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 >>

When's the right time for a promotion? Certainly for the holidays — so your clients can have their  beautiful printed products under the tree for Christmas. The ultimate in personal gifts! Or when the wedding season's over — and you have time to chase past clients who're still dilly-dallying about their album. And for what purpose? Maybe to turn your social media audience into paying customers. Or lapsed enquiries into future business. Or past customers into repeat business! But once you've defined your goal, what's involved? This is our take on it, but of course To View More >>

In many markets Covid is likely to limit the size of weddings —  and therefore wedding photography — for some months yet. And with all the restrictions and uncertainty many weddings are likely to be postponed until next season. But there's an upside! Any 2020 weddings delayed until 2021 and 2022 could make those years busier than normal! Which will be a great "problem" to have, as long as you can cope with the extra work. What that means…  • This year albums will be very important as a way to maximise revenue and profit from wedding clients — both current To View More >>

What’s the most important part of an album? Your photography and how it’s presented!  That’s why for a while now our primary focus has been on pages … more page types … more and better printing options … album design and proofing tools. But right now we're focused on covers! — giving you and your clients more cover materials to choose from, and even more ways to customise. Last week we announced 22 new cover materials … but that’s only half the story! Now you can take your albums to the next level with our compelling new range To View More >>

We came across Jacqui McSweeney's Instagram when she shared an image of a Queensberry album. We liked her feed so much we asked her to tell us more about herself… Why do I love photography? I love how organic it is in that I can have an idea for an image but from that idea to looking through the viewfinder to pressing the shutter everything can change. I love how excited it makes me, and how I can share that excitement with the people I am photographing, and the people viewing my images. I love thinking about the colours of an image or the beautiful tones of a black To View More >>

Every day we ship products big and small around the world, so what struck us wasn't the Netherlands address tag on this beautiful framed print, but the image itself! We asked the photographer, James Oliver of Jofotografie, and this is the beautiful story he told us… "A year or so after moving to the Netherlands to be with my Dutch wife, I created a series of photographs as a gift for her grandfather, Oene Onijdes, for his 75th birthday. That was about seven years ago. At the time he still worked as a potato farmer, and continued to do so for years to come. This was his shed, To View More >>

If capturing a fleeting moment thrills you … if beautiful light makes your heart beat faster … if you dream about composition in your sleep… if you love telling stories with pictures - we'd love to hear from you. It's that time again - we're looking for new images to showcase on our websites and in our new season sample albums and books, as well as in our blogs and marketing pieces (including our new Queensberry Bride landing page). We’re looking for sets of around 80 images, but to enter all you have to do is send us TEN low-res images* from up to TWO different events - a wedding, portrait To View More >>

A series about storytelling in album design. Highlight the Heroes Every story needs a hero, and so does your album design - probably one on most layouts! The hero image is the focal point, the main attraction, the place you want the viewer's eye drawn to. In graphic design speak it’s called creating visual hierarchy. The supporting characters help the story along and keep things interesting, but it's the heroes you want to shine. I talked about ways to begin and wrap up a story previously, but the middle of the story is where the action is. People dress up and assemble together, the guy finally To View More >>

The first in a series about the art of storytelling in album design. Every day at Queensberry we create books and albums about wedding days, birthdays and family celebrations. Years of looking at all those photos have convinced us that storytelling is an important part of the design process. It really will help a book stand head and shoulders above others that simply have a bunch of people looking awkwardly at the camera and smiling - no matter how good the individual photos may be! So what is it about a good story that captivates your attention, takes you on a journey, and gives you a sense of To View More >>

The Chicago Sun-Times made the news by laying off its entire photography staff last week, leaving 28 people without a job. While we all need to move with the times, the real heart-breaking twist for the photojournalists is that they are to be replaced by reporters who will be taught how to take pictures and videos using iPhones. The story made news around the world, in part perhaps because one of the photographers who lost their jobs was veteran photojournalist - and Pulitzer winner - John H. White, who is featured in this audio: Over the years John White has photographed, among others, Nelson To View More >>