These emails come with the intent of helping you be a better photographer. But if you're tired of hearing from me, unsubscribe.

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, email 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, .

Nobody knows you better than you. 

William Shakespeare expressed that sentiment best; "To thine own self be true."

Not only is that good advice for living life, but it doesn't hurt when it comes to the pictures you want and what to do when making them; nobody knows better than you.  

And when it comes to critiquing your work and what you think you need to do to improve it, again, nobody knows better than you. 
 
Nobody knows better than us what we want to do and where we want to get to, but sometimes, we need guidance to move us along.

I know I did, and I imagine you're not much different than me when wanting to be a better photographer. 

We might need to improve in different areas of our studies and practice, but there's ALWAYS room for improvement.

But how do we know the best course of study and practice? 

We know through our struggles and mistakes. 

For example, it's a focusing issue if we struggle with picture sharpness. 

If we struggle with the entire picture being blurry, it's a shutter speed issue. 

If our pictures are too bright or dark, it's a tonality issue and can be several things. Still, tonality issues are most easily remedied by using an exposure mode that allows us to have complete control over the things that control tonality, which is aperture shutter speed and ISO, and getting more involved in metering. 

The things above are camera-operation related, but it doesn't hurt to have a good understanding of the characteristics of light. 

We can compose the pictures we want when we understand camera operation and light well. 

And remember, nobody knows better than you, especially when creating pictures. You know how to make the best picture possible based on your unique take on what you're seeing and how it should be expressed as a picture. 

Never doubt yourself when it comes to composing a picture.

As soon as a rule of composition enters your mind, you've doubted yourself. 

We may struggle with technique and camera operation but never doubt your personal, one-of-a-kind vision. And there's nothing like a compositional rule of photography that tosses a blanket over our vision. 

Anyone can learn to operate a camera. But no one thinks about what they see like you do. 

And when you photograph how you think about what you see instead of just what you see, you express yourself uniquely. 

It's not that we have a problem expressing ourselves uniquely; we have a problem with doing it through our cameras. And like I said before, anyone can learn camera operation. 

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.