A lucky few had the chance to attend Denis’s workshop. We got an insight into how he operates, and some valuable tips on how to get that killer shot.

From the moment we arrived Denis’s passion was evident. He loves photography, and weddings, and has some strong opinions on the modern day approach to shooting them.

After shocking everybody with a challenge to “shoot a wedding without speaking”, he opened our minds to the true meaning of wedding photojournalism and how it can be a part of every photographer’s repertoire. I was impressed to realise that one of the rock stars of our industry doesn’t behave like one on the day. He doesn’t act like he’s part of the entertainment. He spends almost the entire time documenting the event, talking to no one and shooting “candids”.

But of all the things we learned, I don’t think I’ll ever forget “foofing”, a term Denis coined to describe an on-camera flash technique that dramatically improves lighting in even the trickiest situations.

After all the foofing and salt and pepper analogies, attendees left with plenty of information and techniques to keep them busy for a while.

Day Two was a chance to show off the Queensberry facilities, and my turn to introduce Denis to a couple of new things. I’m always proud when clients visit us from other parts of the world as I’m able to give them the grand tour, and this visit was no exception. They’re always surprised by the high level of handwork and craftsmanship that goes into every album.

It was also a chance for Stephen and Ian to give Denis a brief look into the Queensberry crystal ball. All involved were sworn to secrecy, so all I can say is, stand by! 2012 will be an exciting year.

Thank you, Denis, for coming all the way here to see us – don’t leave it another 12 years before hitting Kiwi shores again.

Cheers
Gino

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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 Zealand she studied at Victoria University, majoring in Industrial Design. It was her innate sense for materials and her quirky fashion sense (she’s one of our in-house fashion plates!) that made Peter Haythornthwaite, her supervisor and one of our design mentors, suggest that Heather take her on as a product design intern.

Anna has now been with us for three years, working on Musée, the Press range and the very distinctive Japanese-inspired Mayu Case. Having grown up with a great appreciation of history, Anna sees the value in making something to last, and pass on to future generations.

I asked Anna where she draws her inspiration from, and here’s what she said:

1. Our Photographer’s Images: “I love learning about the great cultural diversity through our clients’ photographs. Everyday I get to see a collection of treasured moments from all over the world. It’s a bit like taking a special paper called ‘the anthropology of beauty and love’”.

2. New Zealand: “For a girl from Tokyo, every second of NZ is like living in National Geographic. Speechless. Also I like the Euro-Asia-Polynesian mixed culture here. Very different and very special.”

3. Cy Twombly: “My love for materials, textures, letters, everything is in his work!” If you’re interested – take a look at Cy’s work here.

Cheers,
Anna B

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I’ve never met Crash Taylor, but I’ve been looking forward to interviewing him because of this endearing habit he has of poking his head above the parapet and getting shot at.

As in this post, for example, which I published because he was nice enough to call Queensberry “the Tiffany of wedding albums”. I didn’t mean to buy into a storm, but I did anyway – as you can see from the post comments. You can read the full brouhaha on DWF if you’re keen.

For the record, I think it’s hard to argue with “cheap publicity” (is there any other kind?) and when I spoke to him Crash came across as an energetic, engaging guy with interesting ideas. Not having heard him speak, I thought he was a Brit, but he’s actually from LA.

I talked with him about LA and Nottingham; hard work; controversy and criticism; creating that ‘wow’ factor; getting booked; Lightroom vs Photoshop; story telling; being aware; albums and album design; workshops; realistic expectations; personal projects and work/life balance. I asked him about his workshops too.

Crash operates on the one website per subject principle, but you can get to his studio work, blog and workshops through crashtaylor.com or his Facebook page.

His photographer interviews are definitely worth checking out.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Ian

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In the second half of our conversation I talk to Kristie and Brett Harkness about:

• dealing with high-end clients

• word of mouth

• the importance of tangible products

• building a relationship with venues

• maintaining your business in the the recession

• avoiding being a “busy fool”

• changing, adapting and diversifying, and
• working together as a couple – the last but not the least

Oh, and Brett explains why their workshops and DVD aren’t for beginners or the advanced, but those in between.

Cheers, Ian

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Busy week with our peeps

My father’s family came from Westhoughton, only twenty miles or so from where Brett and Kristie Harkness have their studio in the North of England, so we’re practically neighbours.

Brett’s a northerner born and bred (Newcastle), but Kristie’s from Saskatchewan, where the population density is only slightly more than that of New Zealand supporters at an English rugby match.

In the first of a two-part interview Kristie and Brett tell Ian how they got from working on a cruise ship to their high end studio, and: learning the business side of photography; letting the experts print for you; working your butt off as a recipe for success; finding your own approach; photographic style and inspiration; adapting to your clients; the role of Photoshop; getting it right in the camera.

Enjoy!

Cheers, Ian

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After talking to Jessica Mills from NZ Colour Management, I thought we should bring in someone from the front lines!

