Sam D’Amico Photography Classes

I took the Introduction to Digital Photography class, and it was great. This is one of the only classes advertised that let me in the door with my fancy point and shoot. Sam didn’t mind at all that I didn’t have a full DSLR since my camera ran in manual mode. Sam breaks down the concepts in easy to understand ways; he tells you the math if that makes sense to you, he draws you a picture if that works better, etc. He doesn’t believe in rules, which can be hard because it forces students to think about what we’re doing and why we want to do it that way. He is also incredibly patient and will answer all questions to the best of his ability. I only wish he taught photo editing so I don’t have to find somewhere else to learn that.

Sam is awesome! I took his Intro class a couple years ago, and found him to be a great teacher. Extremely patient, friendly and knowledgeable. Over the course of the next 2 years, I took advantage of various «Groupon» offers for other photo classes at different companies. NONE of them compared to Sam’s. I realized what a great teacher I had and said «to hell with Groupons!» and signed up for a 2^nd class with Sam, which I took yesterday. Once again, I was blown away by his skill at explaining the concepts in a way that I could easily understand.
Never underestimate the power of a great teacher. Now, I need to go practice…

I recently took the light and color class and I was impressed beyond my expectations. Sam is a great instructor: he’s very knowledgeable and is able to transfer this knowledge to his students. He’s also keen on challenging them and making sure they leave with something new they learned. I had attended other classes with several photography schools in DC and I have to say, this is my favorite so far. I would highly recommend it and I’m looking forward to taking more classes with Sam.

A few weeks ago, I enrolled for the Business of Photography class. It’s a 3 hour session, and it was well worth it. In fact, I was the only person in the class so I could ask Sam all the questions I had personally. I learned a lot about the industry as well as how to price my photography and take care of tax issues. The copyright information was also very helpful. This is just a few of the many topics that we discussed. If you’re thinking of starting a business and have no idea how to get started, this is a great class to take.

I took this workshop and was disappointed.
I think this would be good for someone who has zero experience with learning about photography, as he does go over the basics and mechanics at a slow place. I liked that he asked us to bring in photos we liked or were frustrated with. However, when it came to mine, the only solution he had was to tell me to carry around a supplemental flash which isn’t really practical unless you’re a hardcore photographer.
As someone who had taken a photo 101 class before, it didn’t really expand my knowledge beyond that. I was also surprised that the syllabus indicated we would go on a field trip but at the first class Sam said «well, we’re not going to do that because it hasn’t been good in the past.» Okay, so why leave it on the syllabus? Seemed lazy to me. By the time we got to the last session, we’d kinda run out of things to talk about. I would have preferred something a bit cheaper and shorter or more fast-​paced.
Also– note that you REALLY need to have a fairly fancy camera that will let you do things manually. Some other students seemed to drop out after the first class because they didn’t have the right kind of camera.

I couldn’t agree more with the reviews from William and Alecia.
Before buying my dSLR I did an exhaustive amount of research, but when started using it I ended up with a lot of snapshots that were indistinguishable from what I was doing with point and shoot before. What I wanted was someone to help me understand how the camera would allow me to be more creative. Sam’s class did just that.
There are really three things that make the class work. First, the subject matter is logically organized so each new topic builds on the last. This class gives a great overview of what your camera will do and how it does it. The amount of information covered makes the class an excellent value; while the tempo of the class meant there was always time for questions or examples and you never feel rushed out the door. Second, Sam’s teaching style emphasizes thoughtful explanation, conversation with his students, real life examples, and patience. If you enjoy lectures and text books, this class isn’t for you. Finally, Sam is great at incorporating what you are learning into classroom exercises so you can learn by doing and «homework» (gasp) assignments that are fun. This helped me learn the material and how to apply it. The manual mode on my camera has been demystified.
I think the hallmark of a great class is that you look forward to it, and every Tuesday I looked forward to Sam’s class. Initially I had planned to take intro, but I enjoyed it so much I have signed up to take intermediate as well. I really can’t recommend him enough.

I am new to digital photography. I took a film photography class at Glenn Echo a few years ago and was completely confused by the (lack of) instruction. I have heard similar stories about teachers at Smithsonian and other programs. The fact is that excellent photographers don’t necessarily make for excellent teachers.
Sam is an *incredibly* thoughtful, kind, and knowledgeable teacher. The classes are limited to 8 people (which is exceptionally small) but mine is only 4 people. Sam knows his stuff, but he isn’t critical, takes as much time as you need to figure things out. He also has a phenomenal depth of knowledge — but trust me — if you are in an intro class, he doesn’t blow past the fundamentals to get to what he wants to talk about.
There may be better teachers in the DC area, but — trust me — 95 percent (or greater) of them are worse. I am taking an intro class but I am already sold on the intermediate.
Alecia has Sam down cold in her review. You learn about aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, metering, licensing, software, white balance, bracketing, lighting, the zone system and more.
Lots of teachers will try to teach you composition or «dark room» but if you want to learn the absolute fundamentals (and more) of how to take dSLR or film photos, this is an amazing class taught buy a full time photographer, photojournalist and teacher.
ps. I’m in a career with zero technical skills, and if he can teach me — he can teach you!
Thanks Sam!

This past Saturday was my last session of the 4-​week intro to photography workshop with Sam. Sam was an excellent instructor who also teaches a class at WSP. He was insightful and informative. He was able to answer just about all of my questions and taught me things that I never would have picked up on my own.
Being the only person in the workshop was pretty cool. Our time was spent discussing my photos — what worked, what/​why it didn’t work, what I should have done to improve the shot, tips on apertures, shutter speeds, dof, and more importantly metering. We also discussed some of the after stuff — like licensing and storage for photos and what software to use for editing and whatnot. Very helpful.
I have the artsy fartsy composition stuff down, it was mostly the technical stuff I had little knowledge of before Sam. I highly recommend his workshops if you have the time. :-) Thanks Sam.