February 2016

Lessons in Lightroom from Nigella.
Lessons in Lightroom from Nigella.
February 28, 2016 In Blog No Comment

I’ve been binge watching cooking shows during the summer. Nigella, Jamie, Anthony and Man vs Food (don’t judge me) are a few of my faves. Food porn is awesome. I watch in a Homer Simpson style stupor “mmmmmm donuts….” and the great thing about these shows is I can gorge on them all summer long and still fit into my jeans at the end of it.

So aside from learning how to make chocolate filled donuts using a brioche pastry (the secret to a good brioche is chilling it overnight), I also realised that many of the principles used to create amazing meals can also be applied to the way we edit our photos.

1. You can’t make a Filet Mignon with Spam

I’m yet to hear Nigella, Jamie or Anthony utter the words: “just start with the cheapest ingredients, canned, packet, freeze dried is fine. Forget about the preparation, whack it all together and she’ll be right, we can fix any mistakes after, lovely jubbly!” That was my Jamie Oliver impersonation, in case you were wondering.

The thing that all great chefs agree on is that a meal can only ever be as good as the raw ingredients you . . .

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Ep 62 Bargain Hunter: How to buy new and used photography gear and what to watch out for
Ep 62 Bargain Hunter: How to buy new and used photography gear and what to watch out for
February 25, 2016 In Podcast No Comment

Photography can be an expensive hobby. But it doesn’t have to be if you make some smart buying decisions.

In this episode, Gina and Valerie – who both love a bargain – discuss when you should buy new and when it’s smarter to buy secondhand. Gina reveals her negotiating tips for buying new. And provides a smart framework on which to base your decisions if you’re buying secondhand. You’ll discover: the questions to ask, how to check lenses, what to look out for and telltale signs that you’re buying a dud.

#ginachallenge #bargain

Click play to listen to the podcast or find it on iTunes here. If you don’t use iTunes you can get the feed here, or listen to us on Stitcher radio.

Show notes Useful links

Snickers Just Turned the Photoshop Fail Into an Ad

Listener question

From Beth Lacelle Alexander

I volunteer every week at my local SPCA by taking photographs of their animals in hopes that a great profile pictures will help them find forever homes. This week I had the pleasure of playing with kittens!

I decided that I wanted to try . . .

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Ep 61 Let there be light! Lighting kits for all levels and every budget
Ep 61 Let there be light! Lighting kits for all levels and every budget
February 18, 2016 In Podcast 5 Comments

When you want to take your photography to the next level, one of your first purchases is a lighting kit. But this can be a daunting prospect. There are so many options, so many brands, and umpteen accessories to choose from. So what’s the best way to ensure you have the right lighting kit?

In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss what your first lighting purchase should be if you’re a newbie. And then the accessories you can add to this as you progress as a photographer. If you’re a pro-photographer, Gina reveals the equipment you need if you want to get serious. We outline lighting kits at $200, $400, $700, $1500, $3000 and $7000 depending on your budget and experience.

#ginachallenge #seeinglight

Click play to listen to the podcast or find it on iTunes here. If you don’t use iTunes you can get the feed here, or listen to us on Stitcher radio.

Show notes Listener question

Hi Gina! Going out on a limb here and hoping you can help!

BTW, you and Valerie are doing a fantastic job with the podcast! I’m learning a lot (even though I’m playing . . .

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What are you looking at?
What are you looking at?
February 13, 2016 In Blog No Comment

We spend a great deal of time taking care of our lenses, camera bodies, lights and accessories but very little thought goes into taking good care on the one item that makes it possible to do our job well: our eyes.

For every hour spent shooting there is usually two hours spent editing and that means spending long nights staring at a computer screen, which may lead to irreparable eye damage.

I’m a huge fan of alternative health hacks and the other day I heard a fantastic interview with Dr John Dewitt who had the following tips to maintaining great eye health when spending long hours staring at a screen.

Try these out next time you’re pulling an all nighter editing photos. Your eyes will love you for it.

Blink 20

Did you know that when staring at a screen most people blink 66% less than they should be. This ends up causing eyes to dry out and become irritated because it’s blinking that keeps our eyes lubricated.

I keep a post it note on the edge of my screen that says “blink 20” reminding me to blink more and keep my eyes hydrated.

Far and away . . .

