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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, .

There's a saying that's been going around for about 2,000 years. 

"Care about other people's thoughts, and you will be their prisoner." 

Laozi, or Lao Tzu if ya wanna Romanize it, gets credit for that gold nugget of guidance.  

I think that's a good approach to our lives and our photography. 

But I'm not here to talk with you about life; however, if you're nearby and wanna have a drink and get philosophical, I'm game. 

But for now, let's stick to the photography stuff. 

Back to Laozi's wise words. 

The last thing we wanna do as photographers is be creatively imprisoned by what someone else thinks of our work.

I'm saying this from experience, and it's horrible. 

When this happens, we start producing pictures that we think will please others instead of pictures that please us.

Not only do we produce visually inconsistent work, but we also produce work that lacks the vitality and uniqueness that only shows itself when we produce work that reflects the unique way we think about what we're seeing. 

Another way to put it is that instead of making pictures that reflect how we think about what we're seeing, we attempt to do work that reflects how someone else would think about seeing what we see.

Good luck with that. 

Your pictures will lack what people appreciate about your work: your unique way of thinking about what you see.

Don't get me wrong, if we're working as a professional, we've gotta fulfill the job's requirements, but we do it in a way that's true to how we would've made the picture if we were making it for ourselves. 

And by the way, rules of composition qualify as a way of being imprisoned by what other people think of our work.

So, what should we care about? 

As photographers, we should care about effective visual communication through a picture.  

And this means caring about our ability to use a camera effectively. 

Do we understand how to use our camera to intentionally record and communicate with light?  

Do we understand the relationship between camera operation, elements of composition, and light?

How do we use our camera settings (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) and other settings, such as white balance, as compositional elements to express what we want to express? 

Don't worry about what other people think of your work. 

Care about skillfully communicating your intended expression visually with a camera. 

There are two more Introduction To Photography classes starting this week.  

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.