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 who sees it.

When you work with me, you'll get plenty of lessons that'll help you understand camera operation, composition, and light.

But there's one lesson we gotta learn on our own, and here's my story on how I learned it.

During a lesson, a participant asked me, "Was there a time during your photography career when you weren't happy with the pictures you made?"
 
The answer:
 
Yup — There were two times.

The first was when I didn't understand what I was doing with my camera.

The second is when I knew what I was doing with my camera, but as a new professional, I was more worried about what I thought the client wanted than doing what I thought would be best.

In other words, I was too busy looking for what I thought the client wanted instead of seeing the possibilities in front of me and making pictures based not on what I was looking for but on how I thought about what I saw.  

My behavior of making pictures for others and not for myself started to suck the enjoyment out of photography for me.

So, one day, during an assignment for a newspaper, I decided to make pictures that I thought the client would like and also made pictures that I wanted.

The pictures were visually as different as night and day, and the picture editor asked me if there was another photographer with me making pictures during the assignment, too.

I explained what I did during the assignment, and she reprimanded me for wasting time by making us both do double the work.

She mentioned that she thought the work I thought she would like paled compared to the ones I made for myself.

That editor taught me clients prefer to work with a photographer who produces uniquely composed pictures.

After that day, I never did work that I thought someone else would like.

Of course, we've gotta fulfill the specs of the assignment.

Still, we've gotta start and continue to work in a way that involves seeing instead of looking and making pictures that show how we think about what we're seeing instead of what we see or looking for what we thought the client would like to see.

If we're professionals, we've gotta make unique, interesting pictures that fulfill the client's specs on demand.

But they also need to meet our specs in terms of what we think'll make the best picture.

A client will work with us because our work has a unique, consistent look that is only possible if we stay true to our unique visual sensibilities and voice.  

Whether we're professionals or not, when we produce pictures showing how we think about what we see instead of what we see (or about what we think others want to see) and we understand enough about camera operation, composition, and light,  our work will automatically stand out from everyone else's work.

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The Photography Basics (Introduction To Photography) class starts soon. 
  
More 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 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.