Way up North

After Stockholm, Rome and Cologne, Way up North Festival is going a little bit south this year. It’s taking place on 2nd – 3rd of April. It will be hosted in a beautiful city of Cannes, home to the rich and famous (that’s us), known for luxury and for several conferences, mainly The Cannes Film Festival. Way up North is Europe’s leading wedding photography conference.

QtAlbums is one of the sponsors of Way up North Festival and we are very proud to be attending this event with our premium quality albums. As usual, the big names in photo industry will be there. The list of the presenters include names like Sam Hurd, Vanessa Joy, Si Moore and many more (click here).

“The whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts with the presenters, and collectively we aim for people who inspire action with their ideas”

— Way Up North Organisers

The finalist of 2018 Way Up North Awards have been announced. The names of the winners will be revealed live in Cannes, at the closing party on April 3rd 2019. We would like to congratulate all the finalists - well done! Did somebody mention a party 😍?

See you in Canness!

The Photography Show 2019

The Photography Show, Birmingham 16th – 19th of March, 2019

 The Photography Show is back again for its sixth year in a row, all events will take place in the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Birmingham from 16th – 19th of March, 2019. QtAlbums never misses a chance to present our premium quality albums and we will be there to meet you at our stand J51. Join us and see our new products like the velvet cover albums or folio!  (coming soon)

You can come and visit the Photography Show and claim a 25% discount on your ticket using this coupon code QTATPS19 (T&Cs apply).

This huge event offers everything that you can possibly want – from super brands like QtAlbums to the best names in the industry. Our friend from SNAP Photo Festival, Laura Babb will be one of the speakers (click here to see details ). Laura is also one of the Ambassadors of Women Who Photo which is a campaign launched by The Photography Show and The Video Show 2019. We strongly support all the ladies in the photo industry and this fantastic initiative.

Woman Who Photo - find out more!

There is so much that you can see at the show that you won’t be disappointed. Stages and Theatres include Wedding & Portrait, Great Outdoors and a Super Stage (including lives and careers of photography best people). Also, masterclasses dedicated to both beginners and professionals. And let’s don’t forget - Exhibitor drinks! a beach party no less! - at The Great Outdoors Stage. Another fantastic event ahead of QtAlbums!

Photo by https://www.instagram.com/thephotographyshow/

Yeah Field Trip

Yeah Field Trip

Marfa, Texas

28th February – 4th March

“Field Trip is hard to explain” – not a conference, not a festival. What is it then? We are soon going to find out… We’re going to Texas, baby!

A gathering, a collective of artists who once met and who love art in its different ways. Each reunion is unique, each year you gain a new experience. You learn to be better at your profession, but it also brings your spirit up, inspires and motivates. The community gives support and encouragement. This time QtAlbums will be there to understand the Field Trip phenomenon.

Based somewhere in the middle of a desert, under insane number of stars. There will be talks, meditations, jokes, nice weirdos, love, questions, desert, photoshoots, laughter, dancing, and let’s hope – plenty of teaching. And more desert.

Marfa Field Trip might seem a bit from outer space but it’s really a place for most talented people in the photography industry. Here is what they say:

“I have watched the sunset by myself. I have danced on top of a table. I have challenged people and been challenged. I have made people laugh. I have laughed. I have laughed. I have laughed. I have made friendships, though sometimes that feels like too small of a word to describe them. I have bloomed.”

— Heather Jowett

We’re so super excited to be going, that all we want to do is to scream YEAH!!!!!

Let's go Workshop

Let’s Go Workshop

Let’s Go Workshop - named one of the best Wedding Photography Workshops to attend by Junebug Weddings – is taking place on 16th – 19th of April 2019. Location is stunning – Cannon Beach, Manzanita in Oregon. 

The speakers include: Grace Burt, Jacob Loafman, Junebug Weddings, Maciej Suwalowski, Jennifer Moher, Hannah Millard, Kait Vanhoff,

Photos by Naba Zabih, Jess Rankin, Kishelle Linenko, Helena and Laurent, Jacob Loafman and Grace Burt

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“Let’s Go workshop is more than a community, it’s a family. It’s not your average workshop. Its equal parts learning, and partying. There are live shoots, creative challenges, breakout sessions, scavenger hunts, and a huge costume karaoke party.  In an industry that can often feel lonely and isolating, Let’s Go is a home for everyone, and will welcome you with open arms”

— Grace Burt

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There will be many more fantastic speakers including Maciej Suwalowski, Jenniffer Moher, Jacob Loafman, Hanna Millard, Kait Vanhoff. Two editors from Junebug Weddings, Carrie & Nicole, will join as well. You will also be able to see QtAlbums products, including the one and only Journal ArtBook. 

