Well in excess of 2000 aftershocks later, the region I live in still has no idea when the shaking will stop.

I arrived at the bride's mum's house, and they had a big crack in their drive that went ...

On September 4, 2010, Christchurch (New Zealand) was rudely awoken (4:35am) by a rather large Earthquake (magnitude 7.1 on the Richter scale).The energy released in that one shake is still way in excess of the sum of the energy released by all of  the aftershocks, even though many have been over 4 and several have been over 5. One person died (from a stroke).

Some predictions suggest that we will still be feeling aftershocks for 10-20 years.

We have all been waiting for life to get back to normal, but nobody knows when that will be. Everybody hopes that it will be soon. Our new normal will include a greater understanding of earthquakes, a common bond, a different version of what is important to us, and a hope that there is not a next time.

When the Earthquake struck there was an undeniable understanding that things were bad. Dire! As peoples’ houses rattled and shook I suspect that hardly anybody thought to pick up their wedding albums or family photographs on their way out the door. In truth many of them didn’t even pick up their clothes.

That nobody was killed is amazing. It means that the sense of loss that occurs is material. People lost houses, precious objects, and land. The ones they loved survived.

The portrait part of our business slowed down, and wedding enquiries bottomed out, so we worked harder at being seen. The reality of an earthquake is that people think about things differently. To succeed we need to understand how they are thinking and modify our approach to move with the changes.

This applies to any sort of change. It is important that we are flexible enough in our business to move with the flow and if possible be at the lead of it.

Our earthquake strategy realises that people will look for reassurance that they will not lose the things that are important to them. This means telling them that we can recreate albums and prints for them should they be lost or damaged. So it is not just the longevity of our product but also our service.

... through the house and split the kitchen.

Cheers, Johannes

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Our clients featured strongly again this year among the winners of the 2009 Annabel Williams Contemporary Photographic Training (CPT) Awards. Sarah Wright took out the Queensberry-sponsored Portrait Album category (we featured the wedding album category winner a few days ago).

Ex-CPT student Sarah submitted this design of a portrait shoot of a teenager shot in the Borde Hill Gardens – a country estate in the South of England.

“The subject really wanted a rural shoot as he loved the country side and country clothing – so I utilised the Estate’s striking features like the wrought iron gates, fishing lakes and fields”, says Sarah.

Using the latest version of Photojunction, the design was presented as a 14×10 horizontal album in black leather with an embossed cover. A style she says really suits her photography.

“I wanted to provide something that, although modern, would look as good in 10 years time as it does today.”

The judges said, “This is blindingly good photography which is executed with total assurance of vision, composition and skill. Extraordinarily good cropping and a wonderful range of shots. Fantastic, simple and powerful design.”

The competition was established to celebrate and support social/portrait photographers. Sarah’s prize included a £500 Queensberry voucher.

To view a slideshow of Sarah’s winning album design click here.

Cheers, Nigel

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Unlike other suppliers or vendors involved in your couple’s wedding day, you’ve got a lot more to care about than simply turning up and doing your job.

This wedding by Jerry Tomko is a great example of how understanding the couple’s “big picture” for the day is integral to the success of the photography.

Jerry’s clients, Shauna and Tim, married in Philli last year and chose three locations for their bridal photography. The challenge for Jerry was that they wanted all the photography completed between the ceremony and reception, and to be back at the pre-reception cocktails with an hour to spare before the reception dinner.

To Shauna and Tim, being present to mingle with guests before the reception was just as important as the photography – so Jerry worked with the couple to ensure neither was compromised.

Jerry’s story reminded me of a post Johannes wrote about the importance of having a Plan B.

For this wedding, Jerry’s planning wasn’t so much about contingency as it was about accommodating other important aspects of the day. He says it’s vital to find out what’s MOST important to the couple, and plan the photography to accommodate those things.

He says, “When couples come in for a meeting I show them my ‘wow’ stuff. I tell them that if they want to book me, they’ll be booking me because of what I’m showing them, and explain the sort of timeframe we’d need to achieve that.

“That conversation gives me the opportunity to address  any issues I see with the time they’ve allocated for photography, early in the process.”

Jerry usually asks his clients for 60-90 minutes, and suggests a timeline that includes finer details like travel time, which often they haven’t factored in.

“In order to stand out you have to show you care. Care about their wedding, care about them, so they’re not rushed, care about what else is important to them during the day, and care about the end product.”

Cheers, Nigel

To view a slideshow of Shauna and Tim’s wedding album click here.

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