These emails come with the intent of helping you be a better photographer. 

And if you want more photography stuff to read, there's a place on the interwebs where past emails I wrote are stored. You'll find 'em in the "Newsletter Hub." 

Remember, I'd like to know what you want to know about photography. So, If you have any questions, ask by sending an email to me at sam@samdamico.com. And for what it's worth. When you send me an email, unless someone's lookin' over my shoulder, I'm the only one that sees it.

Hello ,

Let's suppose you want to be a better photographer. 

In that case, it will help if you stop using fully automatic exposure mode, which takes your pictures instead of you making them.

It would also help if you learned about these three things:  

1. Metering
2. Exposure
3. Focusing

To get access to those camera functions, all you need to do is start working your camera in aperture priority (usually marked by A or AV), shutter priority (usually marked by S, T, or TV), or manual exposure mode (usually marked by S, T or TV). 

Check your owner's manual for where and how those settings appear on your camera and how to set them. 

When you get out of automatic exposure mode and start working in the other exposure modes mentioned, you get access to metering modes, focusing modes, and a bunch of different camera functions that enable you to control the compositional process.

Also, when you get control over the compositional process, you become better photographers, get the pictures you want instead of the images the camera gives you, and gain a confident understanding of the relationship between camera operation, light, and composition.  

If you don't know how to meter, forget manual exposure mode. 

Instead, work in the AV and TV modes and experiment with different metering patterns/modes and focusing modes and areas. 

When it comes to white balance, you can experiment with that, too. 

If you want more control over your photography, automatic exposure mode keeps you from doing that. 

Register for one of the upcoming Introduction To Photography if you want to learn to work in manual exposure mode. 

One starts on Wednesday, January 10, and the other on Sunday, January 14. 

The January 14th class has one spot left. 

Smaller classes mean better learning, So there are no more than five participants and me in each class. 

And remember, we learn and improve by doing, so practice making at least one picture today. 

That's all for now; thanks for reading! 
Sam

I'll help you be a better photographer—study and practice photography with me. 

And what if the timing doesn't work for you in any of my scheduled group classes? If that's the case, let's schedule a one-time lesson or a series of in-person or online private instruction that covers the same things as my group classes. 

Ways to work with me are listed below.

I look forward to helping you be a better photographer.

Best Regards, 

Sam