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Hello, .

You know the adage, "Don't sweat the small stuff."

Please don't believe it. 

If we look at how life is constructed, it's made up of the small stuff that adds to the big stuff.

It's the tiny details that matter. 

As life goes, so does our photography. 

If we're not paying attention to the tiny details when creating our photographs, we'll fail to produce the excellent work we want to make.

When we create our photographs, we must pay attention to the details of the characteristics of the light we see and how it affects us, our intent of composition, and camera operation. 

And in each of those things, the small stuff yields big stuff. 

For example, regarding camera operation, what metering pattern do we use, and what do we meter? What about our focusing modes and areas? White balance? What aperture, shutter speed, and ISO do we use?  And don't forget about our exposure mode choice.  

All those things are equally important, but our exposure mode choice dictates whether we control the small stuff or have the camera do the work for us.

If we want to let the camera do it for us, fully automatic mode will take care of the small stuff that adds up to the picture we take. In that case, we don't sweat anything except framing and content and when to press the shutter release to make an exposure. We take what we get. Sometimes we like it, sometimes we don't. It's a crap shoot.

If we want to be the ones to pay attention to and control the small stuff, we've got to work in manual exposure mode. Manual exposure mode allows us to control the tiniest of details when it comes to the creation of our pictures. 

This level of detailed control allows us to produce one-of-a-kind compositions that are uniquely ours. In other words, we make pictures intentionally instead of taking pictures the camera gives us. We rely on our detailed minds instead of an unthinking machine. 

Our mind pays attention to the details and allows us to sweat the small stuff; in sweating the small stuff, we create the big stuff that is our picture. 

The world's best photographers all sweated the small stuff. They understood that there was nothing so small that it didn't deserve their attention because their attention to detail in all aspects of their work made their photography visually rich.

Sweat the small stuff and create the big stuff; 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.