and those seeking photography education. The mix of commissioned work and teaching distinguishes the practice within Avonhead and the wider Christchurch photography community.

ChatGPTGeminiGooglePerplexityClaude
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01Google listingMarketbase business report

Your Google listing

The Google Business Listing shows solid health with a 7.4/10. It confirms the listing is claimed and verified, includes a live phone number and website link, and displays an open status. The main strengths are complete basic information and clear access to contact details. The most impactful improvements are the listing description and photo count, which now sit above the bottom quartile.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Open statusYour listing shows the business as trading, so customers see accurate availability and Google treats the listing as live.
  • ✓
    ClaimedYour listing is claimed, so you control what it says, you can reply to reviews, and edits suggested by the public come to you first.
  • ✓
    NameYour business name is showing on the listing, so a customer searching for you by name finds you, and everything else on the listing hangs off it.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Description lengthYour description gives a reader less than half the listings here do, so someone reading yours and then a competitor's gets less to go on from you.
  • 2
    Photos on the listingThere are more pictures on most listings around you than on yours, so a customer flicking between them gets a fuller look at the businesses either side of you.
  • 3
    Category fitYour category set covers less of this market than half the field, so there are jobs being searched for near you that your listing is not eligible to appear in.
11 checks on your Google listing. You're seeing 6 of them.
6.4Good
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Tiles © Esri
John Foster Photographer
2
John Foster Photographer✓✓
5.0 ★★★★★ (3)
Photographer · Avonhead3
Open 5 days ✓
DirectionsCall Website
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
From the business

Master Photographer with 30years experience. Specializing in portrait, promotional and commercial and travel photography. Photo courses and private tuition available.

1
Google listingChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #70 for your Google listing
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Google SearchGoogle MapsBusiness Profile
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02ReviewsMarketbase business report

Your reviews

The Google Business health for John Foster Photographer sits at 5.0 out of 10, indicating average overall performance. The strongest recent finding is a top-10% star rating, reflecting high customer satisfaction. A key concern is the lack of responses to reviews, which can affect trust and engagement with clients.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Star ratingYour rating is among the highest in this market and it does its own selling - a customer sees it before they read anything else.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Review confidenceRating and review volume together sit well behind this market, which means a customer comparing you has both halves of the picture reading thin.
  • 2
    Response rateNone of your reviews have a reply, which means a customer reading them sees your happiest and your angriest customers with nothing from you in between.
  • 3
    Review countYour review count sits well below what buyers here are used to seeing, which means a customer comparing options side by side reads you as the less proven choice.
4 checks on your reviews. You're seeing all of them.
5.1Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
John Foster Photographer
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
5.0★★★★★3 reviews 3
5
4
3
2
1✓
1How far your rating and your review count together can be trusted
Google reviewsChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #96 for your Google reviews
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Google reviewsBusiness Profile
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03Map positionsMarketbase business report

Where you show up on the map

The Maps Search Performance health score for John Foster Photographer sits at 6.6 out of 10, indicating above-average visibility in Google Maps. It shows solid performance in aggregate and borough searches, with room to push into higher local rankings. The top opportunities focus on broadening presence across suburbs and strengthening borough-level performance.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top two opportunities

  • 1
    Maps visibility across the city groupYou turn up across more of the surrounding suburbs than the middle of the field, so customers searching from outside your own patch are finding you.
  • 2
    Maps visibility in your own suburbYou show up in local Maps searches more often than the middle of your suburb, so a customer searching nearby is likely to see you in the first handful.
2 checks on your map positions. You're seeing both.
6.6Good
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
1234Tiles © Esri
photographer
1Top three for "photographer" in 2 suburbs, seen in 6
1
Elton McAleer Photography5.0 ★ (2) · Photographer
2
Richbrothers Photography5.0 ★ (1) · Photographer
3
Mandy Caldwell Photography5.0 ★ (39) · Photographer
4
John Foster Photographer25.0 ★ (3) · Photographer
Map positionsChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #66 for map positions
See how to fix both →
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Google Maps
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04Listings and socialMarketbase business report

Where customers find you

John Foster Photographer shows an overall health score of 3.5 out of 10, which indicates below average presence across social platforms and directories. The most important finding is the strong Facebook presence with a 'very high' trust score, while other channels show room for growth, especially TikTok, Fresha, LinkedIn, and Yellow Directory. Strength lies in a solid Facebook profile; opportunities lie in expanding on other platforms.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Having a Facebook page at allWe found your Facebook Profile page, and the trail is strong enough that nobody would question it is yours - it is linked from something you own, or it dominates a search for your name.
  • ✓
    Cylex ListingWe can see your Cylex Listing listing (https://cylex.co.nz/john%20foster%20photographer-17967524) found via: Google search results.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Instagram ProfileWe found your Instagram Profile page through search rather than through anything you own.
  • 2
    Tiktok ProfileWe could not find an active TikTok account for your business, so anyone who looks for you there finds nothing.
  • 3
    Yellow ProfileWe could not find an active Yellow Profile listing for your business, which means anyone checking you there finds nothing and moves on to whoever is listed.
16 checks on your listings and social. You're seeing 5 of them.
4.0Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Gjohn foster photographer avonhead
AllImagesMapsNews
Cylexjohn%20foster%20photographer-17967524John Foster Photographer | Cylex✓
FacebookJohnFosterMNZIPPJohn Foster Photographer | Facebook✓
LinkedInjohn-foster-b3028662John Foster Photographer | LinkedIn
Instagramfozzy_fotomanJohn Foster Photographer | Instagram1
TiktokNo account found2
YellowNo listing found3
Listings and socialChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #116 for listings and social
See how to fix all 3 →
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GoogleFacebookInstagramTikTokCylexLinkedInYellowYour website
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05Facebook pageMarketbase business report

