Did You See That?
You probably did.
But you probably didn’t see it in the same way that I did.
When it comes to your photography, show how you see instead of what you see.
It’s how we see that makes us distinct as photographers.
Visit samdamico.com to see Sam’s photographs and to take a photography class.
Three Sure-Fire Ways To Make Money With Your Camera
There are three sure-fire ways to make money with your camera.
Sell your camera.
Rent your camera to other photographers.
Become a professional photographer.
Click here if you want to become a professional photographer.
Know Your Rights As A Photographer
An informational piece from the ACLU (American Civil Liberties Union) about your rights as a photographer.
http://www.aclu.org/free-speech/know-your-rights-photographers
Here’s one from Bert P. Krages II, an attorney, that you can download and carry with you.
http://www.krages.com/phoright.htm
A Photographer’s Raw Material, Continued
This is a follow up post to last weeks entry titled A Photographers Raw Material .
A photographer’s raw material is light. You can’t touch it with your hands. You can’t smell it with your nose. You can’t taste it with your tongue, You can’t hear it with your ears.
You can see light with your eyes and [...]
The Worth of Your Work, aka “Content”, In The Digital Age.
The hypocrisy and greed of these corporations is astounding.
Looking For Your Photographic “Style” ?
Trying to find your style is like a dog chasing its tail. You’re trying to catch something that you already have.
I think a good analogy is verbal communication. We speak with each other to communicate. We effectively get our points across without thinking of ,or trying to find, a ‘style’ of speaking.
Photography is visual communication. [...]
Light
It’s what you really work with. Your camera records light. Without light you have nothing to photograph. As a photographer, you use your camera to record light.
As a photographer you should begin to see everything as a light source.
To be more specific you should learn to observe light sources that illuminate, or transmit light, and light sources that reflect [...]
Drawing Inspiration – Grey Villet
Drawing Inspiration – Grey Villet
Drawing Inspiration is a series of posts dedicated to photographers who have inspired me.
If possible, I’ve included a quote and a link to their work.
..as real as you can get it… I hate to set up stuff. I’d much rather let people act as they are, and reflect that. If I’ve [...]
Photograph Manipulations Before Photoshop
Photographers were manipulating photographs long before Photoshop.
Go see the show Faking It: Manipulated Photography before Photoshop, at the National Gallery of Art.
The show runs from February 17–May 5, 2013.
Drawing Inspiration – Garry Winogrand
Drawing Inspiration – Garry Winogrand
Drawing Inspiration is a series of posts dedicated to photographers who have inspired me.
If possible, I’ve included a quote and a link to their work.
“Photographers mistake the emotion they feel while taking the picture as judgment that the photograph is good.”- Garry Winogrand
http://www.atgetphotography.com/The-Photographers/Garry-Winogrand.html
Who are the photographers that inspire you?
Please leave your [...]
It’s Impossible
It’s impossible for any of us to be the one and only best photographer in the world.
Lee Friedlander, Helen Levitt, Harry Callahan, Ansel Adams, Henri Cartier Bresson, Duane Michaels, Robert Frank, Amy Arbus; these are some of the best photographers in the world, but none of them are THE best.
What they are the best at is [...]
The Amateurs Are Ruining This Business
A classic rant by the prolific and award winning writer, Harlan Ellison. Not for those easily offended by coarse language. Replace the word “writer” with “photographer”. I wish more photographers had his attitude.
Compositional Attitudes
I’ve been catching some flak about my attitude toward composition.
Some photographers believe that you should first learn and follow rules. I’m not one of those photographers, and I’m not alone.
There was a reply to Photographic Composition: Rules Versus Elements that prompted me to research what other photographers thought about rules of composition.
Here’s one from a name you may recognize.
“There [...]
Photographers: Know Your Rights
A downloadable PDF flyer from Bert P. Krages II, Attorney at Law, explaining your rights when stopped or confronted for making pictures.
Get it here and carry it with you so when some lower-level security and law enforcement officials acting way beyond their authority confront you, you know where you stand legally.
Some Thoughts On Shutter Speed
Shutter speed is a part of exposure.
You can set your shutter speed to vary the amount of light that falls onto your light sensitive material of choice.
Longer/slower shutter speed = more exposure = brighter picture
Shorter/faster shutter speed = less exposure = darker picture
Sometimes when I give a review during my photography classes, photographers get the shutter speeds [...]
“I Want My Pictures To Look Like The Way Things Really Are”
If you were in one of my photography classes and, while we were reviewing your work, you were to state that “I want my pictures to look like the way things really are”, I would ask ”the way things really are to who?”
My question is meant to spur a conversation about seeing and perception.
While we may [...]
Your Camera Owners Manual: The Lite Version Versus The Full Version
Many of the printed manuals manuals that come with todays cameras are an abbreviated version of the full manual.
Do You Hate Your Flash?
You’re not alone.
Many good photographers hate to use flash.
The flash is either too bright, or too dark, or looks too ‘flashy’.
Photographers usually avoid using flash because of their strong aversion to the “look of flash” or because they don’t understand how to use it…read more
Don’t Give Your Good Work To Bad Photography Contests
We’ve all entered photography contests before, but did you realize that some contests actually take your work away from you? I don’t just mean the physical picture or digital file, I mean the copyright to your work or a substantial part of it.
This is good for the folks running the contest, bad for photographers who [...]
Are You Taking Pictures Or Making Pictures?
The words we choose are important and they can change your mind when it comes to your photography.
Pen Is To Writer As Camera Is To Photographer
Although we’re working with a camera, we’re using the camera to record light much like a writer uses a pen to record their words.
The Camera – It’s Only A Tool
I talk about the camera as doing three things and, in order to help photographers to begin to develop a thought process behind their pictures, these three things MUST be done in consciously by the photographer .
Don’t Believe Your Photography Teacher
Don’t believe what I, or any of your other teachers, tell you.
