What is "aspect ratio", and why can it be a problem? The aspect ratio of an image is the ratio of its width to its height. Unless the aspect ratio of a print or frame matches that of the camera image from which it is made, the original image will need to be cropped. What to do When shooting, bear in mind the finished print that you want to sell. If you frame the subject tightly (with important content out to the edges of the image) you won't be able to crop — you'll need to order prints with the same aspect ratio as the camera. Since most digital camerals have an To View More >>

If you haven't seen our brand new frames, you need to take a look! They've got away to a cracking start since we launched them. But you might be wondering — How can I show frames online without spending heaps on samples? Which ones should I offer? What would they look like with my photographs? The answer? Our new stock image templates for frames. They're free to use anywhere you're selling. Download our PSD layouts, insert your own imagery and you'll have a virtual product complete with your own photography. Our stock templates for frames To View More >>

We've introduced lots of new cover options this year, from Coastal Linens, and Haze, the beautiful new Micro Leather shade, to our new embossing options. It's great to see them all progressing through the Bindery. Here we'd like to explain a little more about our new Designable Canvas covers, the options available and how to order them in Workspace. And scroll down for 20% off your Q Book orders — for a limited time! For now the new canvas covers are available for Q Books and Portrait Albums. In Q Books they replace the old Designable To View More >>

Tessa Williams from Moemoea Collective is a family portrait photographer based in Upper Hutt, Wellington, New Zealand. "Whanau is my first priority in life, so I love to photograph others who feel the same. My style is contemporary, relationship-focused imagery filled with lots of life, and I want my client experience to leave you feeling celebrated, valued and with great pride in sharing your story with your loved ones. "I will be exhibiting my first collection of original artwork celebrating the connection between wahine hapu (pregnant women) and Papatuanuku (our earth mother), embracing To View More >>

Continuing on from Katherine’s first post, 'Why Albums?', Katherine has a few more tips about how she educates her clients about printing, and some advice for photographers who might just be starting to offer albums in their packages. How do you educate your clients about the importance of printing, rather than leaving photographs on a USB? An album really is a personal preference, so I try not to push them on my clients, but now I have over 50% of my couples order albums, I love to know they will treasure these for 30, 40 maybe even 50 years! I talk about and share my albums as To View More >>

This weeks 'Share of the Week' goes to James Kelly Photography, based in the UK, who shared a great Queensberry flushmount album video and words about the importance of printing. Thanks for sharing, James. There’s a wee thank you on its way to you. "Let's talk about the digital files. "The truth is, the high-resolution digital files should not be at the top of your priorities of the final product when deciding on a wedding package/photographer it should be the album. Yes by having those files, you will be able to print them as you please and make a wedding book etc but To View More >>

Workspace keeps your images as safe as possible by never displaying the high-res image, and by disabling the browser’s right-click download function. You can also add watermarks to your images. Simply upload your watermark to Workspace, and apply it to a collection of images. Workspace does the work for you, applying the watermark you've selected to each image – so you don't have to do each one by hand! You also have different watermark placement options, from which you can select the most appropriate option for you. Watch our tutorial below on how to use our watermarking feature: To View More >>

Following on from last week's post, here are a few more album design tips. For all you photographers designing your own.  Let them breathe… We touched on cropping last time, but it's worth repeating! Sure photo-bombing is fun, but generally we like the core elements of an image to have a nice amount of breathing space to the edge of the page, or image "frame". In fact think of it exactly like framing a picture: it gives the subject a sense of intent and importance. Jamming things up against the image edge often looks awkward. But "breathing To View More >>

We caught up with two of the design team,  Simon and Rachel, to talk all things album design. Here are their top four tips for creating beautiful, clean layouts. Less is more Rachel: Unclutter your design. It’s simple. Let the key images and high quality materials of an album speak for themselves. If you notice the design, it’s taking precedence over the images – good design is effortless. Simon: If the design is loaded with images the hero shots can be lost among a forest of images. By keeping the image selection minimal, you’ll free up space and make the rest To View More >>

A personal website for your clients, with your photography, your client's album design, a gift registry, a guest book, a link to your own site… oh, and a shopping cart!  In just a few minutes you can create a beautiful-looking site that your clients will find appealing and useful, that provides a convenient way to interact with them about their album, and that helps spread the word about you, while encouraging some nice add-on sales from friends and family.  Workspace has three new and improved designs that reflect our web themes, are mobile responsive, and are just as easy To View More >>