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 >>

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 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 >>