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, .

If I had to guess, the most frequently asked question about what we see on the back of our cameras when we look at the displayed information when reviewing a created picture would be about the histogram.
 
In short, a histogram is a graph that gives us information about the tonality of our photograph. 
 
We should be able to display it when reviewing our pictures on our camera and in photo editing software.
 
The horizontal orientation of the histogram gives us information about brightness.

In many cameras, the left part of the histogram starts at the left black with no detail (0% brightness), and the right amount ends at white with no detail (100% brightness). 
 
The vertical orientation tells us how many pixels are a specific brightness. A histogram also shows the color distribution, usually in terms of RGB (Red, green, blue). 
 
I understand that we can manipulate the histogram in photo editing software. 
 
I don't use the histogram to evaluate my picture or use it to control the image in editing software. 
 
Learning photography with film has made me a "keep it simple" photographer. 
 
And my background in photojournalism also has something to do with that. 
 
Anyway, I don't use the histogram at all. 
 
And while I can understand the value of using the histogram, 
I prefer to let whatever I get as a picture on whatever light-sensitive material I'm using be the final version of the image. 
 
There's no manipulation except for changing file types, from a RAW file to a TIFF or JPEG.
 
And when it comes to evaluating my picture?

I use my picture to evaluate my picture.
 
After all, what will I  display? 
 
A  histogram representing a limited characteristic of the picture or the created picture?
 

If you need help to improve your photography, I'm hereto help you.

And working in  manual exposure mode is the best way.

If you want to learn to work that way, I've got an Introduction to Photography class scheduled. 

If the schedule doesn't work for you, we can always schedule a series of private lessons. to teach you the same stuff.

And remember.

This is gonna be an excellent day for making making peak fall foliage photographs. 

So why not do that with me and learn how to be a better photographer during my Washington DC Fall Foliage, Architecture, and Street Photography Excursions.

Bring whatever camera you use, and let's make unique pictures of the vibrantly colored foliage before it falls from the branches and becomes ground cover.  

I hope you've been studying and practicing your photography.

The ways to study and practice photography with me are below.

Call me if you need help determining the best course for you.

I'll help you be a better photographer—study and practice photography with me. 

Currently scheduled classes are below.

Smaller classes mean better learning, so class sizes are limited to 5 participants plus me.

But smaller classes also mean spots fill up quicker, so sign up soon. 

And what if the timing doesn't work for you in any of my scheduled group classes? Private in-person or online lessons suited to your schedule are always an option. 

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