I just finished a book that pinged all my Queensberry values. Gutenberg’s Apprentice is a novel by Alix Christie that brings to life the inspiration, invention and sheer hard work over several years that went into the Gutenberg Bible. Published in 1454-5, it was the first major book to be printed using moveable type. Until then books were copied by hand — by scribes — and therefore scarce, hugely expensive and prone to error. I love the way Alix Christie has given credit not just to the inventor, but also to his foreman Peter Schöffer, his business partner Johannes To View More >>

I took the opportunity last Sunday to change how I did things. It was partly out of necessity, and partly curiosity. [caption id="attachment_1008" align="alignleft" width="324" caption="Jo and Jeremy"][/caption] My clients had indicated that they would like me to preplan their album. Normally we would shoot the wedding, put some images on our blog, then put about 100 in a web gallery. Then, when they arrived to collect their images, we would give them a box of previews. But we were running a little behind schedule and the prints were not going to be ready for their arrival. I decided not to put To View More >>

Not the movie! I am talking about wedding photography. OHHHH if only I had a dollar for every time somebody said to me can you airbrush/photoshop me thinner/more beautiful/younger/less wrinkled, and why oh why is it always, I want to look like Brad Pitt or Angelina?! I would be RICH!!!!! Filthy dirty rich, and in truth I would not have to make any money as a photographer. Photographers didn't really invent the lie ... Adobe did. Actually that is a lie, it was the first person to do a cave drawing representing themselves (or somebody else) as a bit more upright than they really were, or possibly To View More >>

Yes our circumstance is unique (our studio was wiped out in an earthquake), but what a great motivator to get a new sample album or two. Very seldom do we get a blank canvas opportunity where we get to look at what we do and ask, "If my past no longer dragged down my future what would my future be?" On February the 22nd  everything changed. We went from a plan, to a nightmare, to a dream. But this post isn't about us. This is about you. We as a studio would often leave updating our samples until there was a specific need, which most often was a bridal show. This always put pressure on us and To View More >>

My clients would not dream of paying me $4000 for an empty photo album. Nor would they pay that for a book with somebody else’s photographs in it. They wouldn’t pay me that much even if I supplied them the files to print the images themselves. My clients would pay me $5000 for a book that told a story about themselves that was beautiful, personal, and emotional. The tooth fairy only pays up on the real thing. What is a sample album? Sample albums have several jobs. The main one is to set up an expectation. An expectation of quality, style, and professionalism. Our sample album(s) are what To View More >>