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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."

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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 it comes to tonality (picture brightness), we gotta start somewhere, so we might as well start in the center.
 

The camera does it for us if we’re working in an automatic exposure mode.

If we’re working in manual exposure mode, we do this by metering and getting our exposure indicator to the middle.

That gives us a mid-tonality for whatever is influencing our metering pattern.

Our metering pattern matters.

Depending on the metering pattern we're using, everything in the viewfinder could influence a meter or a very precise area.

I always work with the smallest metering pattern possible, spot metering.

Since we can’t control tonality for everything in the picture, it only makes sense to maintain the tonality for the thing we’re interested in controlling tonality for ; that’s why using the smallest metering pattern we have available is essential.

But regardless of the metering pattern we use or what exposure mode we’re working in, we need to understand that we start with a mid-tonality.

We usually don’t like it, so we either increase or decrease the tonality to get the tonality we prefer.

Getting our preferred tonality is the first thing we should do regarding composition.

We always want to achieve a mid-tone first because it’s a known value, but we don’t always want to stay with that tonality.

We always start a photograph with the exposure indicator centered, which gives us a standard tonality or mid-tonality for whatever area of our viewfinder the meter is evaluating.

And from that center, we discover what’s possible in terms of composition.

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I’ve got Photography Basics (Introduction To Photography) classes starting soon. 
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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.