Do Original Photos Help a Cafe Blog? Alt Text and Rights
Short answer: original photos help a cafe blog because they show the actual place, and they can be read by search engines and by accessibility tools when you describe them properly. Whether one original photo alone changes a page's ranking is not something a small cafe blog can prove one way or the other, and I am not going to pretend it can. What is provable, and worth doing regardless, is taking a photo that shows the actual topic, writing alt text that plainly describes what is in it, and knowing who actually owns the image before it goes up.
Most cafe owners I talk to do the same three things: snap a photo on a phone, upload it straight to the post, and never touch alt text, file names, or rights. Sometimes a photo gets borrowed from a supplier or pulled off a stock site without much thought either. None of that is a disaster, but it is a missed opportunity, and it takes almost no extra time to do right once you have a routine. This post walks through taking, describing, and owning your photos, in that order, so the next post you publish has all three handled.
Taking Photos That Actually Show the Topic
The most common mistake is not a bad camera, it is a photo that does not actually show what the post is about. A post about a new seasonal drink needs a photo of that drink, in decent light, close enough to see it, not a wide shot of the whole counter where the drink is a small, unrecognizable blur in the corner. Light matters more than gear. A drink or a dish photographed near a window in daylight almost always looks better than the same shot taken under indoor lighting at night, regardless of what device you are using.
Angle matters too, and it is worth thinking about what a reader wants to see. A drink is usually best shown close and slightly from above, so the texture and color read clearly. A finished plate benefits from a similar angle. A shot of the space itself, the counter, the seating, the roastery if you have one, reads better a little wider and at eye level, the way a person experiences walking into the room.
A short shot list for a typical post keeps this simple rather than turning it into a production. For a new drink or menu item post: one close shot of the finished item, one shot of it being made if that is visually interesting, and one wider shot showing it in context, on the counter or in someone's hand. For a space or story focused post: two or three shots of the actual room or people involved, real, not staged, and one detail shot of something specific, a roaster, a shelf, a sign, that anchors the post to your actual cafe rather than a generic setting.
Take a few more shots than you think you need and pick the best ones afterward, rather than trying to get the single perfect shot in one attempt. Three or four decent shots of the same subject, chosen from afterward, beats one attempt you talked yourself into keeping because it was the only one you took.
Timing matters as much as light. Early morning, right around when the shop opens, tends to give the softest, most even light through a window before the sun gets high and harsh. If your cafe has a stretch of natural light at a particular hour, whether that is early morning or a specific window that catches afternoon sun, learning that window and shooting near it consistently does more for your photos than any amount of editing afterward.
It is also worth photographing the same subject more than once across different visits or seasons, rather than treating a single photo shoot as permanent. A shot of your seating area taken once at launch and reused for years starts to feel stale, and it stops matching the space as small things change, new chairs, a repainted wall, a different plant. Treating photography as an ongoing, low effort habit rather than a one time task keeps your blog's images matching what a visitor sees when they walk in.
Writing Alt Text That Actually Describes the Image
Alt text is a short, plain description of what an image shows, read by screen readers for people who cannot see the image, and read by search engines that cannot see it either. Google's own documentation on image best practices describes alt text as something written for the person or system reading it, a plain, accurate description, not a place to stuff extra keywords that have nothing to do with what the image shows.
A simple formula covers most cafe photos: what the image shows, plus one specific detail that makes it distinct from a generic version of the same subject. Before: latte. After: a latte with leaf shaped latte art in a white ceramic cup, sitting on a wooden counter. Before: coffee shop interior. After: the seating area near the front window, with mismatched armchairs and a row of hanging plants. The before versions are technically accurate but say almost nothing. The after versions describe the actual photo, which is the entire point of alt text.
File names matter here too, in a smaller way. A photo uploaded straight from a phone with a name like a long string of numbers gives a search engine nothing to work with. Renaming the file to something plain and descriptive before uploading, leaf latte art white cup as the file name rather than a numeric string, is a small extra step that reinforces the same description the alt text already provides.
Keep alt text to one short sentence in almost every case. A long, over described alt text is harder for a screen reader to parse quickly and reads as padded rather than accurate. If a single sentence genuinely cannot cover an unusually complex image, a second short sentence is fine, but that should be the exception, not the default.
A helpful way to check your own alt text before publishing is to read it out loud, on its own, without looking at the image, and ask whether it tells you something specific about what is in the photo. Reading it that way makes a vague, generic description obvious quickly, since coffee shop photo tells a listener nothing, while a leather sofa by the front window under string lights tells them exactly what they would see. This is roughly the same test a screen reader user is running when they hear the alt text read aloud instead of seeing the image.
Rights: Who Actually Owns the Photo
A photo you take yourself, on your own phone or camera, at your own cafe, is generally yours to use without needing anyone's separate permission, though this post is offering general information rather than legal advice, and an owner with a genuinely complicated situation should talk to someone qualified rather than relying on a blog post. The simple, common case, an owner or staff member photographing the cafe's own drinks, food, and space, is the one this section is mostly written for.
Staff and customer photos need a slightly different approach. A photo of a staff member working is generally fine to use for the cafe's own marketing as part of their normal job, but it is worth being clear with staff about how photos of them might be used, rather than assuming it goes without saying. A photo that includes a customer's face, rather than an anonymous shot of hands or the back of someone's head, is worth getting a quick, casual verbal or written okay for before it goes on the blog, especially if the photo is close up or clearly identifies them.
