Ian spotted a post by New Zealand photographer Isaac de Reus of Perspectives Photography on DWF recently. It was in reply to a thread discussing whether giving your work away free for referrals was good business practice. Isaac shared this great example of how he's leveraged something he can do in return for good quality referrals. The type everyone wants. High-end. It also shows the value of keeping your finger on the wider wedding market's pulse. Thanks for sharing, Isaac - Nigel A month or so ago we approached a very high-end, exclusive venue that only recently started booking and advertising To View More >>

From our little corner of the world we want to wish you all a wonderful Thanksgiving! Although our small country doesn't celebrate this holiday, we still want to take a moment to express our gratitude. Thank you to all our clients, suppliers and partners for your friendship and support over the years. We are truly grateful that we can do business with you! So from all of us here at Queensberry, we wish you a happy Thanksgiving! Cheers, Amanda 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 >>

If you follow our main Queensberry blog, you might have seen that I recently designed and ordered my own Queensberry album. (View the blog post here). Well, Stephen wandered in a while ago and saw me looking at what he assumed was my album, and asked how I liked it. "It's crap," I said. "I don't even like looking at it." He went really pale! What he didn't know is that Heather had suggested I use the exact same image files to create an album with another well known supplier. I'm not naming names, but wow - the differences are astounding. I understand that you get what you pay for, and that our To View More >>

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 >>

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 >>

Well, it's a sad day. Kodak has been felled by exactly what it espoused: universal access to cameras. – The Washington Post. That's true, but it's not the whole story. Kodak was also felled by its commitment to its legacy film business … even though it was a digital pioneer too. To be clear, Kodak says it isn't closing the doors, it's continuing to restructure, but still, it's sad to see a company (and technology) decline that brought so much good into the world - art created, memories conserved and stories told. Three things are certain: 1. Our world is changing, and we have to change with To View More >>

As we announced back in February, we're in the process of streamlining the way Photojunction handles third-party vendors. As part of that process, we will tomorrow be removing the Cover Material, Cover Style, and Titles resources, as well as the largely unused “Send Order” functionality for all suppliers other than Queensberry. If you're using PJ to design Queensberry albums, or not using the functions listed above, you won't notice any difference. Only those designing for a handful of vendors are affected, and we understand that those most affected have been working through the transition 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 >>

I was talking to Stephen last night and he made a comment about how photographers will approach an album on the Queensberry stand at trade shows. He said that most often they will pick up the book and look at the last pages first. If what they see catches their interest they look more closely. I can think of several reasons for this behaviour. At trade shows there are many suppliers peddling their wares, It is important for photographers to be efficient in their research. The last image in an album is often a defining one and in some way summarises the quality, content and feeling of the album. To View More >>