We've just removed the password protection from the knowledge base on our Partner website, making most of it accessible to anyone. Most of it's just detailed product and service information that our clients might want to check out from time to time - so it's not like Wikileaks would be interested! - but some of it's a bit sensitive, which is why it's been restricted. Some of you've been saying it's frustrating having to log in, however, which is why we've put most of the content out in the open. The only exception is the Marketing and Business section which is still locked down. That's where all To View More >>

Photography by Johannes van Kan I hope you have a blog. They're a perfect marketing vehicle for photographers, and they're free. Photograph every album before you present it to your client, write a post about them, their day and their album, and send them the link. Just like all our new possessions (and this is a very special one) they'll want to show their friends and family, talk about it and (hopefully!) recommend the person who created it for them (you). What could be better? And don't forget to promote your blog on your website, in your email signature and in your fliers etc. To get you To View More >>

If capturing a fleeting moment thrills you … if beautiful colour makes your heart beat faster … if you dream about composition in your sleep… if you love telling stories with pictures - we'd love to hear from you. We're after images to showcase on our website and in our new season sample albums and books, as well as in our blogs and marketing pieces. We’re looking for sets of around 80 images, but to enter all you have to do is send us TEN low-res images* from up to TWO different events - a wedding, portrait session, or whatever you happen to shoot - and email them to us at showcase@queensberry.com. To View More >>

Click here to watch on Vimeo. In the second half of our conversation I talk to Kristie and Brett Harkness about: • dealing with high-end clients • word of mouth • the importance of tangible products • building a relationship with venues • maintaining your business in the the recession • avoiding being a "busy fool" • changing, adapting and diversifying, and • working together as a couple – the last but not the least ;) Oh, and Brett explains why their workshops and DVD aren't for beginners or the advanced, but those in between. Cheers, Ian To View More >>

Click here to watch the video on Vimeo. My father's family came from Westhoughton, only twenty miles or so from where Brett and Kristie Harkness have their studio in the North of England, so we're practically neighbours. Brett's a northerner born and bred (Newcastle), but Kristie's from Saskatchewan, where the population density is only slightly more than that of New Zealand supporters at an English rugby match. In the first of a two-part interview Kristie and Brett tell Ian how they got from working on a cruise ship to their high end studio, and: learning the business side of photography; letting To View More >>

Simon Woolf is one of my favourite people. One of our longest-standing clients and quite possibly the most energetic person I know (if you don't believe me check out his Facebook page). He sells beautiful landscapes from his shop in Wellington's Cable Car Lane – access way to one of Wellington's top tourist attractions. One day Simon saw a tourist photographing one of his landscapes through the display window, and posted about it on Facebook. "I asked her for a look, and she stated, 'It wasn't a bad copy but was a little light'. I then told her I was the photographer, and she was being a bit To View More >>

We've created albums for celebrities of all sorts over the last forty years, from the likes of Pope John Paul 2, Queen Elizabeth and Princess Diana through to many others famous in business, entertainment and the arts. It's hard to talk about because many famous clients quite rightly insist on total privacy regarding their images and we often receive requests from photographers for confidentiality, not just from celebrities but regarding culturally sensitive weddings. Those photographers have been chosen by their clients because of the trust and confidence they instill. To honour that confidence To View More >>

Things have a habit of creeping up on you, as our friends at Seldex have reminded us by sending an email to their clients reminding them that come July they won't be able to use Photojunction's cover design and Send Order functions. (We announced as much here back in February.) We've counted Seldex as friends for years – in fact they sold Queensberry albums in Australia back in the day! - so this is a rather sad time, the culmination of a process that started to unfold a couple of years ago when we realised that most suppliers weren't going to support PJ as a universal album design tool, which To View More >>

We really love it when people get just as excited about wedding albums as we do! And Melissa Jill is a photographer who simply loves what she does. She recently blogged about her new Queensberry sample album for Dan & Lindsey who got married last October at the Royal Palms in Phoenix. "I'm so excited! I just received a new sample album from Queensberry. It's 18x10 inches of supple micro leather goodness. I wish you could touch it through the screen. It's SO soft! I wanted to offer a really unique album to my high end clients and this album fits the bill beautifully! It is available with various To View More >>

Click here to watch on Vimeo. We first met Justine at WPPI in 2003, and she's been a good friend ever since. Last year she saw our new Musée there, and I'm pretty sure she really liked it! Given that so many people shake their head in disbelief at the idea of selling a product in this price range, I just had to ask her about its place in her business. She talks to me about how to succeed as a high end studio; where the business comes from; the importance of networks and word of mouth; her secret weapon (her Mom!); how she presents herself to clients; how she prices and sells Musée (what she To View More >>