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Posts Tagged ‘Digital’

Lock, stock and one smokin’ album

July 22nd, 2009 in Uncategorised by Nigel Hicks


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Meet Dave and Alianor, a tattoo artist from Atlanta, and a Catholic girl from Michigan.

Tim Will shot their wedding in Atlanta last year. I could tell you about how the bridal party smoked and drank heavily before the ceremony, or that they carried guns with their names inscribed on the handles, or that the bride married in black. But I won’t. Tim’s images can do the talking…

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Instead, I’d rather highlight this album as a great example of how an anything-but-traditional wedding can fit so beautifully into a Queensberry.

We’re proud that our albums are so flexible and diverse. And that our album design software, Photojunction is the enabler to create an album as traditional or contemporary as you want.

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But that’s only half of the equation. The other half is how you go about presenting and selling that album to your clients – finding a way to appeal to the clients in front of you.

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I asked Tim how he went about it with Dave and Alianor. But apparently the product just spoke for itself!

“I know you’re looking for some great method I employed to sell this album, but it just happened on its own. The product spoke for itself and basically left me with nothing to do. They fell in love with your flushmount style of album.

“They might be non-conformists, but they’re just as sentimental as the rest of us. They saw the value in spending money on a wedding album, and saw the quality of a Queensberry album as worth more.

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“Out of all the albums I showed them Queensberry was the best fit. It’s great to know that your products are still contemporary enough for a tattoo artist and his wife.”

Thanks for sharing Tim – a beautiful album.

Cheers, Nigel

Click here to view a slideshow of Dave and Alianor’s album.

 

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    • A real opportunity

    June 18th, 2009 in Marketing by Ian Baugh


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    “Previously we were offering albums we knew our competitors were also offering, but we’ve realised we can use the album to separate us from our competitors.”

    That quote from Nigel’s interview with the Youngrens reflects Queensberry’s key message to photographers and it got me thinking…

    A while ago I posted about album companies in trouble – and not hitching your own wagon to dying stars. Today I’m suggesting you be wary of the latest and greatest too ;)

    In the US and UK markets of 2000, Queensberry albums were revolutionary because we hand-made every album to order. That meant photographers, for the first time, could custom-design albums to suit their imagery … and actually get them made.

    Another revolution quickly followed, what we now call digital albums, coffee table books, flush mounts, magazine albums, whatever.

    Both these “revolutions” were fruits of the digital revolution, an impossible dream come true!

    A constant stream of digital albums now progresses through our Bindery. Many of them are beautiful – and we feature some of them here.

    But…

    But a mindset has developed in some quarters that “digital albums, coffee table books, flush mounts, magazine albums” are all there is.

    Check out forums like DWF and notice how infrequently matted albums are mentioned, and how badly most album planning software handles them (generally via drag and drop templates).

    If you agree with the Queensberry Rules, that mindset represents a real opportunity for Queensberry clients and anyone else who believes in standing out from the crowd.

    And unfortunately for professional photographers, press books may be great but they’re everywhere. What was unimaginable a decade ago is now commonplace. As you can tell from the number of start-ups and labs getting into the game, the downwardly spiralling prices, and the fact that any amateur and part-timer can now design and order the books themselves for very little money.

    So be careful building your business around press books, indeed any generic presentation. It could be a bit like saying that you want to join the crowd, not stand out from it, that you intend to compete on price, not quality and service. A mistake, in our opinion, especially if your goal is to build a long-term career.

    That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for press books. There absolutely is. We live and compete in the real world. If I was a photographer I would offer them. Probably.

    But if they define your business you’re competing with the bottom of the market, not the top. And that’s a tough, crowded neighbourhood.

    Cheers, Ian

     

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    • Getzcreative after-wedding shoot

    May 20th, 2009 in Uncategorised by Nigel Hicks


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    Pre-wedding engagement shoots are fairly common these days – but Michelle and TJ Getz of Getzcreative go one step further and offer their clients post-wedding shoots too.