Supplier and stock photos are where rights questions get more serious, because these are not your own images. A photo a supplier sends you to use in marketing usually comes with some understanding of how it can be used, but it is worth asking rather than assuming, particularly if you plan to edit or crop it. A stock photo licensed from a paid or free stock site comes with specific license terms that vary by site and by image, and those terms should be checked and kept on file rather than assumed to be unlimited just because the photo was easy to download.
A simple rights checklist covers most of this: is the photo one you took yourself, or does it belong to someone else. If someone else, do you have a record of permission or a license, and where is that record kept. If it shows an identifiable staff member or customer, have they given a casual okay. And is there a note somewhere, even a simple spreadsheet, tracking where each non original photo on the blog came from, so the answer to any of these questions is findable later rather than relying on memory.
Adding Alt Text on the Platform You Actually Use
Wix's blog editor includes a dedicated field for alt text directly on each image, found in the image settings when you click on a photo within a post, letting you add the description at the same time you upload the photo rather than as a separate step afterward. Squarespace similarly provides an alt text field within its image block settings, reached by clicking the image and opening its options. Shopify, more commonly used by roasters selling online than by a cafe's blog specifically, includes alt text fields on both blog post images and product images through its media settings.
The exact menu path on any of these platforms can shift slightly as each one updates its editor over time, so if a field is not where this post describes, checking that platform's own current help documentation is more reliable than assuming the interface has stayed exactly the same. What stays consistent across all three is the underlying habit: add the alt text at the same time you upload the photo, using the formula from the section above, rather than publishing the post first and meaning to come back and add it later, which is exactly the step that tends to get skipped once a post is already live.
Renaming the file before upload is worth doing on whichever platform you use too, since none of the three platforms rename an uploaded file for you automatically. A minute spent renaming a photo from a string of numbers to a plain, descriptive name before it goes into the post is a small habit that pairs naturally with writing the alt text at the same time.
Building this into a genuine habit, rather than something you mean to do and occasionally forget, usually comes down to ordering the steps the same way every time. Take the photo, rename the file on your phone or before uploading, upload it into the post, and write the alt text immediately in the same sitting rather than leaving it for later. Once that order becomes automatic, the whole routine adds only a minute or two to publishing a post that already needed a photo anyway, and it stops feeling like a separate task you have to remember.
Related Reading
More from Hillcane on this topic, plus the pages on the site that sit next to the work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do original photos help?
Google's own documentation supports descriptive alt text and good image practice generally, and an original photo shows the real place in a way a stock photo cannot. Whether one original photo alone changes a page's ranking is not something a small sample can prove, and this post is not going to claim it does. What is worth doing regardless is taking the photo well and describing it accurately.
What should alt text say?
A short, plain, accurate description of what the image shows, plus one specific detail that makes it distinct from a generic version of the same subject. A latte becomes a latte with leaf shaped latte art in a white ceramic cup on a wooden counter. Keep it to one sentence in almost every case, and avoid stuffing extra keywords that do not describe the actual image.
Do I own photos I take myself at my cafe?
Generally yes, in the common case of an owner or staff member photographing the cafe's own drinks, food and space on their own phone or camera, though this is general information rather than legal advice. Supplier images and stock photos from paid or free sites are different, since those come with their own license terms. Keep a simple spreadsheet noting where each non original photo came from, and check anything more complicated with someone qualified.
Can I use a photo a customer appears in?
If the photo clearly identifies a customer's face rather than showing an anonymous shot of hands or the back of someone's head, it is worth getting a quick, casual okay from them first, especially for a close up photo. A wide, incidental shot where no individual is clearly recognizable is a lower concern than a portrait style shot.
How do I add alt text on Wix, Squarespace, or Shopify?
All three provide a dedicated alt text field within the image settings, reached by clicking on the photo itself within the post or product editor. The exact menu path can shift as each platform updates its editor, so if the field is not where expected, check that platform's own current help documentation rather than assuming the interface has not changed.
Should I use a stock photo if I do not have a good original one?
A stock photo can fill a real gap, but check and keep a record of its license terms rather than assuming it is unlimited just because it was easy to download. An original photo, even an imperfect one taken on a phone, generally serves a cafe blog's purpose better since it shows the actual place rather than a generic stand in.
Does file name matter for photos?
Yes, in a smaller way than alt text but still worth doing. A file uploaded straight from a phone with a name like a long string of numbers gives a search engine nothing to work with, and Wix, Squarespace and Shopify do not rename an uploaded file for you. Renaming it before upload, such as leaf latte art white cup instead of a numeric string, takes about a minute and reinforces the same description the alt text provides.
How many photos does a typical blog post need?
For a new drink or menu item post, a close shot of the finished item, a shot of it being made if visually interesting, and a wider shot showing it in context covers most of what a reader wants to see. For a space or story post, two or three real shots of the room or people involved plus one detail shot anchors the post to your actual cafe.
What about a photo a supplier sends me?
Ask the supplier directly how the photo can be used rather than assuming, particularly if you plan to edit, crop, or reuse it beyond the original context it was sent for. Keeping a simple record of what was agreed, even a short note, saves confusion later if the same photo shows up in more than one place.
Is it okay to use the same photo across multiple posts?
There is nothing wrong with reusing a good photo where it fits, but each use should still carry alt text describing what that specific image shows in the context of that specific post. A photo of your espresso machine can appear in a post about your equipment and a post about your daily routine, with alt text written for each context separately.
Work with Hillcane
You took the photo on your phone. It took thirty seconds. The alt text and the rights question take about the same.
If you want a hand building a simple photo and rights routine for your blog, reach Hillcane at hillcane.co/contact or (256) 384-2449.
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