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Grad Shot Image Used on National Geographic Big Cats Book Cover

William Douglas, owner of Liam Photography of Atlanta, Georgia, recently learned that an image he shot would be used on the cover of an upcoming National Geographic book on Big Cats. In 2015, Douglas earned an Associate of Science in Digital Photography from The Art Institute of Pittsburgh — Online Division.

Building a Career

William started his work in photography in the 1990, working as a traveling portrait photographer for Kmart. During that time, he traveled from Florida to Maine, snapping photos for stores before in-store studios existed. Today, his favorite types of photography are editorial and portraits. He also enjoys landscape and wildlife photography. “In 2015, I added a professional drone platform to my gear,” he says.

He was recently chosen to do a portrait shoot for “Cisco’s Women of Influence in I.T.” For this project, he took portraits of approximately 15 of Cisco’s management and executive level female employees. “Those images are being used on their corporate internal employee directory and some of their literature.”

William is also working on a personal project entitled “Forgotten Pieces of Georgia,” for which he’s traveling to all 159 counties in the state to photograph abandoned businesses. “I am planning to release the finished work as a photo book for sale on Amazon and other places.”

A Lifetime of Learning Through the Lens

He cautions that while it is exciting to see his images in print, photographers need to constantly check to be certain that their images are being used properly. He says that he’s had a business use his images without permission. William adds that when the National Geographic image was first sold, he was told it was for a small print ad. “I found out it was actually bought by National Geographic when I did an image search.”

His advice to current students: “Go for it! Learn as much as you can while in school and continue to learn outside of school as well.” William states that he reads many photography blogs and watches videos by professional photographers including Chase Jarvis, David Hobby, and Serge Ramelli. He adds that “You will not become an instant success in photography unless you get lucky. It takes dedication and work, lots of marketing and business sense, but it can be done.”

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