We're running our first ever Facebook competition and the prize up for grabs is a two year Pro Plus Workspace subscription (valued at $900 USD!) for three lucky winners. And the best part is, we've made the conditions of entry as simple as possible. If you'd like to be in the draw all you have to do is: • Head on over to our Facebook page and 'like' us • Click on the 'promo' tab at the top of our page • Put in your email address and click enter And you're done! So easy. We'll be making these Facebook competitions a regular feature, so even if this prize isn't for you, keep an eye out because 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 >>

We love beautiful things, and we absolutely admire the people who make them, so here are two links for you. The first shows the making of a limited edition Leica M9-P, made in collaboration with Hermès. As the video says, no wonder it's so damned expensive. That's OK. As one of the commenters says, we'll just stand quietly behind the velvet rope and watch. The second is Signé Chanel, Loïc Prigent's seven year-old TV series about the creation of Chanel's Fall/Winter 2004-2005 collection. I wish I could show you some video, but I can't. Which is a pity, because if you value craftsmanship, it's 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 >>

[caption id="attachment_7050" align="alignleft" width="200" caption="Musée 10x7 dark tan; photography and page layout design by Johannes van Kan"][/caption] If you read my Musée story recently, you’ll recall it ended with a cliff-hanger … but it turned out well. You may remember we’d made an album featuring Christian [Oth's] images, but he'd never seen it. We were nervous. Well we finally did catch up, and he loved it. Then Johannes [van Kan’s] album of Virginia and Richard’s wedding won at WPPI. You can view his complete album on Youtube (no audio) or Vimeo (recommended: this is the To View More >>

Good design is a big part of the Queensberry way, so may we introduce Anna Matsuoka, one of our product designers. Anna M grew up in the beautiful historic city of Kamakura in Tokyo, which maybe explains her very strong focus on materials and the preservation of history. She studied curatorial and fine arts at the Tama Art University in Japan. Issey Miyake studied at the same university, which has a strong emphasis on the art of choosing and working with materials. While at TAU Anna also did an Internship at the Tokyo National Museum where she studied how to present artifacts. After moving to New To View More >>

This post won't mean much to those of you who's knowledge of social media is limited to, "You know, Facebook and Twitter etc". But the rest of us are trying to get good at it without feeling like it consumes all our time. Anyway, I've just been asked my opinions about automation and social media. It's something I feel strongly about, and my advice is to "approach with caution". Here's why. 1. We're in the 'intimacy business', and automation is usually the the enemy of intimacy. If I skype my wife, "Hi darling – love you!", we both feel good about it. It was impulsive and heartfelt. Automate it 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 >>

A huge crowd turned up last week to the first of our two-part webinar series focused on the most critical issue facing professional photographers: how to survive and thrive in today's demanding market. But plenty more people missed it and asked us to post a recording online. So here's part one: How to sell albums (and why) Or click here to watch it full screen on our vimeo channel. Ian (Director and co-founder), Stephen Baugh (Managing Director) and Jo Newman (UK Account Manager) answer some important questions... What can my competitors teach me? How should I choose my sample albums? To View More >>

This is a very cool and quirky Save the Date made by Studio Artifice in France. The idea at the end is about “Love Padlocks", which is a relatively new trend where sweethearts affix a padlock to a fence or public fixture to symbolize their love. You lock a padlock and throw away the key. In Paris, love padlocks are usually attached to the Pont des Arts bridge but the trend has taken off all over the world. Enjoy! Anna PS Send us your love stories! To View More >>