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 >>

Last night we removed the data limits on our Workspace Pro Plus plan and took some of the restrictions off our Free Plan. We've had a lot of requests for this, so here's the deal… 1. Under the Workspace Pro+ Plan, data storage is now unlimited. 2. The Workspace Free Plan now offers 750MB of storage, but access is no longer restricted, and you can use it indefinitely. We do reserve the right to cancel inactive accounts (where there have been no new uploads or sales for twelve months). Please read the details on our website. So why the change of mind? One thing concerned us when we launched Workspace. To View More >>

DHL recently announced that they are discontinuing their US domestic service (U.S Express) to focus on their more profitable international services. However this change won’t affect our service to you. That’s because the only services affected are DHL shipments being sent from one US location to another. We ship all our international orders direct from our bindery in New Zealand and DHL have assured us that this change won’t affect you or us in any way. We’re working hard to get as many orders as we can dispatched before our December close-down. Rest assured that our expected delivery times To View More >>

When next you login to Workspace you'll see we've released an upgrade that makes major changes to the price list and shopping cart features. Largely these come from listening to your feedback as users, but we also need to change the way we handle taxes in Workspace at both the wholesale and retail level. We are sincerely grateful to our “early adopters”, and we’re sure you’ll like the changes - read on! - but if you’re already using these features you may need to edit your price lists, so this is an important heads-up. 1. You can now sell a range of Queensberry books and albums through 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 >>

In the context of professional people photography here are a few things that surprise and puzzle us. How often the images are released from the studio before the sale is finalised. How the album planning/sales process can take months, sometimes years. How there's often no attempt to up-sell after the event. How the album is treated as a cost, not a marketing tool. How album planning is treated as an obligation not an opportunity. How studios go with the crowd, instead of standing out from it. None of those maximise your opportunities, and there are probably less of those to go round right now. To View More >>

I know the word "networking" gets bandied about a lot. I used to roll my eyes and put in the same category as "politically correct" and "multi-tasking" but in reality it's where business is today. Once upon a time a photographer could rely on the quality of his images and word of mouth. Maybe a bit of advertising in the Yellow Pages and the odd display in the local mall. Next minute, along comes the internet and screws it all up. Suddenly you have to be on Facebook, Twitter and this that and the other. As a photographer you have a major head start at this. First, you have cool images to show people. To View More >>

This post isn't a judgment on the underprivileged, or a suggestion that we all move into gated communities. It is about how to succeed. Who you surround yourself with, according to psychologists, affects how successful you’ll be. The same’s true for who you emulate or seek advice from. If you want a happy family, check out someone who has one. If you want to be wealthy, ask a rich person – not a financial advisor (not the same), and not a poor person either. Unless of course you want a list of what not to do. The internet delivers to us the best and the worst of all advice. I can’t count To View More >>

A thoughtful approach to designing and selling albums from Pennsylvania-based Angelique, of our support team. - Ed. There seem to be two primary approaches to album sales, three if you include not bothering (let's not go there). The first approach, popular recently, is Pre-Design. Design the be-all, end-all of albums before your clients even see their images and you'll make a fortune! How could they possibly say no to a 60 side gorgeous 10x18 Duo masterpiece once they see it? Well…because what you included in their contact was a 10x10 flush mount album with 20 sides. That hardly seems fair. It To View More >>

Who's hosting your website? Where do your images live online? Who's handling your sales? Doing your printing? Collecting the cash? Who’s designing your books and albums? How do your proof them online? Who makes them for you? How do you get your stuff out on Facebook and your blog? How many vendors are involved? How well do they work together? How much of your time does it take? And how much does it all cost? Maybe it’s all so hard you’re just giving people the “Crown Jewels” on DVD?! We have a better idea… We’ve been working for months with one simple goal - to create the world’s To View More >>