If you’ll notice that the title of this post also says, “Who Inspires You As A Photographer?” Therefore, the information below is just some random thoughts that don’t necessarily tie into the book.

There is no right or wrong answer to your approach on photography. It’s important that you create your own style. But if your style is not generating revenue, you’ll have to decide if photography is just a hobby or a business. I get it: Not everyone wants to do photography as a business.

I tend to gravitate toward more low key personality photographers not the off the hook guys like Peter Hurley. Although Peter Hurley is a successful photographer, his personality and his style are not a fit for me. I also tend to gravitate toward the photographers that started their career no later than the 80’s. That’s just me. You have to decide who inspires you.

Lindsay Adler is another very successful photographer who definitely took her career to the next level. Although her work is amazing, I’m not a fashion photographer or one that gets into really high level creative areas. However, I am still inspired by Lindsay Adler with the way she built a name for herself and achieved a completely new level.

Gregory Heisler inspires me for multipe reasons:

1) I think his work is simplistic in one sense, but it’s very technical.
2) I think his work is creative, but it’s well thought out.
3) I love the way he captures people. That is a key area of inspiration for me. It inspires me to think deeper about my own work.
4) He uses a lot of large format film cameras which is not for me, but it’s inspirational what he achieves with film.
5) I love the way he plans, tests and then implements his shoots. For example, the Time magazine cover of Rudolph Giuliani below that came from Gregory Heisler’s Pinterest account was planned and tested over the course of a week. Then, it was shot with a few exposures on film. The lighting, technique in general and more were all meticulously planned. He often only has minutes with people that he photographs, so he has to be ready.

Who inspires you as a photographer and why?

The post 50 Portraits By Gregory Heisler: Who Inspires You As A Photographer? first appeared on .

If I was bold enough to YELL… DAVID WILLIAMS is the best photographer in Raleigh NC, you’d likely leave the page right now since you are on my website reading this. However, I AM NOT the best “Photographer” generically speaking in the Raleigh market. No photographer can truly master every area of photography to truly be the best at everything.

I do feel that I have my strengths when it comes to photography and like the image to the left is stating “Be the best version of YOU.” At the end of the day, it’s the paying client that truly decides whether my photography is worthy of their money. So I strive to be the best version of me that I can be and to work extremely hard for my clients.

My goal is to deliver quality photography that exceeds the expectation of my clients. That is something that I honestly feel like a do on a consistent basis. To me, that is the true mark of a professional in any field: CONSISTENCY.

If you searched looking for the best photographer or photographers in Raleigh and ended up on this page, please take a few minutes to review my work in the navigation, look at my client list, check out the before and after retouching work and review our team page. After doing all of that, if you feel that you have landed on the right website for your photography needs, please either call me direct at 919.723.8453 or use the online contact form.

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Photography is like anything else in the market place. If you are shopping for low prices, you’ll likely get what you pay for.

Professional photographers are consistent in their work which is just one of the many differences from a button pusher photographer. It’s not just the quality of the work that someone is paying for but quality, service, experience, results and much more that all make up the definition of a true professional.

It amazes me that a company would put up a new website and want a consistent, professional look for 10 plus employee’s and expect to pay a professional photographer to come on site for far less than than what JcPenney Portrait Studio charges. That’s an insult to any professional photographer in the market that makes his or her living off photography. Photographers deserve to make a comfortable living from their profession just like anyone else (FYI, I do. I’m just venting in this post.)

So what is the answer?

If the potential client budget is far below a fair market value for professional photography services, the professional photographer should just move on to the next potential client rather than waste time on someone who doesn’t value a fair market rate. Let the potential client hire a button pushing photographer that is working part-time out of his or her spare bedroom with no overhead, no liability insurance, no real world experience, no proven results, no backup equipment, no real expertise with editing and so on to come out and push a button, provide an image and move on. OK, that doesn’t describe every part-time photographer but there are quite a few trying to fake it until they make it.

“But the end to that last the paragraph above is cold David and you are insulting other photographers just because they are part-time and home based.” I think it’s about time that some photographers get called out in charging rates that are far below market value in an attempt to build their business based on being the low price leader which is NOT a sustainable business model. However, at the end of the day, these photographers are not hurting my business and my target market. Why? Because I refuse to compete on low prices, I know what is competitive in the market that I target and the clients that I work with appreciate a true professional that charges a fair market rate: VENT OVER – THANKS FOR READING.

