The first shows the making of a limited edition Leica M9-P, made in collaboration with Hermès. As the video says, no wonder it’s so damned expensive.

That’s OK. As one of the commenters says, we’ll just stand quietly behind the velvet rope and watch.

The second is Signé Chanel, Loïc Prigent’s seven year-old TV series about the creation of Chanel’s Fall/Winter 2004-2005 collection. I wish I could show you some video, but I can’t. Which is a pity, because if you value craftsmanship, it’s breathtaking.

As the Determined Dilettante says, what makes the series outstanding is its focus on the people who turn Karl Lagerfeld’s sketches into actual clothes. “It’s about the likes of Madame Martine, Madame Cécile and Madame Laurence, who cut and sew and literally bloody their hands for the sake of a dress, and about 75-year-old Madame Pouzieux who, in-between bringing in bales of hay, makes unique braids on an antique loom in her farm house.”

Don’t let the subtitles put you off. I bought it on Amazon UK.

Cheers, Ian

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I know how to type, have a good grasp of English, know how to spell – but that doesn’t mean I could or would or should try to write the next John Grisham.

Having a pen doesn’t make me a writer. Having a camera doesn’t make me a photographer. Having a computer doesn’t make me a designer…

To be a designer takes talent, knowledge and practice. You need to understand balance, beauty, symmetry, asymmetry, flow, pace, shape, unity and contrast.

Being a great visual story teller requires all those qualities.

It also requires the understanding that that’s what you’re doing – telling a story, as surely as John Grisham is.

When I design an album, I want you, a stranger, to feel like you were there. After all, some of the people who will treasure it haven’t even been born yet.

I want you to feel the emotion of the event, and connection with the people, rather than just admire the venue, the flowers and how well everyone’s dressed.

The layout should be understated, yet bold enough to project star images alongside the support shots. It should show elements of repetition and elements of surprise. It should value white space.

Ironically, the skill of the designer shouldn’t be apparent. It certainly shouldn’t be about the latest photoshop tricks I’ve learned.

One of my favourite industrial designers is Dieter Rams. I love his ten principles of good design, especially this:

“Good design is as little design as possible.”

Less design, but better – because it “concentrates on the essential aspects, and the products are not burdened with non-essentials. Back to purity, back to simplicity”.

Back to simplicity, but not to instant. Apps that lay out your pages automatically are like painting by numbers. They’re fun, but don’t add much value.

Help your photographs speak, and tell their story.

Happy designing!

Best, Heather

PS The illustration is an all-time favourite at trade shows. It’s from one of our display samples, photography by Johannes van Kan.

PPS If you’re looking for design advice, do feel free to email the team, and they’ll pass it on to me.

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For those not in the know, I’m based at the Queenberry lab.

They put up with me here as long as I sit quietly in the corner. It’s a bit crowded as Philip Laing is sitting in the same corner.

Anyway, I’m not allowed to speak so I get to listen to what’s going on regarding some of the issues that our printers face.

Now correct me if I’m wrong, but the terms and conditions of most album companies are a bit like the signs you used to see in china shops around New Zealand – “if you break it, you buy it”. In other words, if you send us a crappy file, don’t blame us if we send you a crappy print job.

Where we tend to be different is that we really hate putting crappy prints in beautiful albums, so if we can, we pull the job and get in touch with you to see if between us we can do better.

Here’s the dirty little secret.

Most of the stuff that stops work being printed could be resolved before the files are even sent to us, because the three main problems we see are very simple: pixelated images, soft images, alignment issues.

So, if you don’t listen to anything else I say, and my wife wouldn’t blame you, listen to this.

CHECK YOUR FILES    CHECK YOUR FILES   CHECK YOUR FILES  CHECK YOUR FILES  CHECK. YOUR. FILES.

Honestly, I bet you do check your files, but I mean check them!

Don’t just view the thumbnails in Photojunction. When you export the layouts, open them up in Photoshop. View them as an overall layout, and then zoom in to 100%. You’ll be amazed what you pick up at that level.

Now this is where the saving money bit comes in. We query hundreds of orders each year. Every time we do, and a new file has to be sent, or we have to do some artwork, and reprint something, it costs money. Either you, or us. We’d rather sort things out than send you an album you’re unhappy with, but we hate charging people, and no-one likes paying.

The second way you save money is by saving time. Half an hour spent checking your exported layouts before sending is better than twenty-four hours, a week, even a month of holdups waiting for an album we’ve found issues with. You could have handed it to your clients and banked that final payment.

Finally, there’s album repairs. Maybe the wrong file was sent for printing (eg the wrong version of an image, missing the artwork). Or maybe the date on a title was wrong.

Times are tough, and every dollar counts, so who’s pocket would you prefer it to be in? A dollar saved is a dollar earned.

Yours helpfully, Pete (and Philip).

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We love it when we see famous people in our albums as they’re being made, especially when they’re Kiwis.

Today we had a double treat as we despatched two beautiful sets of albums to Auckland photographer and Queensberry client, Emma Bass.

