You might remember a post called "the secret life of wedding photographers" on ISPWP a few years ago. Apparently photographers lead a great life – you get to spend your time taking pictures, travelling to exotic locations and partying like rockstars! Of course the sad reality is often quite different. This fertile little meme has got a lot more airtime recently because APE and now Seth Godin have posted about it. As always, Seth's post is well worth the read. He makes the point that everyone has a choice: get together the "guts and resources" too do what you were born to do, or spend your time To View More >>

In business there's one thing we need to focus on constantly – our customers and their experience. It's not what I think (the business owner) but what you think (the customer). At the cafe where I got this cup of tea, the marshmallow on the saucer suggests that somebody was trying to give me a little something extra, and a good experience. But my primary desire is to have a great cup of tea. Glance around your average cafe and there's a very expensive machine to make awesome coffee. Organic, fair trade, freshly roasted beans. A barrista who's been taught how to add delight to the coffee experience. To View More >>

Doing their Chicken Little impression, the media say the sky is falling. Some of our clients are worried, but personally I wonder. Here's why. First, Heather and I have been through it before (no, not the great depression! that was our parents and grandparents)... 1. The 1984 New Zealand currency crisis (that might mean nothing to you, but our country almost went broke). 2. The 1987 share market crash. 3. The 1997 Asian financial crisis. 4. The 2001 Tech meltdown. Sure, they probably weren't as bad, but we survived them all. In fact in each of those years except 1984 our sales increased. And we To View More >>

New Zealand photographer Bianca Duimel set up this sample portrait album to feature some of her best work... She took these photos of expecting parents Tony and Sharon just one week before their little baby boy was born. Bianca say this golden haired angel took her breath away. Three-year-old Holly obviously isn't scared of bees! And Pippa was let loose to run around outside in the sun while Bianca got these shots. Thanks for sharing, Bianca :) To view a slideshow of Bianca's sample album click here. Cheers, Nigel To View More >>

I know how to type, have a good grasp of English, know how to spell – but that doesn’t mean I could or would or should try to write the next John Grisham. Having a pen doesn’t make me a writer. Having a camera doesn’t make me a photographer. Having a computer doesn’t make me a designer… To be a designer takes talent, knowledge and practice. You need to understand balance, beauty, symmetry, asymmetry, flow, pace, shape, unity and contrast. Being a great visual story teller requires all those qualities. It also requires the understanding that that’s what you’re doing - telling a To View More >>

Apparently it takes 3.5 seconds for a person to to assess another person when they first meet face to face. We've all done it and in some cases I still remember those 3.5 seconds. The love at first sight affect. :) But what if those first few seconds aren't face to face, but face to website? Couples (ie Brides) can be ruthlessly efficient when it comes to their wedding plans, which is why we all need a love-at-first-sight site that's up to handling a bride in full hunting mode. I've watched my wife in action. She will allow a site 3.5 seconds to grab her attention before she moves on. And I am To View More >>

Marie-Caroline Motel & Seanoa Isaac were married at Burnside Church with a reception at Brackenridge Estate in Martinborough, New Zealand. Their photographer Sharisse Eberlein tells us that Marie is French and Seanoa is a Kiwi. They met in Egypt while Seanoa was working as a bodyguard. Apparently there is more to the story but it’s all very secret and romantic! Seanoa is the brother of Tavita, whose album we featured last year. Their album is a Duo 14x10H album with Contemporary Leather cover in blueberry. Here are a few layouts. To see more of Sharisse's work click here. Enjoy! Anna To View More >>

We love it when our clients win awards for their work, especially when our albums are involved. Laura and Marilyn of Natural Expressions recently won the New Hampshire PPA 2008 FujiFilm Masterpiece Award for Photographic Excellence with this beautiful album, which they called "a bright future". Winnie and Sean's wedding, held at a beautiful country club in Massachusetts, was all about a colourful palette, so a colourful album was only appropriate. Laura and Marilyn design a 10x7 Pagemount feature album with a Teal Leather Photo Front cover - Teal Leather chosen to complement one of the couple's To View More >>

I've gathered enough gongs now to qualify for an opinion on album design. Last week I was a judge for the Australian Professional Photography Awards at PMA in Melbourne. This was an honour I shared with the lovely Jo Grams, Jerry Ghionis, Jackie Chan, Yervant and other luminaries. Several things became apparent: 1) Some authors treated the album as a set of individual prints, mixing black and whites with colours, verticals with horizontals, with blatant disregard for the influence of those images on each other. 2) Some authors were hypnotised by the ability to apply a filter to create a look ... To View More >>

It's that time of year when we take stock, make resolutions and ask questions ... like how can we make this year a winner? Are there too many photographers? Why do we ask our competitors for advice? What can we learn from musicians? And the big one: How much are our images worth? Sadly, that's not just about how good they are or how much time we spend on them in post-production. Our latest client newsletter is below. Let us know what you think by leaving a comment here or emailing Ian directly. Cheers, Nigel How much are your images worth? We received this present from our design consultants, Alt To View More >>