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In addition to the 13 minute video above, you can read Zack’s full blog post for more information.

The post Photographer Zack Arias Talks Sensors: Crop Sensors vs Full Frame :: Crop Or Crap? first appeared on .

Headline Read: Cheap Professional Photographer … Yes, I actually saw this online. Even worse, another photographer posted that he can do something like 20 types of photography all for only $75 FLAT RATE and that photographers charging $100 an hour made him sick. He will have a hard time buying new professional gear, saving for retirement, supporting his family, paying rent or a mortgage and making a car payment at $75 a pop especially if he doesn’t watch his time shooting and editing. There is no need to work for minimum wage.

New photographers often get a nice camera kit, find out that others are burning images to a CD for $75 and then they price themselves at $65. Then, the next guy comes along and finds out that someone is $65 and they price their CD at $50. Do you see where I am headed with this and why being the cheapest or making price the primary focus is not a great idea.

I used PRICE MATCH as the graphic on this post, but for many new photographers, it’s more like PRICE MATCH LES 10%-20% because they want to get some paying gigs.

Here is a better option for Mistake #1 if you are a new photographer:

Be competitive when possible – BUT don’t be the lowest price!!! Don’t let the word CHEAP enter your vocabulary. Sell Quality and Value – Give the client a little something extra for a little more money that they will appreciate. It’s better to photograph friends and family FREE initially and say you are building your portfolio than to set yourself up in a never ending $50 trap. Tell them that your price will be X once you get going and that you are only doing a limited amount for FREE initially. That way, they know that you are X for your retail, but you are doing their session FREE to make it a win-win. The point is that they will not be sending you $50 referrals left and right when they know your retail value is $250. Whatever you do, don’t be TRAPPED by CHEAP!!!

Mistake #2: Don’t Apologize For Your Price

This is a mistake that photographers may make after they are beyond mistake #1.

At the apologizing for price stage, a photographer may know that he or she is not the cheapest in town and could have a tendency to start apologizing for price or discounted his or her pricing. Their is nothing wrong with the word profit. If the photographer has a family to feed, children in college, bills to pay, etc. like many workings folks do, it’s OK to cover expenses plus make enough money to live. A good photographer should know their market and what they local economy is for photography which will hopefully line up with covering overhead and making a living. Their is nothing wrong with NOT being the lowest price in town.

Your price is your price and any deviation from that should be on your own terms depending on how much you want/need the business. But don’t be in the never ending discounting business. I remember a quote for $500 for a simple project but could tell their was minor resistance while on the phone with the prospect. So I found out on the call that they usually do not pay more than $450 for that particular need. So my response back was that I didn’t want $50 to cause her to find someone else. Her response back was that if I could do $450 that it was a done deal and she wouldn’t call anyone else. I don’t always discount, but in this case, $50 saved the deal and the shoot was easy.

Here is a better option for Mistake #2 if you are a photographer that apologizes for price:

Have someone else that is less expensive that you can refer business two. Yes, you can actually refer business to another photographer. I have found that more often than not, the potential client chooses me at the higher price point when I try to do this which is a GREAT indication that it’s not all about price but quality, price, value, experience and more all rolled into one. Most of the time, the less expensive photographer is less experienced as well which for some clients makes a difference. I remember sending one lady to another photographers website that was less expensive only to have her resurface and say that she liked my quality better. But at least having the option to say, “I am not able to do it for X but I know someone who can” is a viable option which also helps the photographer look good by giving the prospect a possible option.

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1) He invested in equipment. Photography is not cheap as a hobby and certainly not cheap when you start buying professional gear. He did invest in a professional full frame camera and a pro level lens while being able to save some money on the lighting side. You MAY NOT be in a position to purchase pro level gear, but you should buy the best equipment that you can afford. A quality LENS will likely be a better investment than the camera body if you have to choose one over the other. Personally, if I had to make the choice, I had rather shoot with a pro level lens on a crop sensor body than a full frame pro body with a cheap lens.