I wanted to tell you all about them, but Ian won’t let me. He reckons what’s sauce for the gander is sauce for the goose, too, and it’s true that, because we have a confidentiality policy, he’s missed seeing some very exciting albums.

So all I can say is that both weddings were absolutely stunning, but if you want to see the images, you’ll just have to go to Emma’s own site or buy a woman’s magazine.

He’s no fun any more.

Cheers, Heather

PS Emma’s Imperfect exhibition runs at Black Asterisk Gallery until 20th May.

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But what if those first few seconds aren’t face to face, but face to website?

Couples (ie Brides) can be ruthlessly efficient when it comes to their wedding plans, which is why we all need a love-at-first-sight site that’s up to handling a bride in full hunting mode.

I’ve watched my wife in action. She will allow a site 3.5 seconds to grab her attention before she moves on. And I am being generous because we are still on dial-up at home. (Don’t even go there!)

So let’s look at how you can grab people’s attention fast.

1. Keep your home page clean and simple. Don’t overload it with information. Treat it as your shop window. Give people a tease of what’s inside. You need to make them want to open the door.

2. Make it easy to find you. I don’t know how often I’ve gone to a website and spent ten minutes going round and round looking for contact details. By the time I’ve found out how to get in touch I don’t want to! Your Website is open 24/7. You may not be standing at the door with your award winning smile but your website can be.

3. Keep your images fresh and current. Fashion is a fickle beast, and photographs of the groom with a mullet that Billy Ray Cyrus would be proud of probably won’t win you business in certain demographics. And brides on the hunt will know if the dresses on your site went out of style with Billy Ray’s hairdo, even if Ian and I haven’t a clue.

4. Make your navigation logical. There’s nothing worse than getting lost in a site that seems to go on forever.

5. Add personality. (Reading a book on blogging hasn’t made me a world expert, but I did pick that up.) If you have a blog, inject yourself into it. Show the world a little bit of you. Same with your Facebook page.

You want your customers and future customers to keep coming back, and they’ll only do that if you’re interesting. But won’t it be great if you photograph a wedding, and they think of you for family portraits when Little Joey turns one?

So much hinges on those first 3.5 seconds, and what I like is that all this stuff can be so easy.

Just add you and your photos to a simple Workspace site.

Cheers, Pete

PS. Billy Ray’s moved with the times. He’s got tats. And I thought it was nine seconds? No wonder I’ve had problems – Ed.

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Our IT support team are moving our phone server this Thursday the 10th of May New Zealand Time, so all Queensberry phone lines will be offline between 2pm and 6pm NZST.

If you do have an emergency during that time, we will have extra support on email for those few hours so you won’t be left in the lurch.

All the best from everyone at Queensberry

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Congratulations go to Jonathan Robert Photographe, winner of the Queensberry Workspace ‘Free Albums for a Year’ draw! Jonathan is a French Canadian Photographer based in Québec.

Heather caught up with him this morning and he was delighted. Jonathan mentioned that this prize has come at a very good time for his studio. Listen to what he had to say here: http://vimeo.com/41461662

Thanks to everyone who entered the draw and signed up for a Workspace subscription. We really appreciate your support and feedback.

Happy Spacing!

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"Hi, my name's Angelique!"

Who drank the Koolaid? – Ed.

Sometimes when I’m on the phone with clients, we start talking about different album companies. Typically, we gush about how gorgeous Queensberry albums are.

Occasionally, on the other end is someone who has never actually seen a Queensberry book. I still gush. They question it. After all, I work for the company – of course I say it’s best?

Here’s the thing, I tend to only want to work for companies I can stand by. While I’ve had a few bumps along that path in my life (I mean really, who wants to work for a bank?), the major players in my past have been companies I will continue to support. Starbucks, Apple, myself, and Queensberry.

So when people tell me I only say Queensberry is awesome because I work for them, I feel like that guy in the hair commercial. “I’m not just an employee, I’m a client.” Ha!

As many of you know, I’m based in the States and Queensberry are in New Zealand. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a chance to go into the office for an interview… But I was a Photojunction user and a Queensberry client. I knew the product because I used it. I wanted to work for the company because I knew they were an incredible team that had worked through ups and downs with me over the previous years. They got up at the crack of dawn to call me when I needed help. They were excited to show me new products and features when we ran into each other at WPPI.

They weren’t my only album supplier, but they were the only one where I knew nearly every team member by name. They were the only one that went above and beyond to not only make sure I was happy, but make sure our brides were happy.

Cheers, Angelique

PS…. Who thought I was old enough to remember a commercial from 1986?

It’s OK, Angelique – you’re still a slip of a girl in our eyes. Some of us remember watching the original Star Trek series on a little green plastic TV. – Ed.

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Next time you log in to Queensberry Workspace you’ll discover some major new features that we’re sure you’ll like – details below – plus we have a new Photojunction release to improve Workspace album proofing. A better experience, and a bargain too! Meantime…

OUR HALF-PRICE DEAL ENDS MONDAY!

