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Posts Tagged ‘Johannes van Kan’

Crikey!!

July 27th, 2010 in Marketing by Johannes van Kan


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The other day we received an invoice from Queensberry and my wife (the fabulous Jo Grams) exclaimed, ‘Crikey!’ (she’s Australian). It was a lot of money for an album! Too much?

We talked about it and came to the conclusion that we were getting what we were paying for. We want to give our clients the best we can deliver. This means many things, not the least of which is getting them the best albums we can. We could reduce our personal costs by using less expensive covers, mounting systems, and not getting the full colour service, BUT would the outcome still fit into the requirement of giving our clients our best?

We could reduce our expectations by saying that we want to give our clients the best average quality work that we can, reducing our costs and quality to save money. Or we could charge accordingly and educate our clients on the benefits of what we are giving them.

This is what we do! We pay for what we get, and we charge for what we give.

Cheers, Johannes

 

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    • What’s in a Q

    April 13th, 2010 in Opinion by Johannes van Kan


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    Johannes’s not bothered by our branding – Ed.

    We have made it an important part of our branding effort to be associated with the right suppliers … by association we maintain and even improve our credibility. We emphasise why we use Queensberry  albums when we talk to people, and are able to prove it in the presence of their (Queensberry’s) branding.

    One difference between our Queensberry album and our neighbour’s one is that we also brand it with our company logo. This is unique to us. We also apply our own creative processes to the imagery. We have a Moda Fotografica look that is completed by the use of these amazing books.

    us and them

    Queensberry and Moda Fotografica Logos in our albums

    We are unique because we have our own vision. Presenting that vision in a Queensberry book implies a choice based on quality. The Q is a mark of excellence. It is subtle but there for those that know and care.

    Our brand is more obvious and we have made it into something to be recognised and sought after.

    Johannes

     

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    • Photoshopping the soul

    December 16th, 2009 in Photography & Design by Johannes van Kan


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    L15_2-j0810 071026copy1copy1We have discovered a new range of Photoshop plugins that allows us to put the soul (which we forgot to put in while shooting) back into our imagery.

    Because these soulful images are our unique selling point, I can’t tell you where we found them.

    With this set of plugins we are able to take a loveless bride and groom and turn them into passionate beings. We are able to take an indiscreet glance and turn it into the look of love. We are able to take monochromatic feelings and turn them into a fiercely burning fire … all with the help of some photoshop and a couple of plugins.

    It’s not true! That’s the thing.

    The most important thing in the imagery … the soul of the image … cannot be added later.

    Where do you find the soul in the imagery … it lives in the people that populate your work. I cannot emphasise enough how important this is to the imagery we put into our albums. Emotion always wins over a dramatic landscape.

    To create the emotion we nurture trust with our clients, and to get the soul (in its simplest form) we let the bride and groom focus on being together over being in front of our camera.

    There is no easy answer and it certainly doesn’t exist in Photoshop as a filter.  As much as technology plays a dominant role in the new age of wedding photography there is that thing which technology cannot ‘create’ and strangely it is the thing that is most important.

    Best, Johannes

     

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    • Off to the UK

    September 17th, 2009 in News by Johannes van Kan


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    I’ve packed my bags and shed a tear (as I leave my family) and right now I’m eating airline food and watching all of the movies I can as I jet over to the UK for a speaking series for Queensberry.

    It all started with a stranger walking into my studio and being curious. Liz from the MPA was on her last days of travel in  New Zealand and happened to find our studio. We had a conversation and what do you know … I’m off to the UK with MPA.

    I’m going to talk about me and all of the things I did wrong to get to where we are now … because I know so much on that subject.

    I’m going to talk about albums … because I love telling stories and we just won another wedding album award.

    I’m going to talk about how we fixed the recession (for us) … by being respectful and disrespectful.

    I’m going to talk about business … because otherwise the rest of what we do makes no sense.

    And if there is any time I want to talk about taking/making better photographs.

    And when I’m not talking about  me, albums, business, recessions, better photographs or my family, I’m going to get in some stuff about Photojunction.

    If I’m not covering the thing you want to know about then leave a comment on this post and I’ll see what I can arrange.

    If you are coming along make sure you say Hi.

    If you want to come along but haven’t booked there’s probably room for one more.

    Ian Baugh is coming along as my chaperone … it’s going to be great.

    Cheers

    Johannes

     

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    • The stranger in the coffee shop

    June 16th, 2009 in Inspiration by Johannes van Kan


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    The stranger in the coffee shop looked at us, almost as if we were insane, and said in a tired voice, “Sleep while you can!”.

    It was an ominous warning, over a month ago.

    We were (Jo was) a month off giving birth and at the time sleeping was getting uncomfortable.

    On June the 2nd, 2009, Ida Valentina van Kan graced us with her arrival. 7lb 3oz of beautiful girl.

