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 >>

Although a lot of you love our albums (us too!) we operate on the simple principle that you're running a business, and if you can't make money selling them you shouldn't buy them. But there's no doubt many photographers do struggle. Partly that's because they sell a la carte, and have persuaded themselves that their clients don't want albums. I don't buy it. A la carte is often shorthand for having a cheap headline price, and no levers you can pull to make a better sale. (I'm not saying a la carte's a bad idea, but it needs close thought). As for people not wanting albums, it was the same story To View More >>

Pete started off his recent posts by saying that colour management is one of the cornerstones of digital photography, but often misunderstood. Let me describe what you can reasonably expect from a sound colour management system consistently applied (certainly not miracles!). What you can expect 1. A reasonable indication of what your final print will look like (assuming you're sending the files print-ready). 2. To avoid gross errors (an Adobe 1998 file treated as if it's sRGB will look strikingly different, especially if colours go out of gamut). 3. Predictability: You can send your files to the To View More >>

Colour management is one of the cornerstones of digital photography, it is also one of the most misunderstood. Some photographers are experts, some try to ignore the subject, some don't seem to have heard of it, others have read about it on forums or blogs and (kind of) get it. Years ago when our lab went digital, we brought in the experts to help set up our systems and get the best results from our printers. This relationship was not a one-date wonder. Ian and Jessica from NZ Colour Management have consulted to us regularly ever since. One thing's certain. If you use our print-ready service you To View More >>

I'm often told that brides do all their research online and communicate with photographers only by email. And that it's normal to book a photographer based on such minimal interaction: "Stephen it's no use. They just want a price. It's all about the deal, so I just give them one and hope." I don't believe it. Or at least, I don't believe it's the only possibility. I wasn't going to start these posts this way, but maybe a simple response to this challenge is useful, something you can use immediately. Anyway, here's how I would reply. Rewrite it in your own words of course, but I hope it helps engage To View More >>