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Hello, .

I don't know about you, but photography seems magical to me. 

Of course, it ain't magic; it's scientific—light waves, light-sensitive materials, electronics, mechanics, etc.

There's also the art part, personal expression, but art's a separate discussion.

But let's get back to the magic. 

I think it's magical that a photograph records a moment in time and fixes that moment in a physical two-dimensional form.  

And that magic happens when we press the button, usually with our forefinger, that sets the exposure process in motion.  

That button, by the way, is called a shutter release. Look it up in your owner's manual.

When we press the shutter release, the aperture changes to the size we set it to, and the shutter stays open for the amount of time we put it to, and the exposure gets made. 

A photograph is a recording of light onto light-sensitive material. Aperture and shutter speed are the two components of exposure and control the tonality (brightness of the image) as well as the depth of field and blur.  

We have a choice regarding how we choose to make an exposure. 

1. We can make it in a fully automatic exposure mode. 
2. We can make it in a priority exposure mode.
3. We can make it in a fully manual exposure mode. 

In order of the amount of creative control each of these choices gives us, from least to most, here's how it pans out:

Option one, the camera does everything except framing and content and when to press the shutter release for us. We have little creative control over the outcome of the picture. 

Option two is the camera does a lot less, and we do a lot more. We have a lot of creative control, but the camera still hinders our creativity. 

Option three, the camera does what we want it to do. We have all creative control. 

If we think of photography as magical, then we can think of photographers as magicians, and since every magician uses a wand, let's think of our exposure mode choices as our wand choices and the amount of magic we get out of that wand as our creativity.  

If our magic wand choice dictates the strength of our magic and we want the wand that'll allow us to produce the most versatile, most potent magic, then the clear choice is the wand representing option three, fully manual exposure mode.

Upgrade your wand and learn to use it wisely; the Introduction To Photography classes scheduled for March are now open for registration. Other scheduled group classes are below.

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

But smaller classes also mean spots fill up quicker. 

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

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.