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. 

Sometimes, if we use a shutter speed faster than we need, we may wind up affecting our picture in a way we don’t want.

For example, during today’s private lesson, the photographer I worked with explored the effect of shutter speed and its compositional relationship with blur.
 

To keep things simple, I used a modified approach to teaching tonal control in manual exposure mode, which I usually use during the first meeting of my Photography Basics (Introduction to Photography) class.

We start by setting the exposure mode to shutter priority.
 

Then, after the photographer focuses on my hand, I move it quickly.

We do this twice, using relatively slow and relatively fast shutter speeds.

The photographer made the first picture at 1/30 of a second, and my hand was recorded as a blur.

The second picture the photographer made used a shutter speed of 1/500 of a second, and my hand recorded

as static (appeared to show no blur).
 

Out of curiosity, the photographer made a third picture at 1/2000 of a second, and the picture, showing no blur, was the same as 1/500 of a second.

However, to achieve an equivalent tonality, the exposure increased by one stop with the aperture, and the ISO also increased by one stop.
 

That means to get the same effect in terms of no blur, we picked up more noise and a shallower depth of field.
 

The question then becomes, are we OK with the shallower depth of the field and more noise in exchange for a shutter speed that doesn’t affect the picture in terms of blur more than it did at the slower shutter speed?

In other words, when considering shutter speed and its role in our composition, is it better to go as fast as we can or as fast as we need?

The Photography Basics (Introduction To Photography) classes are starting soon.
 

If you can’t make any of those schedules, Private Lessons would be the way to go.

If none of my in-person ways of learning work for you, then you can study and practice at your own pace and on your own schedule by gaining access to the Introduction to Photography video tutorials on my Online Learning Platform for Photographers.

It’s the next best thing to taking an in-person class with me; you could even ask me questions, and members get exclusive access to all the other member-only educational content created to help you be the best photographer you can be.  

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

Access to this content and other content related to the photography classes I teach in person requires a membership, which costs $25 a month. (You can also join for free and get access to content that’s available to everyone.) 

Here’s the link: Online Learning Platform for Photographers 

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 in-person scheduled group classes? Then, in-person Private Lessons suited to your schedule are always an option.