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. 

When I start working with photographers who wanna be better photographers, we’ve gotta go over camera operation, composition, and light.

And when I say camera operation, that includes lenses.

Although our lens is usually separate from our camera, especially in more complex camera systems, it is an important compositional element that we’ve gotta consider because it helps us express our unique visual voice.

The Lens Lowdown

A lens is a transparent optical device with at least one curved surface that refracts (bends) light to sharpen (focus) or diffuse it, resulting in a formed image.

It helps to think of a lens in terms of a human eye.

• When it comes to focusing, the human eye and a camera’s lens focus light and create images using lenses. Additionally, the eye's lens and cornea function in a similar way to the lens systems on our cameras.

• Our eyes control light intake through our pupil, while the lenses on our cameras control light intake through the aperture/F-stop. The light being taken in falls on the retina in our eye or on a sensor when using a digital camera or film when using a camera using film.

• Our eyes and camera lenses adjust focus for objects at different distances, our eyes by changing the shape of the lens by using muscles, and the camera by moving lens elements or changing the distance focused on.

Unless we're using a pinhole camera, the light we use to make a photograph usually passes through a lens.

But sharpness (focusing) is only one of the things we should consider.

There’s also a lens’s focal length, which deals with the angle of view, and the aperture, which deals with exposure.

So Which Lens Is Best?

The short answer is whichever one you got with you.

In other words, there is no best lens for certain types of subjects.

For example, I imagine we’ve all heard that we’re supposed to use a certain focal length for portraits, landscapes, or whatever other subject matter we could think of. We’ll do ourselves a big favor if we don’t buy into that who-ha.

We’ve Gotta Make the Most With Our Lens

We can stop our worrying about having the "best" lens, just use whatever when you got to make pictures of all the types of subject matter you want.

Study and practice with it.

Get to know it.

See how close you can focus, pay attention to the angle of view (focal length) and what you could include in terms of framing and content because of that angle of view, what’s the range of apertures?

Whether it’s a fixed-focal-length lens or a variable-focal-length lens (zoom lens) doesn't matter.

When we understand whatever lens we have, we understand all lenses.

If you wanna get comfortable using your camera and lens effectively, that’s what my  Photography Basics (Introduction To Photography) class is all about.

If you need a more tailored course of instruction, consider Private Lessons or my Online Learning Platform for Photographers.

However you choose to study and practice with me, I'll help you be a better photographer— using whatever camera and lens lens you got.

Stay curious, keep making pictures, and if you've got something you wanna ask me about photography, just reply to this email and let me know.

I'll help you be a better photographer—study, and practice photography with me.

There’s lots of ways to learn photography with me below.

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 schedule by joinining me 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.