I believe that to succeed in this “industry" we need to fully engage our heads and our hearts, and Sonya's post demonstrates how truly engaged she is. It was about the albums she’s been keeping of her two daughters since they were born, and it reminded me of another album that Heather made years ago. So here am I, hand on heart too… Twenty-one years ago we hired a professional photographer. It was our daughter Adrienne’s birthday. Stephen was coming home from Australia with his fiancée Sonya to meet the family. Heather's Mum and Dad had long passed To View More >>

Sometimes you get lucky! Andy and Wendy left this remarkable story on our Facebook page. We live in the UK. Last December our house was flooded by a tidal surge and EVERYTHING on the ground floor was ruined.  We had so little notice that all we had time to save was one of our cars, our dog and a handful of personal papers. We were devastated when we realised our wedding album, created by Queensberry in 2002, was among the items lost. It was our pride and joy, and we despaired of ever replacing it. The original photographer had finished doing wedding photography, we didn't have his To View More >>

Today we're announcing free album design and free standard colour correction on all our professional albums - Flushmount, Overlay Matted, Classic Matted and Duo. Here's why... When we're discussing how we can improve our products and services, we ask ourselves three questions: Can we make it fun? Will it save you time? Will it make you money? This time we're aiming for all three :) Many of our customers pay us to colour correct their images. Many pay us to design their albums as well. Many more wish they could afford to do the same. ALL OF YOU are going to enjoy one of two things. A fresh chance To View More >>

Have you noticed our finely polished "tech tips" get less Likes than the other posts? :( So I thought I'd just remind you that us tech support staff are real people too. I went to our nation's capital over the weekend as a bit of a family outing. I didn't go to look at parliament buildings. Boring, in fact I didn't even see them in the distance. I went to the Weta Cave, where Weta Workshop is based and where they made the props for Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings, Hobbit etc. I have to be honest, I nearly had a nerdgasm. Not only because of the artistic ability of the teams who do this work To View More >>

Since our re-branding last year the front flyleaf of every Queensberry album has been embossed with the new Q-mark. Why's it there? It’s simple really: to sign our work with pride and to acknowledge the craftsmanship and detailing that goes into every album we build. We're doing the same thing that you do as a photographer when you sign your work. We're branding it. Let me explain in detail what we're doing and why, because our goal is to build a brand that will support you as our clients. § Branding is primarily about getting recognised - not a "camera" but a Leica, not a "wedding album" but To View More >>

Pride has positive and negative connotations. After all it's one of the deadly sins. However everyone that works for Queensberry is proud of what we do and what we produce. With pride comes humility - the flip side of pride - and by nature most New Zealanders tend not to blow our own trumpets. But in Queensberry's case we've put ourselves on a world stage where we can hold our own.  Each of us takes it upon ourselves to instil a sense of pride in what we do. We have a culture of doing the best we can. No one told me to write this post, I just wanted to mention the people I work with. Most of the To View More >>

Last week it was NZIPP in Queenstown. This week Photography By Woolf's 50th Anniversary exhibition in Wellington. They very kindly invited Heather and me to share in the family celebration afterwards. It was his birthday so ten-year-old Noah got to choose the restaurant. It was great fun, the whole extended family get on so well ... and it got me to thinking: 1. What a challenge it is to build a long standing family business that truly serves … the family. We know it. Chances are you do too. Well done to the Woolfs. 2. So many photographers got a start at Woolfs, and many of them featured in To View More >>

Quoddy Workshop - Lewiston, Maine from Oliver Wilkins on Vimeo. We love this video about products made by hand with love and pride. Credit and respect to Dan Maillette, the craftsman, and Quoddy, the manufacturer. AnnaM found the video on core77.com. And check out Oliver Wilkin's other excellent videos! Cheers Ian To View More >>

This is a big day for Queensberry. We're  launching a new look, a new website and a new blog ... all today. We love blogging – we've been doing it for two years, to professional photographers – and now we're looking forward to talking to you. Who are "you"? The bride and groom. A family. People sharing an occasion of love, connection and pride. People capturing a special day so they can enjoy, reflect upon and share it forever. People telling a fairy tale, a story told true. Because a story told beautifully should be true to you. You're the people in the viewfinder that we've To View More >>

Can Crash crash the royal wedding? Professional Photographer (UK)'s March issue features "the holy trinity of international wedding photographers", Crash Taylor, Jasmine Star and Yervant, in a competitive pitch for the royal gig. An interesting range of approaches between the three, but we're human and Crash had us at Queensberry: "Albums would be handcrafted in New Zealand by Queensberry, which is the Tiffany of wedding albums worldwide." I like how Crash stresses the significance of the event … the latest installment in the continuing story of the House of Windsor. It's not just about love To View More >>