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. 

Special Notice(s)

(My email to keep you thinking about your studies and practice is below any special notices)

I hope you had an enjoyable Thanksgiving holiday.

We’ve got some catchin’ 

up to do!

I’ve added pictures to my website’s homepage (https:samdamico.com) and I’ve created a new class (Master Composition With Your Smartphone)

Copy and paste -20%

and you’ll save

yourself $70.00 when you register for my

Photography Basics/Introduction to Photography class.

End of the Special Notice(s)

————————

Recently, I worked with a high school student who needed some help with a homework assignment titled “Light and Shadow”.
 

But as we read the assignment and talked, it became clear the real lesson was about visual contrast.
 

Most of us tend to notice visual contrast first.
 

Things like black and white, tall and short, open and closed, rough and smooth, etc.

While I thought that was a great way to introduce and raise awareness of visual contrast, I was curious whether the teacher would allow photographs that represent conceptual contrast.

While working with the photographer, I introduced him to conceptual contrast and had him take both types of pictures during our time together.

Conceptual contrast is about ideas.

Things like love and hate, agreement and disagreement, fast and slow, more and less, old and new, happy and sad, hot and cold, etc.
 

What he discovered was that visual contrast often had a conceptual counterpart.
 

For example, if he were to make a portrait of someone and light them with side lighting, the lit side could represent knowing, and the shadowed side could represent not knowing.

I suggested he ask the teacher if she would allow photographs representing conceptual contrast; in short, the answer was no.
 

I got in touch with the student's parent to ask how he did on the homework assignment.

I was happy to hear he got an “A”.

The importance of homework can’t be overstated.
 

Homework helps us understand photography, develop our visual awareness and vocabulary, and find our unique approach to photography, including expanding our techniques and skills to express what we see through the photographs we create.

This is why you’ll get homework during my Photography Basics/Introduction to Photography class, or, if you prefer a more personal approach, you can take that class as a series of private lessons.

You can also study and practice at your own pace and get assignments on my Online Learning Platform for Photographers.

However we choose to learn, it’s important to take what we learn from our interactions with our teachers and apply it by doing the type of work we enjoy during our homework.
 

It’s one thing to be taught something; it’s another thing to learn it, and that’s where homework comes in.

The ways to study and practice photography with me are below.

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.

I keep my group classes small 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.