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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, .

The white balance settings on our digital cameras are similar to the color balance of films. If you need to become more familiar with making pictures using film, don't worry. 

The difference is that if we seek color correctness, we can change a setting on our digital camera instead of changing film or adding a filter to our lens. 

Yup. A digital camera makes things easier. One way it does this is by allowing us to change the white balance easily when working with the various colors of transmitting light sources.

The camera manufacturers set the white balance settings on most of our digital cameras to automatic by default. 

And most of the time, if we're looking for "color correctness," we ignore the white balance settings. 

However, when we ignore the white balance settings, we overlook a camera setting that can open up a new area of compositional possibilities.

Color is everywhere and affects us physically and emotionally. 

We can thoughtfully and intentionally incorporate color theory and psychology into our work. 

Color theory and color psychology deal with how color non-verbally creates moods conveys information and influences our choices.

We can see the importance of being thoughtful and intentional about using color in our work. 

While appropriate in many cases, color correctness may not be our best choice regarding personal expression. So, when appropriate, losing our white balance is a good thing.

If we've ignored the white balance setting on our camera, we've missed expanding our compositional tools. 

And the more tools we use, the more versatile and creative we are.

So, if you've been ignoring your white balance, pick up your camera and learn how to change its white balance settings. 

Beyond automatic, you'll probably see the following settings:

•  Shade
• Cloudy
• Flash
• Daylight
• Fluorescent
• Incandescent or Tungsten

Those settings describe the color temperatures of various transmitting light sources. They can be used to achieve color correctness or color shifts from red to blue.

An excellent way to start playing with the effects of white balance is to work with a consistent transmitting light source, compose a picture that includes something white, and then make a series of photographs, each using a different white balance setting.

The first place to look for the color shift is the white thing in your picture, so make sure the white thing is played prominently in the photograph. 

There are ways to learn photography with me, which are listed below.

Currently scheduled classes are below.

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.