Apart from meeting all these wonderful people, viewing our albums live, there will be some real teaching. This will include Marketing, Social Media, Branding, Editing and Workflow, Client Interaction, Videography for Photographers, Personal Projects and Creative Challenges, Posing, Live shoots.

Watch the Video from last year workshop:

Let’s go workshop 2018

SPEAK NOW!

Girls Who Run the QtAlbums

Firstly, I will give you some numbers and facts: QtAlbums team consists of 16 ladies and 6 gentlemen. That is an astonishing number of 72% girls. That percentage corresponds to our age & gender Instagram statistics. Almost 70% of our Instagram followers are women! 80% of them are aged between 25-44 years. Beware! – this is written by a lady 😊

Anything you want done, baby, we’ll do it naturally!

Now that you have all the maths, it’s time to tell you what we do. Apart from producing beautifully handcrafted products, we donate a percentage of profits from every album to Books for Africa Foundation. Over the past 12 months, Books for Africa have shipped 3 million books, 93 computers & e-readers containing 223,000 digital books. We are thrilled to hear that all of the proceeds from Speak Now ’19 will be donated to The Helen Bamber Foundation that supports refugees and asylum seekers.

We strongly promote Speak Now '19, which is a unique event providing female photographers with the support, skills, and encouragement to take on visible roles in the photography industry. BTW – did I mention the new eco-friendly, biodegradable packaging? We do that too.

Born This Way

We believe that women and men should be treated equally & given the same opportunities. It makes no difference what race you are, what your religion or sexuality is. We are all people who deserve one thing in our life – happiness.

“Girls just wanna have fun!” – so please do, we hope that you all have a great time at the Speak Now ’19. Our ambassadors - Laura Babb and Marianne Chua will be there too. Register on our website and put Speak Now’19 as your referral to receive 15% off from your first order. We will e-mail you the details once you register. T&C Apply.

The Journal Artbook

The Journal Artbook

We unveiled this new album earlier this week at Imaging USA and the reaction from photographers was overwhelming, to say the least. People spotted it from far away and came dashing towards it to scoop it up in their arms. When people caught sight of this album out of the corner of their eye, their heads snapped toward it and we heard every sort of "Oh my!" and "Where have you been all my life?!" We knew it was something special, but it's the greatest feeling in the world to see how many others agree.

The Journal ArtBook is defined by its soft, leather-wrap cover that envelops a book of hand-torn cotton rag pages. A rustic, leather strap closure winds around to finish the look. It’s a classic, antique-looking album reminiscent of yesteryear that, as you run your hands over the subtle texture of the fine art prints, invokes a wonderful sense of nostalgia.

The distinguished cover doesn’t stand alone from what’s inside: beautifully hand-torn pages made from museum quality cotton rag paper and printed with pigment-based inks. The fine, slightly textured surface of this archival fine art paper is ideal for printing both black & white and colour photographs, as well as art reproductions, with impressive pictoral depth. To make it even more luxurious, the front page is embossed in gold, illuminating your clients' names or your logo - a custom stamp allows you to create something truly personal.

The Journal's cover is not attached to the block of pages, and doesn't feature a hard spine, so we have also added the extra touch of a silk binding on the pages to add support and stability for longevity.

We invite you to create a studio sample of your own to share with clients and hopefully experience some of the same jaw-dropping reactions from them that we saw from photographers this week. Take 50% off the regular price by using the code below:

Inside images by Sam Hurd https://www.samhurdphotography.com

Product photos by Ula Kóska http://ulakoska.com

Use code INEEDTHATJOURNAL to get 50% discount on your Journal studio sample. We will mark the back of the book as "Studio Sample"

Want the Journal Artbook? Order now to get 50% off!

QTALBUMS is going green

We are proud to announce that QtAlbums is taking new steps to be more eco-friendly. Many of you have expressed the importance of reducing the amount of plastic used in our packaging. We wanted to fulfil that commitment without compromising on the safety of your albums during transportation, so we've purchased a special device allowing us to make our own biodegradable air cushions, rather than traditional plastic bubble-wrap.

QTALBUMS

is taking new steps to be more eco-friendly

The air cushions can be reused, recycled or composted. Made from HDPE type 2, they are non-toxic. A special additive causes the film to completely break down in 12 to 24 months when in the presence of moisture, micro-organisms and oxygen, leaving no toxic or heavy metal residues. Compare that with this fact: Since plastic was invented, everything that has ever been made from it still exists. It won't start breaking up for about 700 years, but that break-down isn't pretty. It will “photo-degrade” – which means it will turn into little toxic bits of itself. So 12 months or 700 years? There's only one choice, and we thank all of you who shared your thoughts so we could find new ways to meet your needs.