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Ep 60 Here’s looking at you kid: How to get your photos published online and in print
Ep 60 Here’s looking at you kid: How to get your photos published online and in print
February 11, 2016 In Podcast No Comment

You love photography and you’re taking a bunch of awesome shots. But you want to showcase your images beyond your Instagram. In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss the steps you need to take to get your photos published in magazines, newspapers and online. Gina reveals the key actions she’s taken to become a successful photographer. And Valerie, who is a former photo editor and magazine editor, reveals what editorial teams look for when choosing shots to publish.

#ginachallenge #lookatme

Click play to listen to the podcast or find it on iTunes here. If you don’t use iTunes you can get the feed here, or listen to us on Stitcher radio.

Show notes Useful links

Yongnuo LED Light

A peek inside the camera bags of some of the best photographers in the world.

Lightroom Book

Lightroom Power User: 148 Pages of Tips & Tricks to Supercharge Your Lightroom Experience Promo code: beaphotographer for 10% off

Shout Outs MacGyver of the week

 

Hey Gina Milicia, here is a MacGyver light modifier for you. I needed a spot light source to light the model in a . . .

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5 photography lessons I learnt watching American Idol
5 photography lessons I learnt watching American Idol
February 9, 2016 In Blog 1 Comment

I’m a sucker for reality music contests. Idol, X-Factor, The Voice, Romania’s Got Talent. Watching these shows makes me happy in the same way opening a fresh jar of Nutella, or spotting a Fiat 500 driving up a laneway in Sicily make me happy.

The other night as I was binge watching American Idol’s final season, I realised that this is so much more than a talent show. American Idol has become my Mr Miyagi, Yoda and Oprah rolled into one. Yep, I think it’s that good.

Here are a five lessons American Idol taught me about photography.

1. Passion vs Perfect

“Work hard! In the end, passion and hard work beats out natural talent.” – Pete Docter

If Passion and Perfect had a race, Passion would win. I have watched so many American Idol contestants step onto the audition stage and belt out pitch perfect renditions of Whitney Houston’s “I have nothing”. They hit every note, remember every line – but I’m not feeling it.

Then some kid from a country town called Nowhere gets up and does the same song, misses a few notes and even mumbles a couple of the words and gets a standing ovation. . . .

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Ep 59 Getting air! How to bring “life” into your portraits
Ep 59 Getting air! How to bring “life” into your portraits
February 4, 2016 In Podcast No Comment

This is a cracker of an episode because it’s about getting that extra 1% into your shots. But it’s that 1% can make all the difference.

Gina and Valerie discuss the hacks you can use to really give your photographs an edge. From how to do great leaping shots, to getting movement in clothes so you can really bring your image to life, you’ll discover techniques that can help all your shots. You’ll also learn how to use wind to bring movement to the hair of your subjects without making your shots look like a music video from a bad Eighties hair band.

#ginachallenge #air

Click play to listen to the podcast or find it on iTunes here. If you don’t use iTunes you can get the feed here, or listen to us on Stitcher radio.

Show notes Gina’s new book!

You can buy it from Digital Photography School

Listener question

Hi Gina and Val,

I have a possible podcast question for you: How to shoot with a tripod effectively. I know I sound like a complete idiot, but I really struggle with it and end up shooting hand . . .

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“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.”
“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.”
February 4, 2016 In Blog No Comment

Canon 5D MK111 24-105mm L series F22 @1/640th sec ISO 400

“Don’t live the same year 75 times and call it a life.” – Robin Sharma

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West Mambalam, Tamil Nadu, India
Taxi driver #Mumbai #fujix100f

#Fujifilmx_au #Fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujinon #fujixseries#Fujifilmxseries 
#x100f #fujix100f #fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujifilm_street#storyofthestreet#streetphotography#ig_street #fujifeed #fujiframez#fujilove #ig#portraitphotography#photooftheday l #portraiture#portraitmood #instagood

Want to improve your photography? I'd love to work with you. Check out my Gold Membership, I've created hundreds of tutorials which share all my lighting, posing and editing techniques. We also have a members forum, video photo critiques each month and a live "Ask me anything” Link in bio
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Chennai, India
Holy man #Chennai #Fujix100f “Fate gives all of us three teachers, three friends, three enemies, and three great loves in our lives. But these twelve are always disguised, and we can never know which one is which until we've loved them, left them, or fought them.” #Fujifilmx_au #Fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujinon #fujixseries#Fujifilmxseries 
#x100f #fujix100f #fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujifilm_street#storyofthestreet#streetphotography#ig_street #fujifeed #portraiture
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Mumbai Gate of India
Birdman #Mumbai #Fujix100f
Spotted this man guarding the side entrance to The Gateway of Mumbai monument in Colaba. This is “The St Marks Square” of Mumbai and the Birdman looks after the two million pigeons that happily pose
for photos with the visitors.
This is a big job, some of these pigeons have been spoiled by their Instagram fame. They can be divas, no wonder he looks so stressed.
Thank you Birdman, we need more people like you in the world.
#Fujifilmx_au #Fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujinon #fujixseries#Fujifilmxseries 
#x100f #fujix100f #fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujifilm_street#storyofthestreet#streetphotography#ig_street #fujifeed #instagood

