Here are three photos that won’t mean much to you but mean everything to me. They explain why I love wedding albums. The first is from my parents’ wedding in 1945, a beautiful sepia print in a classic folder. Young as he looks, Dad had just returned from five years at war. The girl on the left is his younger sister. Seven years later she married the young man on the right. Like my parents they were together for 55 years. The other woman is my mother’s best friend. I remember her, but she died quite young. The other uniformed man is my father’s best friend. I’m writing To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next Download the eBook Bad taste takes a while to show up, but as soon as it does it’s embarrassing. How to avoid it? Start by keeping it simple. If in doubt, leave it out. The half life of crap In her book The Mesh, Lisa Gansky talks about “the half life of crap” – about cheap manufactured products and how long they last. Or rather don’t last. Her point is that the half life of crap products is way too short. They get boring or they break. They end up at the back of your garage or as land fill. Our poor planet can’t afford To View More >>

Previous |  Contents | Next  Download the eBook You can divide the people who contact you into two groups, those who know how much you charge and those who don’t. Those who know are the perfect prospects. Don’t assume Back in the ’90s Heather and I backpacked around Vietnam. It was a rewarding and emotional experience from end to end, but one of the highlights, after weeks sweating our way around the country, was heading to the Metropole Hotel in Hanoi for a high end lunch. The wait staff weren’t particularly keen to see us, dusty and unkempt with To View More >>

As everyone knows, Covid has been very disruptive for business — from product availability to courier services to prices — and it’s starting to feel like the “new normal”. So we’re starting the year with an updated cover material range, and a new strategy to move this forward in the future. We’re excited about it, but we also know that any change can raise questions, which we’ve tried to answer in advance here. We’d love your feedback! Please take a few minutes to read the following, but if you just want to see the updates follow To View More >>

“Art is the most intense mode of individualism that the world has known.” – Oscar Wilde In this series we shine a light on artists expressing their individuality, documenting what they love, working hard on their craft, and sharing it with the world. Gemma is an adventure and travel photographer currently based in the South Island. Born and raised in Nelson, she's grown up exploring the three national parks that border her home city.? "My style has been largely influenced by my upbringing in Nelson. Surrounded by beautiful beaches, lakes, mountains, and sheltered seas, I was exposed To View More >>

Even with digital images and online galleries everywhere, the most impressive way to show off your work is with a printed portfolio. A printed book shows more than your photography skills. It expresses your design abilities, your taste in materials and your high standards as an artist. If you're thinking about creating your own portfolio, here are some ideas to get you started. They're not like wedding and portrait albums Sample albums normally mimic what you want to sell. They show prospective clients what to expect, and help them visualise their To View More >>

Time is a valuable resource in any business, but especially photography. With that in mind, it makes sense to make the most of it, and to ask yourself, can I do things more efficiently? If I could outsource something, should I? Is what I'm doing even necessary? Here are four ways to optimise your time and make the most of every shoot. 1. Outsource Ask photographers why they got into portrait and wedding photography and they'll say how they love photography … or telling love stories … or connecting with clients on their special days. Not many say To View More >>

Following on from  'Tribe', an exhibition by Tania Niwa (sponsored by Queensberry) in 2017, this album was made for a family who had suffered a tragedy. Tania and Mary Raukawa Newton share how these photographs connect families and cultures. "These fine art images are from a family portrait commission I have been working on," Tania says. "They feature in a custom-made leather album for widower Mary Raukawa Newton and her little boy Leighton. "Mary lost her fiancé Alekh when Leighton was a few weeks old. Her fiancé was of Nepalese heritage. To View More >>

Studios who want to offer "everything Queensberry" have found our starter kits and treasure boxes very useful in the past, but increasingly the data tells us that • Sample Albums are far more effective sales tools, and • not everyone wants to offer all our materials or colours! In fact many studios show nothing but their samples, and offer alternatives only if they're asked.  Which is why we’ve redesigned our cover swatches and paper samplers to make them more affordable, and also more flexible — so you can show what you want To View More >>

Lorraine contacted Nick saying that she wanted a photoshoot of her sister Janine, and to give her an album for Christmas. Nick talks about the shoot, and how he approaches photographing dogs and horses. One of Janine's horses, Kenya, had been with the family for a number of years, and Lorraine thought it would be nice to capture them together, whilst Kenya was still a fit and active horse. Of course, the other family animals, Brody the highland pony, and Jack and Louie, their two dogs, would also star in the shoot. The main difference between photographing To View More >>