At Queensberry we say our ideal clients are mid to high end photographers, and those who aspire to be. Oh, and we love it if you buy albums! So in our recent album pricing survey one of the questions we asked readers was, how many albums do you sell? Over half our respondents said less than ten a year. Ten albums a year doesn't seem a lot, so does that mean the world is ending for albums and the people who sell them? Not at all. Nothing's changed. Albums have always been a way of standing out from the crowd and up-selling. In the old days most photographers sold the negatives or a stack of prints. To View More >>

So you're tempted by our special offer, and you've decided to add Q-Frames, Q-Boxes and Q-Books to your Workspace shopping cart. Maybe it's your first time selling online! How much should you charge? Finding the sweet spot between too cheap and too expensive can be tricky. Ask yourself: 1. What costs must the price cover? For example will you need to edit or artwork the images? If so was the work included in the price of the shoot or do you need to charge for it now? 2. What's the market price? How much would people in your market expect to pay for products like these from a photographer like 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'm a bit frustrated! We have two new initiatives to launch but we can't get either out until next week, so I thought I'd try and clear up a few misconceptions about SEO... SEO comes to mind for two reasons. First, in Ian's 14 Tips post a while back he said (rather carelessly!), "10. Link to the venues, florists, dressmakers and other vendors who were connected to the event - another Workspace feature. They'll love you for it, and linking is great for SEO." Someone commented, "Yes, linking is great for SEO, but for the [site] you are linking to, not for you… I'm always wary about linking to…vendors' 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 >>

Interesting question from Sergey on my Opportunities post. What do you do if people want this cool album that they've never seen before – but they want to postpone the purchase, maybe until their first anniversary. Here's what we think. As they say, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. I'd look for a way to sweeten the deal and get a commitment now. OK, we hate the D word, but maybe a discount would do the trick. Or arrange monthly payments via credit card, preferably with a deposit to cover your costs. Anyway, try hard for a commitment now, and get the album out there working for you. To View More >>

Here's why our New Year's resolution is to get on Facebook. Besides being a long time Queensberry client, Australian photographer Greg Mace is a friend and all-round good guy ... and we're not the only ones who think so. To prove that all you have to do is click on Greg's new Facebook page. Better yet, friend him and click "Just Fans". In June '09 6.1m Australians (out of 21m) visited Facebook. In fact three out of four Aussies visited a social networking site of some sort. Same here in New Zealand: almost a quarter of us have used Facebook. Those are big numbers, and of course once people start To View More >>

You might remember a post called "the secret life of wedding photographers" on ISPWP a few years ago. Apparently photographers lead a great life – you get to spend your time taking pictures, travelling to exotic locations and partying like rockstars! Of course the sad reality is often quite different. This fertile little meme has got a lot more airtime recently because APE and now Seth Godin have posted about it. As always, Seth's post is well worth the read. He makes the point that everyone has a choice: get together the "guts and resources" too do what you were born to do, or spend your time To View More >>

What could a shoe shine guy teach a wedding photographer about their business? I just came across the ratty old Youtube video below, which features one of the best salesmen ever. It's short, very funny (I think) and full of insight. RIP Zig Ziglar, who died recently aged 86. We all need to be salespeople if we want to get the prices we deserve Read Secrets of Closing the Sale. Cheers, Ian To View More >>