This is the last in a series from Megan DiPiero with advice about how to build a stronger brand and brand message — to add purpose to your marketing, draw attention to your service, and ultimately increase sales. Click here for Parts 1, 2 and 3. Today Megan shares her opinions on marketing. I’m betting that many of you clicked this mentor post because you thought your question would finally be answered: “How do I get more people in?” In the past 6 years, I’ve created a six figure profitable business that provides the sole To View More >>

For a while now we've been asking people to complete a questionnaire when they register on our site. It's optional, and not everybody does, but still the results are so striking I thought I might share some of the charts. It seems that the people checking us out are a little different to the typical "professional" … and that many people don't realise there's plenty to Queensberry beyond books and albums. 1. In the age of Mr Google we're proud that most people say they found us — not through search, or advertising — but through good To View More >>

Written by: Kate Hopewell-Smith Come summertime you can’t open a newspaper or magazine without articles about getting your body ‘beach ready’. Many women are secretly terrified at the prospect of getting into swimwear publicly, because whilst very few people actually suffer from body dysmorphia (the belief that one's appearance is unusually defective) most women have body issues. The truth is that I deal with this reality on a regular basis because I shoot a lot of boudoir photography. Last week I put a few pictures on Facebook from a shoot that both I, and the lady To View More >>

"Value your time, skill, training and art" - Today we're talking to Lauren & Delwyn about the photography industry, designing albums and building your brand.  • Tell us a bit about yourselves and how you got into photography Delwyn and I are both trained Graphic Designers, Delwyn at Unitec, and myself at Waikato University. We met through a mutual workplace in 2008, and started second shooting weddings for each other. • How do you promote your business and build your brand? We work hard to create a strong 'word of mouth' brand. We also take advantage of the internet as much as we can To View More >>

Chaos theory has a metaphor for the way trivial occurrences can have significant consequences: it's the butterfly effect. We're proud of Johannes' post of that name in which he explains why he's a Queensberry partisan. It's about a serendipitous image that won him his first NZIPP Gold, caught Heather's and my eyes … and led to a relationship that's lasted eighteen years. So far. All because his tripod collapsed. That relationship has been positive for us in so many ways, and we hope it's been good for Johannes too. One of the benefits has a really old name: word of mouth. Johannes has a great To View More >>

"How much for that album?"If you ask us that, and you have an approved account, we're happy to tell you.But in 40+ years, while we’ve often offered guidance, we’ve never ever told customers how much they should charge.Well I'm going to be brave and make a suggestion. Then I'm going to ask youwhat you think. But first, some background... For decades many photographers charged really high prices for their products (albums, prints, framing etc). They did this to avoid asking a reasonable fee for theirservices. You can see why. Even our wealthiest acquaintances think photographers charge To View More >>

Last week I wrote about the latest David Jay hate war, and said that if a courtroom attorney asked whether I agreed with his Shoot and Share strategy - and demanded a Yes-No answer - I’d have to say, “Yes I do.” Why? Because social sharing is a reality whether we like it or not, because social sharing is a powerful new form of word of mouth, and because Shoot & Share is a big step up the social scale from Shoot & Burn. Also I don't like hate wars. But this is not a TV courtroom drama, so if you're thinking of building a career in social photography, we believe the typical Shoot and Share To View More >>

I've been following the latest hate war against David Jay and PASS with interest. Here's the post that started it all, and here's what it's all about. I like my commercial messages straight, so I wish David didn't come on to you like a TV evangelist, but that aside, he's not wrong about everything. So because we hate hate speech of every kind I thought I'd explain what he's right about before I get into where we part company... David is promoting what he calls Shoot & Share, which in practice means a photographer shoots an event and hosts the images on David's service, PASS, where the customers To View More >>

Have you seen the movie Hitchcock yet? Even without hobbits, elves and superheroes it's very entertaining. Alfred Hitchcock and his wife Alma were a family business, as many people reading this probably are, and it's interesting to watch the movie through that lens... 1. The movie focuses on the making of Psycho. No one else believed in the project, so they mortgaged their house to make it. Sound familiar? 2. They worked best when they worked together. He was the famous one but Alma was clearly important to his success. 3. They made Psycho come alive in the editing room by arguing about the little To View More >>

I know the word "networking" gets bandied about a lot. I used to roll my eyes and put in the same category as "politically correct" and "multi-tasking" but in reality it's where business is today. Once upon a time a photographer could rely on the quality of his images and word of mouth. Maybe a bit of advertising in the Yellow Pages and the odd display in the local mall. Next minute, along comes the internet and screws it all up. Suddenly you have to be on Facebook, Twitter and this that and the other. As a photographer you have a major head start at this. First, you have cool images to show people. To View More >>