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My experience with a photographer I worked with today during a private lesson inspired today’s email; the subject line is a tip of the hat to a Talking Heads album.

Whatever we’re photographing, we’re always working with light.

Light is our raw material, and just as a potter needs to become familiar with the clay they’re working with or a chef needs to become familiar with the food they’re working with, we’ve got to become familiar with the light we’re working with.

We do that in two ways: we do it through camera operation, using metering to evaluate the intensity, and we also do it by observing and describing the light's other characteristics.

Wherever we go, whatever we do, we always remain in light.

During the lesson it became apparent that observing and describing light characteristics are important. 

The photographer visited Ecuador and showed me pictures related to the visit.

One question they had was why some pictures were darker than others, even though the subject matter and the camera settings ( Aperture, shutter speed, and ISO ) were the same.

In this example, the subject was monkeys,

They showed me one picture where the tonality worked well.

In other words, the camera settings the photographer used were adequate to see the monkey and other essential elements in the photograph.

The photographer then showed me dark pictures, so dark that we could barely see anything in them.

The subject and camera settings were the same, so what happened?

What happened was that the light that the photographer was working in changed.

The photographer's first series of pictures had good tonality and appropriate settings to get that tonality, and he made those pictures while remaining in brighter transmitting/illuminating light intensity than the dark ones.

The photographer made the pictures that looked good in a clearing, which means an area without a tree canopy.

On the other hand, the photographer made the photographs that were too dark in an area with a canopy of trees.

Of course, the canopy of trees made for darker lighting conditions.

The issue was that the photographer neglected to adjust their aperture, shutter speed, and ISO in response to the darker lighting conditions.

This is a perfect example of why we need to be aware of the light we’re working with and its characteristics.

Knowing the characteristics of light and observing and describing them helps us understand what aperture, shutter speed, and ISO are needed to achieve our desired compositions.
 

I’ve got a collection of tutorials on my online learning platform for photographers that’ll help you learn to observe and describe the characteristics of light.

Access to this content and other content related to the photography classes I teach in person requires a membership, which costs $25 a month.

As one member told me, it’s cheaper than their weekly coffee habit, and more useful than any YouTube videos they’ve watched, especially since they could ask me questions.

Here’s the link:Online Learning Platform for Photographers

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The Introduction To Photography classes are starting soon.
 

If the schedules don’t work for you, we could arrange a series of private lessons covering the same material.

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Become a better photographer by joining my Online Learning Platform for Photographers – Study and practice at your own pace with access to exclusive content, assignments, and feedback.

The Photography Basics (Introduction To Photography) group classes starts soon or you can learn the same stuff as a series of Private Lessons.
  
More ways to study and practice photography with me are below.

Call me at (202) 531-2344 if you need help determining the best course for you.

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A note about group class sizes: Did you know that some places that teach photography have up to 25 students in each class? 

Bigger ain't always better.

That's why I limit my group classes to no more than five participants because smaller classes make for better, more effective, and more efficient learning experiences.

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

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

Currently scheduled classes are below.

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.