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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.

A question I get asked a lot is what really makes a photograph "good"? 

Is it if a lotta people like it?  

Is it ensuring we check all the boxes on the "rules" of composition cheat sheet?

Is it that the histogram looks a certain way?  

Let's start with what DOESN'T make a good photograph:

• It ain't what impresses our social media friends.
• Neither is it what impresses the photography alpha dog at a camera club.
• It's most definitely not what gets oohs and aahs from our relatives.
• Suppose we're professionals, especially if we're licensing rights-managed stock photography. In that case, it's also not if it impresses our market, leads, or list, although theirs is the opinion that counts (they might "like" our picture, but did they "purchase a license" to use it?)

I'd make the argument that in order to determine what makes a good photograph, we've gotta ask ourselves the following question:

Did the photograph come out as we intended?

If we answer "yes," then it's good, or at least good enough.

Not that it can't probably be better, but if the best composition we can possibly get, It'll communicate what we wanna communicate.

If we answer "no," then we've gotta ask more questions.

• Is our tonality too bright or dark because of too much or too little exposure or two high or low ISO?
• Did we focus and achieve sharpness where we wanted?
• Did we choose the appropriate combination of aperture, shutter speed, and ISO to get the depth of field, blur, and noise we wanted?
• How's our framing and content?

But after all is said and done, if a "good" photograph is the target, then our intended composition is the bullseye.

When it comes to hitting the bullseye, we'll need consistent and persistent study and practice and an understanding of camera operation, composition, and light (photography).

Our exposure mode choices have a lot to do with our percentage of accuracy when it comes to creating the pictures we want.

By far, manual exposure mode gives us the highest accuracy percentage; I'd say it's 100%.

And it's 100% because we have control over every aspect of camera operation, and when we have that, we have the most control over our compositions as possible.

Couple that with understanding the light we're working with, and we can visualize our picture before we make the exposure.

There's no tips, tricks, or rules that create good pictures.

The only thing that makes good pictures is good photographers using their cameras thoughtfully and skillfully.

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The Photography Basics (Introduction To Photography) classes 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.

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.

And remember, we learn and improve by doing, so practice making at least one picture daily.