If you like where we’re going, our half price introductory special ends on 30 April, so you have just a day or two left to grab it. Plus one lucky person is a few days away from winning a $12,000 draw.

HERE’S THE NEWS

1. You can now water-mark your Collections before you share them, and you’ll be able to water-mark your blog storyboards very soon.

2. The guys have greatly improved Workspace’s overall responsiveness behind the scenes. They’ve also moved Analytics to the top of the screen (next to Downloads, the Knowledgebase etc) so the Dashboard loads faster.

3. We’ve improved the image sharing interface, which really is at the heart of Workspace. If you use the “semi-private” option, your website will look cool even if your content is passworded. You now sort your images manually, turn the shopping cart on or off, or choose price lists by Collection (not by Event).

4. We’ve redesigned the Website Setting page to make it more user friendly, and added extra website templates, with more to follow.

5. Proofing Photojunction albums in Workspace is much improved. Uploads from PJ are three times faster, you can switch between Album Exposure and Workspace as your proofing service (or back again), and, praise be, Workspace can now display wings and flips.

6. To add value to your Workspace account, and promote photography in general, we’ve built two new Photographers’ Directories, one specifically for weddings. Prospects can search for you by location and type. These are extensions to Queensberry’s existing client directory. Small photo advertisements and text-only listings are free. You don’t need to be a Queensberry client to list.

Check out the wedding photographers directory here, or for the general directory click here. To create or edit a listing, or upload images, log into Workspace and go to the “Get Found” menu option.

(Your listing will look a whole lot better once you’ve added images! Type “Auckland” as the location in the wedding directory, and you’ll get a better idea of how it’s going to look – thanks Chris, Bruce and Kelly for taking prompt action!)

Oh, and lest we forget, you can upload your images to Workspace from Lightroom. Download our plug-in for Windows or Mac OSX here.

That’s not to mention all the usual tweaks and bug fixes.

And don’t forget our half price deal expires on 30 April.

Enjoy!

All the best from everyone here at Queensberry, and have a great weekend.

Cheers, Ian

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There seem to be two primary approaches to album sales, three if you include not bothering (let’s not go there).

The first approach, popular recently, is Pre-Design. Design the be-all, end-all of albums before your clients even see their images and you’ll make a fortune!

How could they possibly say no to a 60 side gorgeous 10×18 Duo masterpiece once they see it?

Well…because what you included in their contact was a 10×10 flush mount album with 20 sides. That hardly seems fair. It certainly works for some, but it definitely won’t work for all.

What if your clients are like me? They just helped to pay for this huge party, and they are coming home from their honeymoon, hoping to start saving for a someday-house and someday-baby. The last thing I wanted was another bill related to my wedding.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying up-selling is bad. I have that house and that baby now. Ask my husband – I am the QUEEN of up-selling. I just think there are better, different ways to approach it. When it comes to brides, there are a few tried and true rules I’ve come to stand by. Instead of Pre-Design, I love the Album Consult!

1. Be honest. If your most basic package includes a 10×10 album, show that 10×10 album. If you are only including 20 sides, show a 20 side album. I don’t know who can fit an entire wedding into a good looking 20 side book, though. I’ve designed a lot of albums and I think the smallest I can be happy with is 26. Don’t offer something completely unreasonable. If you have no intention of giving your client something smaller than 30 sides, then that should be your smallest product.

2. Only offer amazing product. Have multiple samples in your studio or meeting place. If you want your client to upgrade, they need to see some choice (we call this approach Good Better Best). Show them the 30 side 10×10 album. And show them a 10×14 vertical 30-side matted album. Then show them a 50-side 10×18 horizontal Duo. Make an impact. Each of these samples should showcase a completely different wedding. Match the style of the book to the wedding. If your couple doesn’t identify with the couple in your one and only sample, they’ll be less likely to book. If they end up identifying with the couple in the 10×18 Duo, not only will they book, but I bet they won’t get your smallest package.

3. People don’t like surprises that cost money. My favorite way of designing an album is to meet with the couple after the wedding, but before the design. You now know how the wedding looks. You can offer upgrade options based on their images. Don’t sell a vertical album to a couple with amazing wide landscape shots. You won’t be able to focus on those key shots as effectively. Make the meeting about them and their book. Not about what you want their final bill to be.

4. Use our Sales Kit. Be sure to have a sales kit so that your couples can touch and feel the different cover and page options. They can see the actual colors of the mats. They can see the size of the cover options. You don’t buy a car without test driving do you? Having your couple see these options ahead of time can save a lot of hassle down the line. The rest of your process could easily be done online via Workspace until album delivery.

5. Set a budget. Let your couples set a budget, and DO NOT GO OVER IT! Album design takes time, and designing to a specific number of pages doesn’t always work. You could make it work… but sometime you just need that ONE. EXTRA. SPREAD.

Respect your clients! Ask if they are open to you adding extra pages, or a fancier cover. Otherwise you will design the album that is best for them, and stay within their cost limits.

Surprise them with the gorgeous book you’ve designed, not with the amount that it cost them.

Cheers, Angelique

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