Your Facebook page

Strengths

  • ✓
    Where your page link pointsThe link on your page goes to a domain that is yours, so a visitor who came for the photos leaves on your terms and the enquiry lands in your inbox rather than someone else's.
  • ✓
    A page address you choseThe address on your page carries your business name, so a customer told about you at a barbecue can find the page by typing what they heard.
  • ✓
    A phone numberA phone number shows on your page, so the person who found you on Facebook before they found your website can ring straight from it.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    Recommendations on your pageYou hold fewer recommendations than the middle of this market.
  • 2
    People following your pageYour following sits ahead of half the pages here, so an ordinary post reaches a real local audience without you paying for it.
  • 3
    What your page says about youYour intro is shorter than half the pages here.
9 checks on your Facebook page. You're seeing 6 of them.
7.4Good
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
facebook
JohnFosterMNZIPP✓
666 followers 2
John Foster is a New Zealand-based Master of Photography and a qualified member of NZIPP. www.foster3
FollowMessage
★ 3 reviews · recommended 1
🌐 foster.co.nz✓
☎ +64 274 367 272✓
PostsAboutPhotosReviews
Facebook pageChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #51 for your Facebook page
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Facebook
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06Your websiteMarketbase business report

Your website

John Foster Photographer shows very low on-page SEO health (1.3/10). The overall health suggests major fixes are needed before meaningful visibility. Key findings highlight missing meta description and title tag, lack of a favicon, and mixed content risks that undermine trust and crawlability.

Strengths

  • ✓
    Domain UniquenessYour web address is yours alone, so everything your site earns - links, mentions, search standing - accumulates under your name and stays with the business.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    On-page scoreYour home page did not return anything we can measure, and a page that will not answer a scanner is usually the same page that keeps a customer waiting.
  • 2
    Separate sites linking to youNo separate website links to yours.
  • 3
    Meta descriptionYour pages carry no summary line of your own, so the two lines under your name in search results are whatever Google decides best fits the search.
23 checks on your website. You're seeing 4 of them.
-Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
🔒foster.co.nz✓
1On-page score
2Separate sites linking to you
3Meta description
Your websiteChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
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Your websiteGoogle Search
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07Google search and trafficMarketbase business report

How people find you on Google

John Foster Photographer shows a low overall health for website traffic (1.7/10). Primary concerns are near zero organic traffic value and no organic keywords ranking in the top 100. The top opportunities focus on adding quality content to boost organic value, publishing local content to drive traffic, and starting small paid campaigns with careful tracking to begin capturing potential customers.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top three opportunities

  • 1
    What that traffic is worthSearch is delivering you nothing you would otherwise have to pay for.
  • 2
    Monthly search visitsYour site draws no measurable visitors from search, so the only people reaching it are ones you sent yourself.
  • 3
    Search terms you rank forYour site does not appear in search results for any terms we can measure, so nobody is finding it by searching for what you do.
6 checks on your search and traffic. You're seeing 3 of them.
0.0Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
Gphotography service harewood-christchurch airport
AllMapsImagesShopping
No ads from you on any search
www.airtasker.comTop 10 Best Photographers in Christchurch (Free Quotes)
bryanisbisterphotography.queensberryworkspace.comChristchurch Portrait Studio l Creative Images Photography ...
www.foster.co.nzJohn Foster master photographer

John foster is renowned as one of New Zealand's leading photographers. Profiled in international magazines, his work has featured in many articles and covers. Read more

3
www.mariaphotography.nzMaria Photography | Specialist Portrait Photographer in ...
Google search and trafficChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #87 for Google search and traffic
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Google SearchGoogle Maps
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08Opening hoursMarketbase business report

Your hours against demand

John Foster Photographer's published hours align well with several midday weekday peaks, especially Monday 11-2pm and Wednesday midday, matching local demand for portrait and commercial bookings. However, closures during popular evening slots - notably Tuesday and Wednesday at 8pm and Monday and Friday late afternoons - represent missed bookings. A few open hours fall in lower-demand windows, suggesting minor efficiency gains from small scheduling tweaks.

Strengths

Your first one is close. Sort an opportunity below and it moves up here.

Top opportunity

  • 1
    Hours aligned with demandYour hours cover some of the busy stretches but fewer than half the businesses here, which means someone ringing round on a Saturday morning reaches your competitors and your voicemail.
1 check on your opening hours. You're seeing it.
5.8Room to grow
What customers seeWhere you rank
9:41
John Foster Photographer
OverviewReviewsPhotosAbout
Hours 1
Monday9:30am-5pm
Tuesday9:30am-5pm
Wednesday9:30am-5pm
Thursday9:30am-5pm
Friday9:30am-5pm
SaturdayClosed
SundayClosed
Opening hoursChristchurch photography · 194 businesses
You are #82 for opening hours
See how to fix it →
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Your listed hoursWhen people search
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The next step

Your top opportunities, in one place.

These are your top 21 opportunities, from the 72 checks we run on every business. Tick any of them to see where it takes you.

01Google listing3 opportunities

02Reviews3 opportunities

03Map positions2 opportunities

04Listings and social3 opportunities

05Facebook page3 opportunities

06Your website3 opportunities

07Google search and traffic3 opportunities

08Opening hours1 opportunity

Where you'd stand#112of 194 Christchurch photography businesses
9:41
Christchurch photographyOverall · 194 businesses
You are #112 overall
Open my free 7 days →
The how for every one of these, and everything else we found, in the order that moves you fastest.
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  • Real New Zealand data.Every one of the 194 photography businesses in Christchurch, checked - not a guess from overseas.
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