2) He chose a market segment that he had connections in that was NOT families and weddings. Although I am not giving away his name or market segment, this was a smart move on his part because ALL of his business has been word of mouth or referrals NOT advertising. He also chose NOT to do families and weddings mainly because that’s not his passion nor where he had the most connections. If you choose to go the family and wedding route like SO MANY do when getting into photography, you should NOT let being the lowest price in town be how you get business. You should find a way to separate yourself from most everyone else and DON’T let that be because you are the cheapest. Your family and friends are NOT your money market. They will want something for FREE or CHEAP. Check this article out… 10 Stupid Things People Believe About Photographers

3) He learned how to deliver a better quality product faster plus he delivers EDITED images NOT unedited JPG’s. When he started out working in his current market segment, he had a simple, yet fairly high end, crop sensor camera with a simple tripod that got the job done but DID NOT provide the level of quality he produces now and it took twice as long to shoot the same kind of projects. He has figured out how to do a 3 hour shoot in half the time and do the editing in about 1 hour and produce far better quality than he did when he started. He has to have a system in place to remain competitive with pricing in his chosen market segment. Note, I am not going back on what I previously said about price because being competitively priced is far different than being the lowest price in town. By increasing his efficiency and delivering a higher quality product, he can move on to the next shoot faster. Having better equipment than he previously shot with along with shooting enough to know how to get better quality faster has made a huge difference in his business. He has now gotten to the point that he is considering hiring someone to do the post production editing to free up even more time to shoot. Yes, DO POST PRODUCTION EDITING even if you have to do it yourself. DO NOT burn JPG’s to a CD and hand that to your client.

In closing, and this is when confidentiality really comes into play, this photographer working part-time is on track to exceed the national average salary for photographers (which is 37K per year) . So for those of you working a full time job doing photography part-time, please keep your head held high and realize that it can be done. Oh, it’s not easy, but it is possible. Stay Motivated!!!

The post A Short Story: 3 Things One Photographer Did/Does That May Help You first appeared on .

Shoot from an elevated position.

I carry a monopod with me to on-location shoots; you can get one inexpensively. A monopod allows you to lift the camera up 10 feet in the air and get some really neat angles. If you stand on a chair and use a monopod, you can extend this effect even further. Often, the end photo looks like it was shot from an even higher elevation due to natural optical illusions. I used a monopod to shoot the photo below, and the elevated effect makes the room look larger.

Shoot along a textured wall.

I do a lot of head shots and creative photo sessions upstairs at the Wake Forest Coffee Shop. Part of the reason why I like doing shoots

there: they have an indoor brick wall that makes for a nice backdrop. Brick walls work especially well for two reasons. Their rough texture creates beautiful effects with light and shadows; and also, it’s easy to vary the angle of the wall relative to the subject. As you can see in the photo here, shooting at a diagonal allows me to create a “fade” effect. The focus is fixed on the subject, and the bricks become gradually softer as they fade away.

You can play around with plenty of other angles. You have a 360-degree sphere to work with. The next time you’re looking for a way to compose a photo in a unique way, see how many different angles you can try. You’ll be surprised at just how much you can alter the look of a photo by changing this single variable.

If you are in the Raleigh, NC area and have an interest in a photography workshop, please be sure to visit this page of the website: https://www.rtpphotoandvideo.com/photography-workshops-raleigh-nc/

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EVENT IMAGE SAMPLES – Click the large image then easily arrow through all images…

Corporate Video Production Services…

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Hannah took the image of Grace and Grace took the image of Hannah. They are not only best friends but work together on photo sessions.

Grace:

My goal at every photo shoot is to capture real emotion through my photos, to show people how they really are. Great photos show people in a real sense, not a fake line up and smile shot. To be able to take a moment and record the memory, for a life time in a genuine manner, is my passion. I am going to be attending Living Arts College in August of 2014 to attain a bachelor’s degree in Photography.

See Images from Grace on Facebook and Flickr

Hannah:

I have a passion for photography because I love to make memories. When I take a picture of something or someone, I am capturing a moment that I, or someone else, can look back on and remember forever. I always try to capture love and happiness in my photos. I also try to capture beauty, not by posing people just right or editing them to perfection, but by letting people be themselves and catching them off guard. I love photography and strive to capture love, happiness, and beauty in every shot.

I plan to pursue a career in photography by going to school and learning everything I can about the technical aspects of my ultimate goal: capturing love.

