Workspace is already nine weeks old. We’ve been running since February and already we have tonnes of websites, albums and events uploaded by our fellow “spacers” out there.

I just made that name up, so let me know if you like it or not!

Anyway, if you’re not there yet you’ve got to join in the fun. There are photographers taking advantage of this new product and keeping their doors open 24/7 to clients past and future, and their friends, all over the world.

That’s the great thing about the Inter-web. It never closes (just goes offline occasionally).

In fact, thanks to WordPress, chances are I’m having the day off while you’re reading this (the 25th is Anzac Day in New Zealand and Australia).

Why am I telling you this?

Because you’ve only got five days to grab our half-price introductory offer and win free albums for a year. I know you can fool around with a free account until you run out of space, but this is an offer you can’t refuse.

I’d better sign off. I sound like Don Corleone.

Cheers, Pete

As they say it’s good to share, and that is one of the fundamental reasons why Workspace was created.

We wanted to give you the opportunity to share your images with your clients in a fast simple way, whether you’re selling them with our shopping cart, giving clients a way to to choose the images they’d like in their albums, or simply getting more people on your website.

So select your Collection  and click the share button. Brilliant stuff!!

But wait, there’s more.

We’re talking about sharing your images, not giving them away, so you need to think before you share.

For example, how many images do you want to show, and who do you want to see them?

You can share publicly or privately (which means you need a password to view them). By making them public you can show them on your website, and encourage other people (like your clients) or other vendors (like the venue or florist) share them on their Facebook page etc.

Actually there’s also a “semi-private” option, which means people can see one image but need a password or direct link to view the rest.

Also, don’t forget you share Collections, not whole Events, so you can give people a taste, not the whole darn menu.

Finally, if you want to sell the pictures, just add the shopping cart option. More about that later.

Anyway, in the time you’ve been reading this you could have watched Stephen’s demo movie, so why not check it out?

Cheers, Pete

PS If you’re not sure how to create Collections for sharing, here’s another 3 minute movie.

To make a new Workspace Collection, simply select the + button by the Collection heading on the Event screen. Then name the collection and finally drag the images you would like in to it.

Why bother?

Collections can be used in a variety of ways and how you set them up will depend on your intent. Collections can be set to private, semi-private or public, so you can share them just with your clients or with the entire world.

You can set the collection up so clients can buy the images, or you can allow them to edit it (add and remove images), for example to decide which images are going to be used in their album.

You can use collections to filter your images before your clients see them (people can’t see your images until you share them in a Collection). Or you can split the wedding day events in to different collections.

Another possibility is to create a collection for a vendor such as the florist. You can share a few images with them, so your images promote their flowers as well as your photography. Really, the world is your oyster.

Cheers, Pete

One of the most useful features of Workspace is album proofing.

You can proof books and albums you’ve designed in Photojunction, and also Queensberry books and albums you’ve designed in Workspace. In the FREE account you can proof Queensberry books and albums, but to proof a non-Queensberry album, you need a Workspace “Basic” subscription, which will cost you $10 per month.

The main advantage to Workspace proofing over Albumexposure is that your albums will be proofed on a site that highlights YOUR brand, not Queensberry or AlbumExposure! You can also integrate your Workspace site with your existing site, use it as a stand-alone site, or just use it to proof albums – it’s your choice.

That does mean that before you start proofing albums you’ll need to set up your Workspace website.

BUT before you start having chest pains and losing all your hair – don’t worry! Our websites are template based, so can be set up in 10 minutes or so – depending on how customized you want the pages to look. Pete has a couple of Junction posts here and here to get you started, or check out our Vimeo channel for the latest.

Take a look at our demo Workspace site for an example of what your clients will see. (You’ll need to log in to see the feedback and sharing pages – the password is j4utn4n4i.)

If you’d like to find out how to proof Photojunction albums in Workspace, I’ve just posted an article in the Knowledgebase.

Cheers, Anna

Let’s face it, if you don’t import images into Workspace then not a lot is going to happen. Unless you’re just using it to proof the albums you’ve designed in Photojunction, that is.

So let’s start at the Dashboard, and click New Event. The first thing Workspace will ask for is an Event name. This could be your clients’ names. Click Create Event.

Once you have done that, click Add Images To Event, and browse for your files. The maximum size for a file is 28MB, and it needs to be a JPEG or TIFF. But choose a size that’s suitable for what you want to use it for – no bigger, or you’ll be using up your storage for no reason.

After selecting the images, click on the Upload button. Your files may take a while to upload but remember you are uploading hi-res files. When it’s done you’ll be able to share, sell, design all under one roof – what could be easier?

Enjoy Stephen’s demo movie.

Cheers, Pete

PS There are alternative ways to upload, including from Lightroom and Photojunction.

Your logo says so much about you, so when you set up Workspace take some time over it.

If you don’t add a logo your website will put your company name up there instead, which is cool, but not as riveting as a really nice logo.
Like the Queensberry one

A good logo gets remembered for good or bad. I can go for a drive with my kids and they’ll spot the Golden Arches even before we can see them properly. It’s ingrained in their little heads (I blame their mother). You want yours to fit in with the rest of your site, and not stand out like a sore thumb. The Urban Punk look won’t work well if you photograph babies. Not my kids anyway.

Adding a Logo is done in the Settings just under where you entered your name to set up your Workspace website.

You need to upload it “actual size” as Workspace won’t scale it.

Size does matter and we suggest going no bigger than 920 pixels wide, as this is the width of the Workspace page, and no deeper than 200 pixels because it starts taking up too much of the screen. It doesn’t need to be full width, or as deep, but you don’t want it to disappear on the page either.

Once you have uploaded your masterpiece hit the preview button and check it out. When you see how it looks you might want to upload a new version, which only takes a minute or so.

Cheers Pete

When you log in to Workspace for the first time, all you need to do to start playing is click the big New Event button at the top of the Dashboard screen, and import some images.

But if you really want to see what Workspace can do, I suggest setting up your website first.

In the movie, Stephen and Ian (Stephen actually – Ian just gets to interrupt occasionally) will give you an idea of how your site might look. It’s so simple you can do it in a few minutes, so why not do it first? Fooling around in Workspace will be a lot more rewarding if you do.

1. Click the Settings button on the Dashboard and choose a website “theme”. Don’t worry too much which one. You can choose another any time you like. Just don’t forget to click Save!

2. Then, scroll down on the same page and enter something in My Workspace Website Address. Something like studioname.queensberryworkspace.com, where “studioname” is the name of your studio*. What you’re doing is creating what the geeks call a sub-domain.

You’ll need to wait a few minutes for it to become active, but now you have a website powered by Queensberry Workspace.

If you do nothing else, you have a working website (try uploading some images and see) but it will be very plain…

You can juice it up if you do two more simple things:

1. Upload some images to your Image Gallery and share them on your new website.

2. Upload your studio logo.

They will only take a minute or two more, and I’ll explain how to get your logo up there in my next post.

Cheers, Pete

PS You only have to enter the studioname bit, not queensberryworkspace.com. No www, capitals, spaces or weird characters either. Once again, don’t forget to hit the Save button!