    These post-wedding ”Creative Sessions” allow them to offer a distinctive and creative photography session without the pressures of the wedding day.

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    For example, Michelle shot Lauren and Josh’s wedding in October 2008 in South Carolina and the couple are working with Michelle to put together their Queensberry wedding album (they’ve nearly doubled their page count from 18 to 30 pages!).

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    But Lauren and Josh also purchased this beautiful little feature album of their after-wedding shoot. For this particular shoot, TJ did some intimate shots in the bedroom at the end of the session. Josh, a US Airforce pilot, loved the images so much he wanted a special album to take with him when he leaves for duty again soon.

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    Michelle designed them this beautiful 8×8 digital Vanilla Bean Micro Leather album featuring some of their favourite shots.

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    Cheers, Nigel

    To view a slideshow of Lauren and Josh’s album click here.

    To view Getzcreative’s profile click here.

     

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    April 15th, 2009 in Uncategorised by Nigel Hicks


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    When your first ever album order catches Queensberry’s eye you’ve got to be pretty pleased with yourself. Especially when you designed it in a program you’ve never used before.

    Keryn Sweeney of Keryn Maree Photographer recently opened her studio in Auckland, New Zealand, and shot and designed this little gem as a studio sample for the beauty side of her business – an area she’s had plenty of experience in.

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    Keryn recognises the benefits of offering her clients albums, but although she’d come from a well-established beauty and glamour studio she’d never used them before. When it came to choosing an album supplier, it was printing services she looked at first. Finding our prices very competitive with the big lab she used previously (and seeing the benefit of the extra services we offer), Keryn made the switch.

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    She designed the album in Photojunction Remix, used our Full Colour service and had us print and assemble her album – saving her precious time as she focused on setting up her new business.

    The result is this beautiful 10-page white leather 10×7 digital folio.

    Keryn’s got a bright future ahead of her and we look forward to seeing more of her beautiful work.

    Click here to view a slideshow of the album

    Click here to view Keryn’s profile

     

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    • Adding value … or reducing it

    March 6th, 2009 in Marketing by Johannes van Kan


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    It used to be that people would ask me if I used film or digital, generally because they’d heard a horror story.

    I would show them an album and ask them firstly if they liked the quality of the images, and then what they thought it was shot with. Most guessed wrong and said “film”.

    Back then my using digital could have undermined my perceived value. But what if your choice of suppliers added perceived value to your service? What if you had brides asking about your suppliers? If a client sought you out because you used Queensberry would you be offended?

    If you don’t tell your clients why your album choice matters, why it is unique, why would they want to buy into it?

    I want to start a conversation about the things that make these albums outstanding.

    As stuff comes up I want to talk about it so that you can apply these thoughts as tools to make your album company choice matter to your clients, and support your business.

    Yes, I’m a Queensberry partisan, but not without reason.

    Best wishes, Johannes

     

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    • Before they invented pixels …

    February 28th, 2009 in Photography & Design by Johannes van Kan


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    Before they invented pixels much of the stuff that we do in post production happened to the image as it was taken.

    There used to be a vignette you could apply ‘on camera’, there were wonderful things that you could do using a softar filter.

    There also was attention to detail. Details of composition, lighting, expression and, dare I use the word, posing.

    We now shoot a ridiculous number of frames as we become more opportunist and somehow more reckless.

    Certainly from this reckless/prolific behavior we get some true gems, but we often create more work than is necessary.

    I just wanted to give a plug to doing it right in camera over fixing it in post production.

    Know your light, know your composition, and start with well exposed images.

    I am aware of a move to learning more about the craft of photography, and I fully support that as the new era of photography … another case of the latest ‘new thing’ being the old thing but better.

    Why does it matter? It matters because it costs us … It costs us in time and quality to deal with these things in post production …  Join the revolution! The revolution for photographs shot right in the first instance.