See Images from Hannah on Facebook and Flickr


From Hannah About Haiti:

Haiti was the biggest and best experience of my life. God completely shattered my heart as I taught orphans, fed sick babies, and gave bibles to those who have never laid their eyes on one. I saw the children’s faces light up like I’ve never seen, every time they saw us coming. I saw sick little babies laugh when we came in to take care of them. I saw the tears in people’s eyes when I handed them the Word of God. I was rejected many times. People told me no when I wanted to tell the the good news. A countless number of people stuck their fingers up at me as I passed by. I even had a rock thrown at me. But that all seems so small compared to the few lives that I touched. The people who did listen to the gospel, the kids who saw Jesus through me, the bibles that will be read. All the rejection, all the hatred towards me, was worth those few people who came to see Jesus. My heart has been broken and many pieces of it remain in Haiti. But God used the broken pieces to make for myself a new heart. A heart with a new desire to take the gospel to the nations! July 2014 can’t come soon enough.

If you are interested in contacting Grace and Hannah about their photography services, please feel free to use my online contact form and I can get them the message for you.

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The post Grace & Hannah: Individual, Family & Event Photographers in Wake Forest NC – They Are Also in High School first appeared on .

The photography industry has its quirks just like any other industry. However, I have found that connecting with other photographer’s both online and offline can be very beneficial.

1) Why Should Photographer’s Help Each Other?

The first thing that comes to mind is because it’s the right thing to do. Being a photo snob, stick in the mud only makes the person being like that look bad. It feels good to make a difference in someone’s life. It helps to share ideas and advice.

2) Why Should A Photographer Be Connected Online?

There are two things that come to mind on this one: 1) It leads to people helping people like question #1 above. 2) It leads to business or at least it should. Just like anything in life, there are some who will not agree with me about the two examples below, but as we all know, you cannot please everyone.

Connections Online: My most recent connection just happened in the last 24 hours. I decided to get active on LINKEDIN rather than let it just sit there doing nothing for me. I connected with a Photographer in the Atlanta, Georgia area. I am in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. His name is James Mauro. You can click to visit his website. James and I had a one hour phone call earlier talking about photography and video. I believe that I helped with my advice and James sure helped me with his story and passion for photography. It feels good to not only make a difference but to establish a new friendship.

Social Media: I am very active on Social Media. Some may think that I am too active but that is also a matter of opinion. Facebook is a place that many may feel should be left to mainly personal things like “my child just did X” or Suzy Q., “I hope you get to feeling better.” It’s true that Facebook is used a lot for that. However, if you are an entrepreneur, you should at least occasionally mention what you do. If you are a photographer or an artist, you should post some of your work. It doesn’t have to be a sales pitch, but what’s wrong with saying, “Take a look at my session with Kevin Snyder” without being a sales pitch? That by the way lead to a session of Wendy which by the way when I posted her images lead to an inquiry from a friend of Wendy’s. WOW! You see how that works?

By the way, I find more business success with my personal Facebook than my business page. I agree with Jay Izso about how business pages are pretty much a waste for the most part. However, that is just my opinion. Your business page on Facebook may work well for you.

3) Why Should A Photographer Network Offline?

I am not  the most active networker offline (aka attending local events to meet people). However, it does amaze me how few photographer’s that I run into while out and about meeting other business people. Steffanie Lafors and Kevin Seifert are two photographers in my area that seem to get out and make connections.  They are both friends of mine.  Although we do crossover a little, like on headshots, we can still be friends and network together.  As a matter of fact, we do just that.  About 6 months ago, I created a photographer’s networking group and several of us get together for lunch once a month.  Yes, a group of photographer’s that break bread together.  If you are a photographer, you should find a business networking event and start meeting new people.

4) Have You Noticed That I Have Linked To Several Photographer’s So Far In This Post?

Some may say that linking to other photographer’s is not a good idea because they might STEAL business away.  I am willing to take that risk by taking the time to mention other photographer’s that I know:

Jason Dail – Some GREAT Black and White Work – He also does a lot with FILM.  Yes, FILM.

Pascal Monmoine – I am connected to him on Facebook and love his work. You may want to search “Pascal Monmoine Photographer Durham.”

Cramer Gallimore – A Fayetteville area veterean photographer

If you like this post, please be sure to share using the social links below.  Comments are welcomed!

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