Philip Laing is one of our lab support specialists, and if my conversation with him paints a picture of a bunch of people obsessed with quality and delivering you the best possible album, my work is done.

If you get get an insight into the many ways in which our lab service is truly unique in the album business, even better!

Philip is what we call a “support detective”. With a stack of experience – and huge enthusiasm for photography – he’s in the front line every day ensuring everything runs smoothly between you and us, and fixing things if it doesn’t.

I hope we haven’t given the impression that colour management is full of problems waiting to derail you, but the best of us make mistakes sometimes, and it’s great to know that our “expert eyes” are looking out for you. What puzzles our bunch of obsessives is that other labs don’t offer this level of service…

Why do we call them detectives? Because it’s not just a matter of fixing problems, but drilling down to find what causes them, so they don’t happen again.

Philip’s top five tips for enjoying a smooth ride with Queensberry:

1. Embrace Photojunction: it’s loaded with presets and pre-flight procedures to head off most problems before you hit the send button. Don’t ignore PJ Nanny (the problem reporter)!

2. Keep your file management structure simple and consistent, and your file names short and alphanumeric.

3. Calibrate your monitor.

4. Soft-proof your files against our ICC profiles so you know how they’ll look printed.

5. Open your print layouts in Photoshop and inspect them carefully before sending them for printing.

Simple really!

Cheers, Ian

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The picture that flashed through my mind was of graphic designers and brand managers hanging out at the printers, tweaking colours on the machine before they sign off on a job…

And yet here we are at Queensberry, printing for very fussy photographers (often on the far side of the world), putting the prints into really pricey albums (sight unseen) and flying them at great expense to Europe, or North America, or Hong Kong. The stakes are really high if things go wrong.

I’m really proud of (and grateful for) the trust those photographers show in us.

Queensberry lives and dies by colour management, and it’s not bullshit. On the other hand it is a potential minefield of misunderstanding and things to go wrong.

Jessica Mills works at the coal face. She and Ian Calhaem are New Zealand Colour Management, who are our colour management consultants. We have the utmost respect for both of them, and their rigorous commitment to quality.

I spoke to Jessica about colour management, colour correction and personal colour preferences; the importance of device calibration; and getting your colour management right.

What she has to say is dinkum oil from the real world we operate in.

We apologise for the occasional flakiness of the video.

Here’s the link to NZCM’s website, and here’s Jessica’s personal page on Facebook.

After this I thought I’d interview someone from the front lines, our own Philip Laing.

Cheers, Ian

I only found out after the interview that Jessica’s a big fan of Tom Waits, Squirrel Nut Zippers and Neil Young. We could have talked for longer.

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We first met Justine at WPPI in 2003, and she’s been a good friend ever since. Last year she saw our new Musée there, and I’m pretty sure she really liked it!

Given that so many people shake their head in disbelief at the idea of selling a product in this price range, I just had to ask her about its place in her business.

She talks to me about how to succeed as a high end studio; where the business comes from; the importance of networks and word of mouth; her secret weapon (her Mom!); how she presents herself to clients; how she prices and sells Musée (what she has to say may amaze you); and the role of social marketing.

Here are links to Justine’s Los Angeles studio, the family studio in Washington DC and her blog for unconventional brides.

You’ll also find Justine on Facebook and Twitter.

Enjoy!
Ian

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I could show you the cover, I guess, but I’m not allowed to open it and show you round. Michael won’t let us because his clients would…not be pleased.

So all I can say is that it’s the wedding of X and Y, held … somewhere. Among the guests are A, B, C and, oh, D, not to mention E and F. Most of them have worked together.

When Michael asked Heather how she thought the book had turned out, she replied, “I think it looks beautiful. I feel very privileged to have been involved.

“It’s such a discreet intimate wedding. I love the [deleted] shot.

“It’s also interesting to think that so many of the very talented people in those images have given me so much pleasure! C is my all time favourite actor.”

When he got the book, Michael emailed us: “I just want to tell you that I received my book and it’s 100% perfect!! It is nicer than I ever imagined! I want to say thank you to you all for being so extremely professional.

“You have been a pleasure to work with from start to finish and I can’t wait to make another book. It has been so long since I have worked with a company that has true quality control…”

Which is nice, but I still haven’t been allowed to see the danged photographs.

I guess we can keep a secret.

Cheers, Ian
PS Thanks Michael! The PR Dept did its best with what it’s got

You can actually see some of Michael’s images on his blog!

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Catherine Connor of Aspire Photographic Training in the UK Lakes District has been a good friend of Queensberry for over a decade. Catherine is a highly experienced marketer and business development manager, and since 1998 thousands of photographers have benefited from both her own coaching and the experience of her impressive team of trainers.

I talked to Catherine about what it takes to succeed in this industry. Is there a future for professional photography? Is it really harder today? How has digital changed things? Should photographers depend less on weddings?

You can follow Catherine and Aspire on Facebook and Twitter.

Cheers, Ian

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