    Cheers, Johannes

     

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    • Case in point

    August 28th, 2008 in Uncategorised by Ian Baugh


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    Steve Sharp sent us this exceptional album to complete our series of posts with him. Steve shot Ben and Lauren’s wedding in Taupo, New Zealand, a few weeks ago and designed them a 14×10 Queensberry Digital Album. 

    The couple initially committed to a 12-page album package, but Steve presented them with a 24-page album, pre-designed in Photojunction.

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    Steve finds that most of his clients, when presented with a larger range of page designs and images, decide to include more pages in their album than they have initially pre-committed to. 

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    Ben and Lauren have not yet finalised their album, but any extra pages they include, over and above the original twelve, will represent an increased return for Steve. He says the album is where the profit is. “Why wouldn’t you do your best to make the best album you can for your clients?” You can find out more about how Steve presents this potentially delicate “up-sell” to his client in our interview with him.

     

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    • Fashions, fads and a 40-year career

    August 5th, 2008 in People by Ian Baugh


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    Rod Ellmore survived a few revolutions in his 46-year career…

    • From black and white to colour
    • From medium format to 35mm (how he loved his Hasselblad), and
    • From film to digital (a bridge too far).

    Today Rod and Ian discuss the growing informality of wedding photography, photojournalism, fashions and fads in the ’70s (so much easier to mock than our own) and “quality above all else”. Do you have what it takes for a 40-year career?

    Click here to download the mp3 file (6.5 mins).

    And here’s Rod on retirement – when to do it and why he enjoys it (12.5mins)

     

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    • Horse and rider

    March 28th, 2008 in Uncategorised by Ian Baugh


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    Nicky and Richard Barrett are world famous Dressage riders who were keen to document their lifestyle with a photography album they could keep forever. They were recommended to contact Hampshire (UK) photographer Emily Hancock, who is known for her original equestrian imagery of horses and their owners.

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    Emily spent four separate days over six months with Nicky, Richard and their son Milo. She photographed Nicky riding, competing and with her family in a lifestyle shoot with their horses. The first day was in the summer of 2007 and the final day just 10 days before Christmas.

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    The end result was a beautiful digital album from Queensberry that will last forever, and safeguard their memories.

    Nicky and Richard chose a 14×10 horizontal format album in iron leather with digital pages; Queensberry full service printing and assembly. Click here to view the album.

    Click here to view Emily’s profile.

     

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    March 18th, 2008 in Uncategorised by Ian Baugh


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    album1

    It’s no wonder Luke and Chantal’s wedding album caught our attention. For starters, there were three albums, not one, and the first two featured the most amazing celebrations at a fabulous location. We certainly did “wish we were there”.

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    Luke and Chantal were married in April 2007 in Mauritius, East Africa. Chantal had wanted to have her wedding at The One and Only, Mauritius since she was a little girl and spent time there with her family. The festivities lasted five days and included a welcoming cocktail hour, beach Olympics, a salsa party (featuring Emilio Estevez and his salsa dancers) and a fabulous beach party on a private island the night before their wedding that ended with fireworks and the couple sailing off into the darkness.

    Luke is a tailor and makes clothes for some of the world’s most exclusive clients. Chantal worked at Kerzner International, in which her family has a major interest, before deciding recently to take time off to be with their beautiful little girl.

    Matt Blum (Minneapolis USA) says he was honored when asked to be part of their celebration. “I can tell you it was one of the most amazing events I’ve ever witnessed. One of the things I loved about working with Luke and Chantal is their amazing stories and the things they’ve done with their lives. Working with such amazing people is what makes my job so truly fulfilling.”

    Chantal and Luke ordered three 15×12 vertical format full Photo Front albums with digital pages; Queensberry print-ready printing and assembly. Click the links below to view the albums.

    Beach Olympics 16.5MB
    Cocktail Hour 17.1MB
    Chantal and Luke 14.4MB

    Click here to read Matt’s profile.

     

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