We are happy to be doing our part for the planet. And we're thrilled to be able to provide you with another little reason to feel good about choosing QtAlbums as a partner in your business.

We would like you to do your part for the environment so please remember to recycle the film correctly.

Sources:

http://ec.europa.eu/environment/circular-economy/pdf/plastics-strategy-brochure.pdf

http://www.greenlightpackaging.com/film/

http://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Plastic-Waste-Facts

New York, New York !

New York City was always a dream for a lot of people, city that inspires millions, city where the dreams are made of, city that never sleeps, city of great art, great photography, New York City.

It always reminds me of one song - I think the only one song that I would listen and listen over and over again.

On that occasion we will be also hosting a small workshop / meeting with Twyla Jones, come and see us and meet with us. You can sign up here.

During our trip to USA we will be sponsor guests on Midwest Gathering in Detroit, which is the first this type of conference in this area. There are still available tickets!!!

“Detroit is a place where things are made, a place where people have always come together to make something greater than themselves, piece by piece. The Midwest Gathering is carrying on that tradition.”

— https://midwestgathering.com/

Junebug publication & pizza

At QT HQ we are absolutely thrilled to share with you our recent feature in the internationally renowned wedding blog - Junebug! Regarded as a wedding fashion and style icon, Junebug showcases only the finest wedding products & services and we are super excited to see our beautiful QT fine art albums featured alongside such amazing talent.

In today’s culture of disposable media, now more than ever we appreciate the power of printed photographs in sharing experiences and connecting people. We think it’s a powerful message to spread and we are always looking for ways to help our photographers overcome the challenges of discussing print options so that they can enjoy helping their clients display their photographs for a lifetime.      

Junebug’s July 11th article “5 Reasons Why You Should Absolutely Print Your Wedding Photos”, is a fantastically compelling argument for the value of the printed photograph. Insightful reading accompanied with some beautiful photography by the amazingly talented Wyn Wiley makes this article the perfect tool to share with couples and begin the print conversation. 

Remember, showing printed photographs and discussing print options early into the client relationship encourages clients to bring their own photographs to life through albums and prints.

All pictures made by Wyn Wiley

Printbox.direct

We know our clients value beautiful photographs and stunning presentation. But we also know that they have a lot to do and frankly, putting together beautiful image delivery boxes for their clients takes them away from the thing they love most – making beautiful photographs.

Printbox.direct

is an all-in-one solution for image delivery that begins with a simple upload and ends with a beautiful, perfectly presented box of photographs and/or keepsake USB.

All you need to do is provide us with the complete set of wedding images and we will do the rest. Print. Package. Deliver. Done.

With a wide variety of options – we are sure you will find the right solution to match your needs and compliment your branding.

How do I supply you with my images?

Easy peasy… just pop them over to us using Dropbox or Wetransfer. There is a space in the ordering form for you to add a Dropbox URL.

How do I select the images I want you to print if I am purchasing the print & USB option?

Please include 2 folders in your file. One folder should be marked “for USB” and the other should be marked “for print”. We will print the images in the “for print” file.

If you do not include a “for print” folder, please note that our staff will make a selection on your behalf of images which we feel are beautiful and representative of your style.

Can I have embossing on a wooden box?

Yes, our embossing technology works on wood or fabric.

Can I have my logo on the box instead of my client’s names?
Yes – there is a £50 one-time setup fee and then a cost of £5 per box. Please place your order WITHOUT embossing and then contact our customer service to add this to your order. You will be invoiced for it separately.

Please note that you should not delay in contacting us as a delay could result in your product being shipped without your logo.

What colour boxes are available?

Presently, we have light wood coloured boxes available for our “wooden box” option. Coming soon, we will have gorgeous chocolate coloured wood boxes available as well. Keep an eye on the QT lounge and your inbox for an announcement when these boxes become available.

Our clamshell boxes are available in a selection of popular linen colours. Custom colour orders are available at an additional cost – please contact our customer support team for a quote.

I am outside of the EU and/or subject to import regulation/taxation, how will this affect my order? Will There be an invoice inside the box sent to my clients.
 

USA – No, you will not have an invoice included in the final product sent to your client as we have a distribution centre in the USA where the items are re-packed for domestic shipping.

Outside of the EU & EEA members – Unfortunately, QT Direct is not available outside of the USA & The EU.  Please note that we are unable to ship QT Direct to countries who are in the EEA but not in the EU.