Want to improve your photography? I'd love to work with you. Check out my Gold Membership, I've created hundreds of tutorials which share all my lighting, posing and editing techniques. We also have a members forum, video photo critiques each month and a live "Ask me anything” Link in bio
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Seminyak, Bali
📷Fuji x100f Beach Boxer Bali
“Fear doesn’t go away. The warrior and the artist live by the same code of necessity, which dictates that the battle must be fought anew every day.” – Steven Pressfield 🙏

This week on the podcast @valeriekhoo and I chat about the 5 things every photographer must know. This has nothing to do with gear and everything to do with your mindset.

Oh and if you’re interested in learning how to shoot with fill flash I have a few spots available to my May Sicily portrait workshop.
6 Days
Intensive lighting, directing and post production
LINK IN BIO
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Brighton Baths Health Club
“Nobody grows old merely by living a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul.” Samuel Ullman

I had the most inspiring day photographing members of the Brighton Baths Icebergers. These men and women, mostly over 50, enjoy a dawn and early morning ritual of bathing in the last remaining sea pool in Port Phillip Bay.
In winter the water temperature is close to freezing and the Icebergers are hooked on the benefits to both body and mind.

One thing I noticed in all the swimmers I photographed was a sense of joy and a positive energy. This is Jan, she is 79 years young and has been open water swimming for 30+ years, and is a regular winter swimmer.
Want to improve your photography?
Sign up to my newsletter for free tips and techniques.
Listen to my podcast or sign up for mentoring Check out my Gold Membership, I've created hundreds of tutorials which share all my lighting, posing and editing techniques. We also have a members forum, video photo critiques each month and a live "Ask me anything” LINK IN BIO
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Bright, Victoria
Fujix100F + Speedlight and Gary Fong “Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” ― Rob Siltanen

I spent my childhood feeling like a misfit and then I went to art school and found “my people”
Artists spend their lives seeing and feeling things the rest of the world ignore. I think we are the sane ones and the rest of the world is crazy.
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Bali, Indonesia
FUJI X100F “A lot of photographers think that if they buy a better camera they’ll be able to take better photographs. A better camera won’t do a thing for you if you don’t have anything in your head or in your heart.” ―Arnold Newman

Ep 232 of my podcast with the amazing @valeriekhoo is out. eady to start a photography business? Here are some common mistakes to avoid.

Giving up your day job.
Quitting too soon
Ignoring social media
Only relying on social media
Placing all your eggs in one basket
Poor training and mentorship (learn how to shoot, how to charge etc)
Charging too little
Investing in gear too early
No networking skills
No basic business skills (TAX, insurance, contracts, cashflow)
Lack of Editing and workflow knowledge
A business name that nobody can remember or find.

#Fujifilmx_au #Fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujinon #fujixseries#Fujifilmxseries
#x100f #fujix100f #fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujifilm_street#storyofthestreet#streetphotography#ig_street #fujifeed #fujiframez#fujilove #ig#portraitphotography#photooftheday l #portraiture#portraitmood #instagood
#balitravel
Want to improve your photography?
Sign up to my newsletter for free tips and techniques.
Listen to my podcast or sign up for mentoring Check out my Gold Membership, I've created hundreds of tutorials which share all my lighting, posing and editing techniques. We also have a members forum, video photo critiques each month and a live "Ask me anything” LINK IN BIO
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Fuji x100F
“When you buy something from an artist you are buying more than an object. You’re buying hundreds of hours of errors and experimentation. You’re buying years of frustration and moments of pure joy. You’re not buying just one thing, you are buying a piece of a heart, a piece of a soul… a piece of someone else’s life.” –Rebekah Joy Plett

