David Williams is a professional photographer with many years of experience.  Photography is more than just a job for our staff, it’s something we are very passionate about and something that we love doing!  Our love of photography has encouraged us to share our skills and knowledge with others.  We hope that others will get the same enjoyment that photography has brought into our lives.

We offer group photography workshops that go beyond the basics for those that are little more advanced.  We also offer one on one training sessions that are more personalized to your individual needs.  Please feel free to visit our website at https://www.rtpphotoandvideo.com/photography-workshops-raleigh-nc/ for additional information.

Also, please feel free to give us a call at 919.723.8453  if you have any questions!  If you are interested in one to one training with David Williams, please call us for availability and scheduling.  We look forward to hearing from you!

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When composing a photo, a leading line is any straight edge or surface that creates a visual pathway. For example, take a look at this photo that I shot for Children’s Flight of Hope (CFOH) below. CFOH is a local charity in Raleigh that provides air transportation to children who need specialized medical care. There are two points of focus in this photo: the sign in the background and the airplane in the foreground. But in particular, if you look at the wing on the plane, you will notice that the edge of the wing creates a natural visual path, almost like an arrow pointing back toward the center of the photo. The wing forms a leading line.

When you’re shooting a photo, look for opportunities to use leading lines to your advantage. Here are a few common places to find them in background scenes:

• Walls or edges of buildings
• Doorways and window frames
• Pictures hanging on walls
• Tables and other furniture
• Power lines
• Train tracks

When you use the effect of leading lines correctly, you can even sometimes create the illusion of motion. To find the best way to use leading lines, try shooting from different angles and see how the effect changes. When you look at your photos, notice the first thing your eye is drawn to look at—and notice where your eye ends up. Pay attention to the visual path that you follow when looking at the image. As you play around with this, you’ll start to notice more leading lines that may give you better ideas for places to use as background scenes.

The post Leading Lines in Photography – Study the Subject to Create Something Different first appeared on .

In this post, I will share 4 Websites and the You Tube Channels associated with those sites that can help you become a better photographer at any skill level.

QUICK THOUGHT: I am 100% fine with people getting into the photography business. However, I am not OK with people getting into photography simply because they bought a nice camera over the weekend (often high end consumer version), leaving it on auto to shoot everything (because they don’t understand any other settings) and using low prices as their core way of getting business (because that’s the only way they feel they can compete). I think that undermines the industry when those 3 things happen.

No matter what career path someone chooses, we all owe it to ourselves to invest in some level of education / learning / core understanding of that career choice. The 4 websites and the 4 YouTube Channels that go along with them below can make a huge difference if someone has chosen photography as their career.

Please note that NONE of these are affiliate links and that I have received no compensation for listing these sites.

Kelby Training

Kelby Training has a tremendous reputation in the industry.  The training is available as an annual subscription ( under $200 as of this post ) or as a monthly recurring fee.  You may also want to consider a NAPP Membership which is the National Association of Photoshop Professionals.  NAPP is tied to Kelby Training and can save you money on your Kelby Training membership.

Be sure to visit: The YouTube Channel for Kelby Training

Creative Live

Creative Live offers a lot more than just photography training, but since this post is about photography , I’ll stick to that topic.  With Creative Live, you can watch the event online for FREE on the day or days of the event.  You can purchase the event at a discounted rate prior to it starting through the end of the event. Shortly after the event is over, the price will likely go up.  The events are archived and you can purchase them individually at a later date.

Be sure to visit: The YouTube Channel for Creative Live

Karl Taylor Photography Masterclass

Karl Taylor is based in the UK. He has done an amazing job of putting together quality photography training. Karl Taylor offers photography training via DVD with worldwide shipping for Beginner, Advanced and Professional Photographers.  You can get several FREE online videos via email by simply providing your name and email address on this page of Karl’s website.

Be sure to visit: The YouTube Channel for Karl Taylor

Glyn Dewis Photographer, Retoucher, Trainer

Glyn Dewis is based out of the UK.  I am expecting Glyn to comment on this post once I let him know about it.  You see, my connection with Glyn shows how the power of the internet works.

I watched Glyn’s interview on Kelby Training and I highly recommend that you watch it as well once you sign up for Kelby Training.  After watching his interview which was the first time that I had ever heard of Glyn Dewis, I pinged him on Twitter, got a reply, then took that over to Facebook which Glyn and I have communicated on fairly regular since then.  Glyn even LIKED my Facebook page.

Now that my story with Glyn is out of the way, it’s time to talk more specifically about Glyn Dewis:  Based on what I remember from the interview, Glyn was doing retouching for other photographer’s who often asked him to work miracles on not so good photography.  Glyn decided to buy a camera and start doing photography himself.  Fast forward several years later and there you have it: Glyn Dewis Photographer, Retoucher, Trainer.

Speaking of Training, you should visit Glyn’s YouTube Channel.  Glyn conducts workshops in the UK and he has an online store on his website with some of his downloadable paid products.

Live Photography Workshops Around Raleigh NC Including Live One-to-One Photography Training

Now’s as good a time as any to put a quick plug in for my own photography training services.  I do teach live workshops as well as offer one-to-one photography training around the Raleigh NC area.  Travel is no problem either should you be interested in hosting a workshop in your city.  Be sure to visit my workshop page to learn more about the photography workshops that are offered or to contact me for one-to-one photography training.

Sometime in 2014, I hope to have several videos available including both FREE and paid versions.  Please be sure to join my list at the bottom of the workshops page to stay updated.

The post 4 Awesome Photography Websites and YouTube Channels That Will Help You Improve Your Skills first appeared on .

As a professional, I’ll admit that I still get some lucky shots like the one at the bottom right which you will learn more about later.  However, I rely mostly on skill because when getting paid to shoot, luck will just not cut it.  The image on the left was skill in knowing how to light the scene and use shallow depth of field.

What about AUTO MODE? Do you still shoot in auto mode on your camera letting that computer in your hand run the show instead of you?  Go ahead, set it on manual and try some new things.  Shoot some shots over exposed and under exposed to see what happens.  One good way to test this out is to put someone in front of a window when indoors.  When the camera does all the thinking, it exposes for the light not the subject.  Try exposing for the subject in manual and watch how the background blows out.  Another thing worth trying in manual mode is playing with your depth of field.  That’s the numbers on the lens.  On a Canon consumer kit lens that’s around f/3.5-5.6.  The lower the number the more the background is out of focus and the higher the number the more the background is in focus.

The image to the right of the mime was LUCK.  Yes, I’ll admit it.  That shot happened when my flash on my professional camera failed to fire.  I’ll take some luck shots every now and then, but at the end of the day, I have to rely on skill.  That’s another reason that I don’t shoot in auto mode:  I want my skill as a photographer to shine through and not let a computer in my hand do all the thinking.

If you are still shooting in auto mode and consider many of your shots luck over skill, you can change that by taking a photography workshop.  I do offer photography workshops in Raleigh or Wake Forest NC or you can find one in your area if you are not local to take one of mine.  At the very least, pick up a book on digital photography like this one by Scott Kelby or sign up for a free online course like this one from Karl Taylor.

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The post Is Your Photography Luck, Skill or Auto Mode? A Photography Workshop in Raleigh or Wake Forest NC Will Make It More Skill first appeared on .