Every wedding photographer has an Uncle Ken story. I was hanging out at a wedding with photographer Brett Prestidge when I first arrived in the UK and something amazing happened... We met the ultimate Uncle Ken. Uncle Ken informed us that he had the okay from the bride and groom to do a big group photograph for them. It is so often the case that as professionals we arrive at weddings and somebody there has a bigger camera than us ... this time it was Uncle Ken. Brett and I were using small, discrete Leica M9s and M8s. So often Uncle Ken tries to take control. This Uncle Ken (his real name) earned To View More >>

This post is now superseded by new Photojunction functionality. If you're uploading your Queensberry album orders using LabFTP, we've just released version 3, with added functionality for ordering prints from QBY online. We're very excited about the online print ordering function – but it's restricted for now to New Zealand clients, so let me talk first about how it impacts on albums. LabFTP 3 integrates more closely with PJ Remix. For example you're no longer asked to provide information that you've already entered in PJ. It also shares Remix's look and feel. Version 3 is no longer a beta, To View More >>

Three points! 1. Investigate and determine your clients needs, limitations, and dreams. 2. Establish design objectives. 3. Exceed your clients' expectations. We set the parameters of size, style, and content from discussions with our client prior to the wedding. Having a series of questions to answer on a sheet means you get the information you need. Album type, size, and budget are the first questions. Then how many albums and what these would do. We gauge their response to our sample albums and ask questions about what might be important. We define the style by giving them a key description and To View More >>

I posted the other day about this being a great time to consider whether any of your business policies and touch points aggravate your customers, and if so fix them. I included a PS saying we know we’re not perfect, and "if you reckon this is the pot calling the kettle black, please leave a comment or email us". I was glad I did because Mark went to some trouble to leave a lengthy comment detailing his frustration with us. My point here is not so much to talk about his particular issues (we've been in touch, of course, and we  pretty much have to take what he says on the chin, and fix the To View More >>

Johannes wrote a post last week about a restaurant going the extra mile, but in the wrong direction. I thought it was real food for thought ... so to speak. Justine pasted it on DWF and people got the point. But Adrienne reckoned it was a bit harsh – didn't the restaurant deserve marks for trying? Absolutely, and I'm sure Johannes was out to make a point rather than beat up on them. But... It's a harsh world. Your customers probably don't care how hard you try, whether you can make payroll, how much you like oysters. Sometimes the toughest thing about being in business is that you can't make To View More >>

Is it just me or are we all (suppliers to the wedding industry) suffering from our clients' "fear of commitment"? The numbers of bookings are down, the time between booking and getting married is getting shorter. "It's the Recession," we cry, and it's almost true. It's not the recession, it's the fear of it. How can we overcome that fear? This is just a question, but ... are we better to say, "We'll give you a 20% discount" or, "We can be flexible?" What does "flexible" mean? It might refer to payment terms. It might mean they can start with a 'shoot only' package and add the trimmings later – To View More >>

Forget about boxing, here are the Queensberry Rules for photographers! 1. Outstanding presentation adds enormous value to your photography. 2. Using the same albums as everyone else reduces the value of your photography. Ask anyone in the street how much a stack of prints is worth, or a disc of images, or a slideshow. Everyone's been to the mini lab, or burnt a disk, so the answer is, "Not much". What you're paying for when you hire a professional, of course, is their time, skill and artistry. Focusing on the presentation takes nothing away from that. It simply places the photography in a new To View More >>

At weddings there are always time burglars stealing from the innocent, so we talk to our clients about how long things really take ... so we don't lose the time we need. Sometimes this means that a cunning couple will deliberately try to run us out of time because they hate having their photographs taken. We distract them by focusing on their feelings for each other instead of their feelings about photography – easy if you aren't constantly asking them to smile for the camera. One of the most guilty time burglars is the make-up artist … stealing time from the photographer to get the perfect To View More >>

That is the big question. Andy Warhol said, “It is art as long as it's signed.” John Cage said, “It is anything you can get away with.” Why is it so important (to some) to be seen/considered as an artist? Are we as photographers overselling what we do when we call it art? Are we selling our vision as artists or our ability to use a filter or two to create art for the masses? Doc Ross once said that, ”If it comes with a statement then it is art ... otherwise it is just decoration.” So Art has a signature, intent, and a certain freedom. Most importantly, ‘Who cares?’ Maybe we care To View More >>

There's a man on the side of the road selling dreams ... a guy comes up to him and says, "How much for a dream?" The Dream salesman says, "That depends, do you want a good dream, or a bad dream?" "I want the best dream I can get." "Did you know that your dreams are drawn from your own experiences?" asks the salesman. "Now I do. Maybe I could have somebody else's dream then," says the guy, hoping for a happy experience, and realising that his lacklustre life was not the material of amazing dreams. "Funny you should ask – I have a brother who sells books and lottery tickets, maybe he can help you." To View More >>