#Fujifilmx_au #Fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujinon #fujixseries#Fujifilmxseries
#x100f #fujix100f #fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujifilm_street#storyofthestreet#streetphotography#ig_street #fujifeed #fujiframez#fujilove #ig#portraitphotography#photooftheday l #portraiture#portraitmood #instagood
#BW #bw_addiction
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Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Fuji x100f “Whether you think you can or can’t, you’re right.” –Henry Ford
Having the WRONG mindset will undermine more photo opportunities than upgrading to the best lens and camera combo will ever give you.
How many times have you seen a fantastic photo opportunity and then talked yourself out of it because you believed the dribble your inner voice is saying to you?
How many times have you passed on an opportunity because you thought you weren’t ready?
How many times has a fear of failure OR ridicule stopped you from trying something new?
“Fear kills more dreams than failure ever will.” –Suzy Kassem
The great thing about changing your mindset is that you can do it right now. You can decide at this moment that you want to shoot in manual mode, use off camera flash or start a photography business. The only thing stopping you is you.
There are a million different ways you can fail at achieving your goals and a million different ways you can succeed, but it’s pointless focusing on negative thoughts.
This is the dribble your mind tells you to keep you small. To keep you safe. To prevent you from succeeding. It’s a hangover from your caveman brain that needed to manage risk, so you didn’t leave the cave and get eaten by a dinosaur.
So next time a negative thought comes up, ask yourself these questions:
“Am I in danger of being eaten by a dinosaur if I do this?”
“Will shooting in manual mode, asking a stranger to photograph them or attempting off-camera flash jeopardize the safety of my family?”
If the answer is no, then take the leap. Say “yes” to the opportunity. Share your work, take the class, ask the question.
Switch your thinking, instead of “what if I fail?” ask yourself “what if I succeed?” Changing your mindset and attitude is the best upgrade you’ll ever make.
Success and failure begin in your mind.
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Nusa Penida Island
Seaweed fisherman, Bali #Fujix100f
#Fujifilmx_au #Fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujinon #fujixseries#Fujifilmxseries 
#x100f #fujix100f #fujifilm#fujifilm_xseries#fujifilm_street#storyofthestreet#streetphotography#ig_street #fujifeed #fujiframez#fujilove #ig#portraitphotography#photooftheday l #portraiture#portraitmood #instagood

There are three elements to a great portrait: light, subject and location.
Which is more important? Let me put it this way: if light, subject and location played paper, scissors, rock; light would always win.
Why? A beautiful subject in an awesome location can be ruined by poor light. So when you’re organizing a shoot, looking for good light should be the first thing you do.
The results you can achieve shooting in natural light can be incredible, but natural light is fickle. It will never look the same twice. To find yourself with a spectacular background and great light is incredibly rare so if you can recreate the beauty of natural light, you can create a beautiful photo anywhere.

Want to improve your photography? I'd love to work with you. Check out my Gold Membership, I've created hundreds of tutorials which share all my lighting, posing and editing techniques. We also have a members forum, video photo critiques each month and a live "Ask me anything”
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South Africa
Boy with bible #SouthAfrica #canon5DMK4
“No matter how dark the moment, love and hope are always possible”
Spotted this beautiful boy outside a church just near Soweto. This is one of my favourite portraits of the trip so far far and is par of my ongoing series of environmental portraits from locations allover the world.
If starting a personal project is something you might be interested in starting then do check out EP 230 of my podcast with uber talented curator, artist and writer @valeriekhoo.
This week Valerie and I chat with photographer Craig Wetjen, an award-winning professional photographic artist and a best-selling author with 33 years in the photography industry. Craig started his photographic career shooting for local newspapers in Connecticut, USA. He went on to work for NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory before moving to Australia where in he established Melbourne’s RMIT University’s first digital imaging subject.
Craig’s published a book in 2016 titled “Men and Their Sheds” which, just after 3 months on the selves became a best-selling book. He documented 101 men and their relationship the shed has to his physical and mental health.

Just look for “So you want to be a photographer” on ITunes
Sign up to the newsletter for great tips, and free Lightroom presets --> https://ginamilicia.com/subscribe-to-the-newsletter/
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Or if you don’t have ITUNES listen here ~> https://ginamilicia.com/category/podcast/
Oh and thanks to everyone who has been sharing the show on social media, rating and reviewing on iTunes. You guys rock. BIG TIME!!
Want to improve your photography? I'd love to work with you. Check out my Gold Membership, I've created hundreds of tutorials which share all my lighting, posing and editing techniques. We also have a members forum, video photo critiques each month and a live "Ask me anything" --> https://ginamilicia.com/join-the-community/

#Canon #canonaustralia
e#ig#portraitphotography#photooftheday l #portraiture#portraitmood #instagood
#streetclassics #canon5dmarkiv #passionpassport #myfeatureshoot#artofvisuals #peoplescreatives
#colour #composition #exposure#focus #moment #photo #photogra


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