Nothing beats a soulful beach wedding. They are intimate, natural and the choice of location is usually a place of special  significance. Holly and Noel’s wedding was exactly that. Their wedding day was full of natural beauty, and the Australian landscapes are just divine! The team from Luke Simon Photography caught it all on camera and what a beautiful job they have done. The Queensberry Design team designed this gorgeous 10x10 Flushmount Album. See it in all its glory below... A Translucent title page is the perfect start to any album. The little surfing village To View More >>

Well it's been a tough week. No plague of locusts, but nothing else came easy! But we’ve reached final and it’s an amazing feeling. Our company’s growing and we want to show our thanks. Here goes… From Day One our goal has been to build an outstanding application, which is impossible without supportive, committed beta testers. But beta testing is like jury service – who wants to get involved? It's purely voluntary, everyone benefits, and that’s why we’re so grateful. We know it’s been tough at times, but what we've done together is build cool software - thank you. Trust us – the To View More >>

Last week it was NZIPP in Queenstown. This week Photography By Woolf's 50th Anniversary exhibition in Wellington. They very kindly invited Heather and me to share in the family celebration afterwards. It was his birthday so ten-year-old Noah got to choose the restaurant. It was great fun, the whole extended family get on so well ... and it got me to thinking: 1. What a challenge it is to build a long standing family business that truly serves … the family. We know it. Chances are you do too. Well done to the Woolfs. 2. So many photographers got a start at Woolfs, and many of them featured in To View More >>

Anna and Gavin were married on October 30th 2010 at Linthwaite House Hotel. They were photographed by Lisa Aldersley, who knew it would be an amazing day from the moment she arrived at Anna's parent's house in the morning. "In fact - says Lisa - when they first came to see me I had my fingers crossed that they would pick me to capture it for them! Anna is a little bit quirky and Gavin has massive dimples when he smiles. They are so stylish and their wedding captured their personalities so well with vintage details, bunting, china tea cups (that Anna and her mum collected from charity shops for To View More >>

Rebecca said it right! The more you replicate other photographers the more beige you become. Be inspired by the success of other photographers and influenced by their philosophies. Be colourful, but accept that some people see beige as a safe colour. Somebody asked me how do we stand out when our audience sees us as somehow all the same ... just dearer or cheaper (light beige and dark beige). I was watching a piece on TED about a guy called Daniel Libeskind ... his work is very left of centre and clearly not beige. Watch it and listen to his talk. Take note of his word sets, Emotional To View More >>

Further to Anna's emotional cry to 'save people in photographs from random and thoughtless amputations'… I was trying to think of a way to 'stop the suffering'. It occurred to me that we could specifically shoot for the panoramic opportunity. Shoot what you might call 'the subject image' and then move slightly to get the 'rest of the scene' photograph. Use the spine as the aligned join for these images to create a panoramic effect. This has two advantages. The enlargement required is less, keeping the quality up. You plan more for the placement of your subject so that nobody has to lose an arm. To View More >>

Yesterday Johannes asked if you could send PJ Support some interesting design questions, and I think you'd better. Methinks his mind's started wandering - Ed. The first time you have sex there are so many things that could go wrong. The second time you know a bit more about what happens, but that doesn't mean that things are any easier. If, the first time you had sex, you focused on having fun over getting it right, the experience would probably be 100 times more enjoyable. 100 times more enjoyable because you would be free to get it wrong, or right, without the judgement. If you watched all the To View More >>

Here in Shakey Town (Christchurch) things won't be 'normal' for a long time. In Queensland they are still drying out the carpets. In Japan they haven't even started. These are all timely reminders of our vulnerability, and a very good reason for having an offsite backup. The unforgiving nature of these disasters made us think about ways to store information securely and safely. Our problem is the volume of data we generate every time we head out to shoot. I just wanted to prompt people to think about it, because for us, one of the first thoughts for our business, after the big quakes, was access To View More >>

Three quick tips to simplify album design. 1. Avoid unnecessary repetition (eg this is the bride looking slightly left, straight ahead, and slightly right) unless you make your profits from the number of images you sell. 2. Embrace open space (especially in sample albums - lead by example). 3. Offer a two album option that allows people to have lots of images without overcrowding. While I'm mentioning 'leading by example': If you don't make a sample album from each order, at least make each design into a slideshow you can show prospective clients. This library of slideshows allows you to show them To View More >>

I used to have a rule, 'If there is a black and white image in an opening the whole opening should be black and white!' It was a good rule because it fitted well with my 'Keep it simple' approach to album design. I have however seen some lovely designs from some very talented photographers where they are using the contrast between the black and white image and the colour one to either remind you of colour, or remind you of form. So I have modified my rule. Use colour and black and white together with intent only. Random meaningless mixing creates visual chaos and disturbs the viewing experience. To View More >>