Sam offers in-person and online photography instruction. Call him at 202-531-2344 to see how he can help
you.
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, . Yesterday, I worked with a photographer who wanted to learn about photography using the camera on their phone. It was a one-hour in-person private lesson in the Mount Pleasant neighborhood of Washington, DC, and the lesson was a gift from his son in the form of a gift certificate. As I usually do of everyone when I first meet them and start a lesson, I asked him to make a picture.
He made a picture of the interior of the coffee shop/cafe where we met.
When I asked him what he thought of it, a
self-critique, he felt the picture wasn't what he had hoped. I wondered why it wasn't working for him, and he explained the picture didn't "feel" like what he had experienced when he had seen what he saw.
I assured him that's the challenge we all face: how do we communicate the feeling we have when we see something to photograph in a photograph?
In other words, what is it specifically we're seeing, and how does it make us feel or think?
When he expressed his feelings about
the coffee shop, I asked him what he saw that initiated that feeling. When he described what he saw, he realized that although that visual element was in the picture, it was represented as an insignificant visual element of the image.
And in doing that, he answered his question on how he could've improved the picture.
That's the value of a self-critique.
In terms of the context of the lesson, which was based on my Learn To Think Like A Photographer class, it was a framing and content issue.
When he suggested he could blow up and crop the picture to how he thought it would work, I encouraged him to do so, and I agreed that the picture worked much better.
I also reminded him that when we enlarge a picture to crop it, the image quality
suffers.
But the main thing is that the cropped image he showed me could have been made when he made the original picture.
He went on to say that this was a usual thing for him. He gets the impulse to make a picture because he sees something that gets his attention.
Still, the image doesn't represent whatever he saw that initiated the impulse to make a picture.
In other words, he sees something he feels would make a good photograph, but his photograph doesn't
represent the thoughts and feelings that made him make the picture.
Another way to put it is the picture doesn't communicate what he intended it to communicate.
The difficulty and the solution are recognizing the specific visual elements we're seeing that initiate the impulse to make a photograph, examining the thoughts and feelings surrounding what we're seeing, and then arranging the framing and content accordingly.
I refer to that part of the compositional process as
"seeing and thinking"; we see something we think would make a good photograph, so we get out our camera to create a picture.
But if we fail to realize how what we see makes us think and feel, we make an empty feeling photograph because it lacks the intent of the communication.
When I asked him what he visually connected with and the thoughts and feelings surrounding that, he started describing a different image than the one he made.
The point is that he
could've made that picture.
Still, he needed to realize what he was visually connecting with, his thoughts and feelings around it, and how to arrange it as content within the frame best and adjust his framing and content accordingly.
We also discussed how to use focusing and tonality to support his communication intent.
In that hour, we covered all aspects of an excellent compositional thought process and the camera operation required to achieve the composition we
want; we covered seeing and thinking, framing and content, focusing, controlling tonality, and then critiquing.
Even though we used the camera on his phone, we covered the same thought process that applies to any camera we use, even more complex ones, like DSLRs and mirrorless cameras.
Although I wouldn't recommend taking the Learn To Think Like A Photographer class with a DSLR or mirrorless camera, you can but at the minimum, you'll need to know how to work your camera in the aperture and shutter priority exposure modes and learn how to focus effectively.
But if you want to learn about camera operation, composition, and light, in that case, you'd be better off taking the Getting To Know Your Camera or Introduction To Photography classes because the Learn To Think Like A Photographer class is naturally baked into those classes.
You can study and practice photography with whatever camera you have.
The main thing is understanding the connection between skillful
camera operation, composition, and the thoughts and feelings about the light you see.
When I asked the photographer what the most important thing he got out of the lesson was, his answer was "thinking of a photograph as a means of intentional communication."
That's it right there!
The camera is a tool we use to create intentional visual communication. And we need to learn to use the tool thoughtfully and effectively.
The next series of the Introduction to Photography class starts in February. And there are other scheduled group classes 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.
About
Sam Sam D'Amico, a professional photographer and photography instructor, helps anyone who wants to be a better photographer. He'll work with his students to increase their understanding of camera operation, composition, light, and lighting. Sam started working as a professional photographer in the mid-1980s. Most notably, from 1992 to 1997, while working as a freelance photographer, he photographed over 500 assignments for the New York Times. Additionally, Sam received awards for his work while exhibiting his photographs in shows. Sam began
teaching photography professionally in 1998 through the Highland Park, N.J. recreation department. In 2002 Sam moved to Washington, D.C., and began teaching at the accredited
Washington School of Photography in Bethesda, Md. It was in 2003 that Sam developed his curriculum and started teaching classes in Washington, D.C. In 2018 and 2022, the Sam D'Amico Photography Classes were voted the "Best of DC" art class by the readers of the Washington City Paper. Many photography teachers spend a lot of time teaching about DSLRs and rules of composition that create homogenized, rigid photographs. On the other hand, Sam teaches about camera operation, thought process, and the individual photographer's visual communication intent. This approach to teaching allows his students to use ANY camera (yes, even the camera on their phone) and break free of the rules of composition. Approaching the creative process this way allows for fluid and spontaneous photographs unique to the photographer creating them. Sam encourages his students to find their ways as photographers. He instills the skills in his
students that result in creative, engaging, and unique compositions that reflect the photographer's intended one-of-a-kind visual expression.
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