    Ida Valentina

    Ida Valentina

    After 10 days the warning seems premature. Sleep isn’t too bad, in fact we feel incredibly lucky.

    I am learning things from her.  She will let us know when she has a need. That is a certainty.

    I am learning about what might be important to her. As one of her official life photographers I am learning the difference between what I would like to photograph, and what she will probably want. I cannot help but be drawn to her face, and most of my initial images were of just her and mainly her face, but as I think about it I realise that those photographs are being taken for me. In ten years time what will be important for her will be where she grew up, and what it was like. Her recollection of these first years will mostly be based on what we tell her and the images of where she lived and the people around her. Suddenly I feel a huge burden of responsibility as the recorder of her story, made even more important because she is our daughter. In truth it is the same responsibility I have to my clients whenever I photograph them.

    If you are addicted to baby pics there are more on my own blog

    Sleep can never be overrated.

    Cheers

    Johannes (Father of Ida)

     

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    • Interview with: Johannes van Kan

    May 22nd, 2009 in People by Nigel Hicks


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    Greg and Natalie by Johannes van Kan

    Johannes has been posting on Queensberry Connects for several months now. It’s been great to have a regular photographer perspective, and personally we’ve found his insights and opinions inspiring.

    We asked him to contribute to our interview series by sharing his thoughts on album design.

    In the conversation, Ian asks him to expand on several posts he’s written about the benefits of getting to know your clients before the wedding, and his ”six secrets” to designing a great album…

    He also questions Johannes about how he interacts with his clients, his workflow and the part Photoshop plays.

    To listen to our interview with Johannes click here.

    And here’s an album we featured recently on Queensberry Connects.

    Cheers, Nigel

     

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    April 29th, 2009 in Uncategorised by Nigel Hicks


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    21

    If you’re flying in to shoot a wedding and the weather’s so foul the plane mightn’t be able to land, you have every wedding photographer’s nightmare. And to say the weather was foul would be an understatement… But the plane did land and Johannes (of Moda Fotografica) had already covered the other bases before heading out to shoot Vicky and Ricky’s wedding at French Farm in the South Island of New Zealand.

    With heavy rain forecast and weather warnings in place, Johannes discussed with the couple what would happen if the weather didn’t play nice. He walked them through how it might effect what they’d planned, and exactly how he’d deal with it.

    Plan B for Vicky and Ricky meant they went out and purchased a set of black umbrellas, ensured they and the bridal party had suitable footwear to get to and from the locations they wanted to shoot, and most importantly, Vicky and Ricky were emotionally prepared for what could happen.

    4

    Planning for the worst certainly paid off – it bucketed down. But Johannes says, “We took advantage of the rain and looked at it as a creative advantage. We still got beautiful shots – if anything it helped us!

    “The rain made everyone work faster. The rain and risk of falling over and getting really dirty added an element of urgency, but also excitement, to the photography.”

    A relaxed couple meant shooting was a breeze, the umbrellas added to the artistic effect of the images and nothing was going to stop the couple getting the images they wanted. Including Vicky climbing up the side of a slippery hill (which she nearly ended up at the bottom of a couple of times) to get this stunning shot.

    3

    Johannes presented Vicky and Ricky’s day in a 14×10 black leather Duo feature album.

    To see a slideshow of the album click here.

    To view Johannes’s profile click here.

     

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    • Johannes van Kan

    January 10th, 2009 in News by Ian Baugh


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    jvk_smallFor a country with the population of the San Francisco Bay Area, New Zealand has a lot of great photographers, and we’re proud that many of them are Queensberry clients.

    We’re delighted to say that one of the best has agreed to write for us. Johannes van Kan of Moda Fotografica has been a friend since 1993, when Heather and I first met him at NZIPP’s annual conference and awards judging.

    Since then Johannes has qualified as a Fellow of the New Zealand Institute of Professional Photographers and was New Zealand Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2004 and 2005, and winner of the New Zealand Wedding Album of the Year Award in 2007 and 2008.

    Johannes describes himself as a Queensberry partisan, and the feeling is mutual. We regularly use his images in our display albums, for good reason: they always attract admiring attention, and that’s always great for sales!

    Johannes describes himself as a “photographer, poet and coffee tester”. He’s also a fan of good music and an exceptional album designer and Photoshop artist. We look forward to him sharing his secrets, skills and insights with us.

    Cheers, Ian

    PS Johannes isn’t the only winner in the family. He runs Moda Fotografica with his wife Jo Grams, originally from Queensland Australia, who is also an NZIPP Fellow and won Wedding Photographer of the Year in 2006.

     

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    August 15th, 2008 in Noticed by Ian Baugh


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    I see the 60s in B&W now, and this video looks like the 70s in sepia. Actually it’s The Eastern, a Lyttleton NZ band currently playing in Seattle, photographed by Johannes van Kan. If I were you I’d put on the headphones, click through to Youtube and watch in “high quality”.

     

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