Three things I try not to do: write about our competitors, jump to their defence, and risk offending people who could be our customers; but today I’m going to do all three. I want to write about the huge outpouring against Smugmug over their price increase – and suggest a few things you should think about before you jump ship, if you’re with them. I must admit I find these outbursts upsetting, no matter the justification. When I started to use the Net back in the 90s, it was all about support, helping each other and respect. In the world I want to live in, you respect the businesses that To View More >>

Last Friday was my last day working for Queensberry. Thanks to the holiday weekend, today is technically my first day as a stay-at-home mom. Excuse me if I ramble, but this is a huge change for me. It has been a whirlwind of an adventure working with the Queensberry family. And it really is just that. Family. In late 2007, I left Apple to start working in a photography studio. Designing wedding albums was a job?! Crazy. I was quickly introduced to Photojunction. By mid-2008 I had annoyed the PJ team enough that they rewarded me with a free Photojunction license for as long as the application existed. To View More >>

You know something's been done right when its simplicity takes you by surprise ... either that or something's wrong! If I told you something that previously needed its own piece of software can now be done with the click of a button, would you believe me? It's true. Over the past couple of months the guys at Photojunction have been developing a feature especially for Queensberry clients. They've integrated the FTP process into Photojunction and released it in the latest release of Photojunction, beta 1.26b. Ordering and sending your album is now one smooth, easy process. You won't need LabFTP any To View More >>

Our clients featured strongly again this year among the winners of the 2009 Annabel Williams Contemporary Photographic Training (CPT) Awards. Sarah Wright took out the Queensberry-sponsored Portrait Album category (we featured the wedding album category winner a few days ago). Ex-CPT student Sarah submitted this design of a portrait shoot of a teenager shot in the Borde Hill Gardens - a country estate in the South of England. “The subject really wanted a rural shoot as he loved the country side and country clothing – so I utilised the Estate’s striking features like the wrought iron gates, To View More >>

There was quite a reaction to my post about shooting less photos, which obviously resonated with people. Check it out - there are some interesting comments from people, including from those who say they shoot a lot. I know there are some amazing photographers out there who shoot big numbers, so quantity is not necessarily at the expense of quality. However I still think it comes at a price, for both the studio and the client. I've never forgotten the first time a client asked me to design a sample album online. I was given passwords to three large online galleries and asked to choose 100 images. After To View More >>

The average wedding photographer works a lot harder today than they did ten to thirty years ago. The promise that digital photography would make life easier and cheaper just hasn’t eventuated. We've been keeping statistics about our albums for thirty years, and I thought sharing a few numbers might reinforce that cliche, “We’re our own worst enemies”. We’re talking averages here, and everybody's different, but this is how it looks to us. Old World Wedding Photography • Medium format camera, 120 roll film, 10 rolls x 12 exp. = 120 shots. • Typical album: 12 To View More >>

I've talked about Photojunction and Workspace. Now may I introduce you to Queensberry Lab Direct. This downloadable program is for Aussie and Kiwi photographers to order print products (traditional prints, canvases and fine art inkjet) from us. The difference between Lab Direct and the Workspace shopping cart system is that with Lab Direct, you are placing a wholesale order and paying for it yourself, whereas in Workspace it's your client placing the order, and paying the retail price that you set. Lab Direct very simple. All you need to do is to import the images, much the same as you do with To View More >>

I got a few pats on the back for my "check your files" post. Chris Meiklejohn, our lab manager, liked it so much that she wanted a sequel. In fact she wrote one! The funny thing was my team mates had already got me one started on a follow-up, and the things on Chris' list were pretty much the same as ours. So, drum roll… (If you like this, I wrote it. Otherwise, it's Chris!) 8 ways to better print files Would you love to have your albums arrive on your doorstep faster, hassle-free, and beautifully printed? You put a lot of work into them, so they might as well be perfect. We definitely want To View More >>

Many years ago I headed to an up-market department store to buy a gift. When I asked the person behind the counter to show me what I wanted, she replied, “It’s expensive you know”. Was she suggesting that I couldn’t afford it, or was she reflecting on her own economic situation? She should have known better. Her job was to show me the product, work with my enthusiasm and make the business she worked for better off. As a business person I’ve reflected on this incident often. I’m always reminded of it at trade shows when people look at our albums and say things like, “They're so beautiful, To View More >>

And no, this is not a scam. For those not in the know, I'm based at the Queenberry lab. They put up with me here as long as I sit quietly in the corner. It's a bit crowded as Philip Laing is sitting in the same corner. Anyway, I'm not allowed to speak so I get to listen to what's going on regarding some of the issues that our printers face. Now correct me if I'm wrong, but the terms and conditions of most album companies are a bit like the signs you used to see in china shops around New Zealand – "if you break it, you buy it". In other words, if you send us a crappy file, don't blame us if we To View More >>