Ideally I like to see the Problem Reporter empty every time I finish a design, but it isn't always, and you're probably the same. By default, any errors you can't ignore are listed first in the Reporter - the ones with the little red and white "X" against them. We can't make your album until they're corrected, so PJ won't let you send your order until they are. The items with the little yellow warning triangle you can ignore if you like. They're sorted into spacing issues, then sizing issues, and lastly alignment issues. Obviously, you want to take care of your red issues first. Complete your To View More >>

Many years ago I headed to an up-market department store to buy a gift. When I asked the person behind the counter to show me what I wanted, she replied, “It’s expensive you know”. Was she suggesting that I couldn’t afford it, or was she reflecting on her own economic situation? She should have known better. Her job was to show me the product, work with my enthusiasm and make the business she worked for better off. As a business person I’ve reflected on this incident often. I’m always reminded of it at trade shows when people look at our albums and say things like, “They're so beautiful, 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 To View More >>

This post isn't a judgment on the underprivileged, or a suggestion that we all move into gated communities. It is about how to succeed. Who you surround yourself with, according to psychologists, affects how successful you’ll be. The same’s true for who you emulate or seek advice from. If you want a happy family, check out someone who has one. If you want to be wealthy, ask a rich person – not a financial advisor (not the same), and not a poor person either. Unless of course you want a list of what not to do. The internet delivers to us the best and the worst of all advice. I can’t count To View More >>

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 To View More >>