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.

Cleaning our lenses is a good idea, but cleaning them the right way takes that good idea and makes it better.
 

Because, considering the glass is delicate, if we don’t clean them the right way, we could do some damage to ‘em.

The trick is not to be careless and rough with them.

Here’s some help on making sure we give our lenses the respect they deserve when we’re cleaning them.

1. Prevention First

• When we’re not using a lens, we should put lens caps on the front and rear elements of the lens.
• A UV filter will do the trick to protect the lens's front element.
• Cleaning lenses too much can wear down their coatings; only clean them when they really need it.

2. Before Anything Else, Get Rid of the Dust

• Use a bulb blower to gently blow away loose dust and particles. (Although they sell these things in camera stores, I prefer the bulb syringe nasal aspirators they use for babies, a.k.a. snot suckers. You could get these in places like CVS, Walgreens, etc.)
• If there’s any leftover dust use a soft lens brush made for optics.
   

3. Clean Off the Smudges and Fingerprints

• Either lens cleaning tissue or a good quality, clean microfiber cloth will help do the job.
• Before cleaning, applying a few drops of lens cleaning solution on the cloth, never directly on the lens, is helpful.
• Working in a circular motion from the center of the lens outward, gently wipe the surface of the lens.

4. For Those More Stubborn Spots

• A lens cleaning wipe that’s pre-moistened and safe for coated optics works pretty good.
• Make sure not to press too hard-we gotta let the lens cleaning solution do most of the work for us.
   

5. Give Some Extra Respect to the Rear Element

• We gotta be careful with the lens and avoid touching the glass with our fingers.
• Use the same blower → brush → microfiber techniques mentioned above.
• Oil or dirt on the rear element could drastically reduce image quality, so we gotta be extra careful with that area of our lens.

6. 6. Give It a Final Once-Over (Inspection)

• Under good light, give the lens a tilt to check for smudges and streaks.
• If we gotta repeat the process, do it gently -don’t scrub, remember, we ain't cleanin’ a bathroom floor.
   

Avoid

• A big no-no is household cleaners ( stuff like Windex, vinegar, and alcohol are verboten). If we do that, we might as well use steel wool instead of a lens-cleaning tissue or a microfiber cloth.
• Another bad idea is using tissues and paper towels. These seemingly soft things can scratch delicate lens coatings.
• Although it’s usually a good idea to breathe, our moist breath can leave minerals behind. Those minerals are great for us, but aren’t so good for lenses.

When we take care of our lenses, they take care of our Photography studies and practice.
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In addition to the In-person ways to learn photography with me listed below, I’ve got collections of tutorials on my Online Learning Platform for Photographers that’ll help you learn to be a better photographer.

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 Photography Basics (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.