“I have been absolutely terrified every moment of my life – and I have never let it keep me from doing a single thing I wanted to do.” – Georgia O’Keeffe
February 2017
In an increasingly online world, it’s vital to understand how to optimise your photos for websites and social media. It’s not just about ensuring it’s a small file size, you also want to ensure your image still retains its quality, depth and colour.
In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss what you need to know about images and how to manipulate them correctly so that they are the right size, dimensions, pixel quality and more.
Hope you enjoy the podcast.
Sign up to the newsletter for great tips and free Lightroom presets.
Join the dynamic Gold Membership in our Community which delivers monthly tutorials, live mastermind and lots of behind the scenes videos into the creative process.
#ginachallenge #krakenshot
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 How to optimise photos for websites and social media
It’s really important that images on your website are as small as possible It’s important that they:
Look good Load quickly Google penalises websites . . .
Remember when you were at school, and you used to put your name in your pencil case? Wouldn’t it be cool to be able to put your name on your own version of Lightroom?
In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to personalise your workspace with a name or a logo. Click play below to watch.
With so many lenses to choose from, it can be a crap-shoot when deciding which is the best one to use. But you can choose the ideal focal length for your shot if you know what effect each focal length has.
In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss what focal length does and how this impacts your shots – especially portraits.
Hope you enjoy the podcast.
Sign up to the newsletter for great tips and free Lightroom presets.
Join the dynamic Gold Membership in our Community which delivers monthly tutorials, live mastermind and lots of behind the scenes videos into the creative process.
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
Lens choice and proximity to your subject will have a big influence on how your portraits will look.
A focal length of 50mm has the least distortion and is the closest representation of what people really look like which is why this is the focal length of . . .
Above: I spotted this abandoned house and vintage bike near Te Anua, New Zealand. Photographed using my Canon 5DMK111 and 16-35mm lens @16mm F16 @1/250th sec processed using my Cuban Cigar Lite preset.
My TV binge-watching has hit an all time low. Last year I consumed television like a raw vegan crossfitter with only pure content sourced from the highest quality suppliers. I watched documentaries, high brow and high-quality dramas. Sadly like all good raw vegan crossfitters I fell off the wagon and for the last two months, I’ve been stuffing my soul with the TV equivalent of Cheetos and Krispy Kremes.
My fave show at the moment is the Australian version of I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here. It’s like a cross between Big Brother and Survivor.
Watching the show last night got me thinking, what if one day I had to pack up and move to the jungle? What would be my essential wilderness survival photography kit?
I decided to keep this interesting and limit the number of critical photography items to four and not include things like camera bags, batteries or memory cards.
So here is my wilderness survival kit.
Camera body
. . .
HDR photography can save your bacon. But, sometimes, it’s been given a bad rap. However, this simple technique can transform your images and get you out of difficult situations where you have high contrasting elements.
In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss when you should use HDR photography, the exact steps you need to take to make it happen, how you can “cheat” in post-production if you forget to bracket when you’re shooting – and much more. Great for both newbies and pros.
Hope you enjoy the podcast.
Sign up to the newsletter for great tips and free Lightroom presets.
Join the dynamic Gold Membership in our Community which delivers monthly tutorials, live mastermind and lots of behind the scenes videos into the creative process.
#ginachallenge #HDRRRRRRRRR
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 What is HDR? HDR stands for High Dynamic Range. HDR is a technique where numerous exposures of a scene are taken. Correct, overexposed and underexposed and . . .
Above: I’m always amazed by just how much detail can be rescued from the shadow areas in an image.
Have you ever taken a shot using flash where the flash didn’t fire or you’ve been in a rush and underexposed the image? Yeah me too! It’s a real bummer because these are often the shots we wished turned out.
I’ve been playing around a lot with the contrast and shadow sliders in Lightroom and have discovered a way to rescue these images. Have a look through your archives and see if you have any shots with similar exposures and test it out.
The technique is fairly basic and a good introduction to understanding contrast in images. Click here to watch tutorial.
It’s time to talk about landscapes. Have you ever been at a stunning location and taken your shots only to discover that your pics really don’t do the location any justice? It can be disappointing when your images don’t reflect the amazing colours, scale and beauty of what you see what your own eyes.
In this episode, Gina and Valerie discuss what you need to know to shoot amazing landscapes.
Hope you enjoy the podcast.
Sign up to the newsletter for great tips and free Lightroom presets.
Join the dynamic Gold Membership in our Community which delivers monthly tutorials, live mastermind and lots of behind the scenes videos into the creative process.
#ginachallenge #mylocation
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
Meet the Photographer Who Scored a Dream Job with the National Park Service
Everything you need to know to shoot amazing landscapes Shooting landscapes is one of the easiest and hardest of photography genres The . . .
Above: I photographed actor and comedian Rhys Darby for Foxtel Australia’s “Whose Line Is it Anyway”
The energy you bring to a shoot is going to have a huge impact on the person you are photographing so it’s really important that you check your mood, body language and tone during a portrait shoot. It’s not what you say that matters. It’s how you say it and here’s why.
Have you ever been served in a cafe by a waiter who would rather be at home watching Game of Thrones? Or a shop assistant who has memorised the shop assistants’ generic greetings but just forgot to care about what she was saying along the way?
The waiter is polite, gets the coffee order correct and even smiles at the appropriate times. As far as serving coffee 101 goes, this guy has totally nailed it. The problem here, and it’s nothing he said or did, is that the energy or care factor isn’t there. He did not go out of his way to make you feel special.
The shop assistant also ticks every box in the “How to serve a customer guide”. She greets you with a smile and asks . . .
There are some golden rules when photographing people. If you want to get the most out of your subject, it goes without saying that you need to get them to feel comfortable and confident in your ability.
In this episode, Gina discusses what you should say to people when shooting portraits – and what to avoid doing at all costs!
Hope you enjoy the podcast.
Sign up to the newsletter for great tips and free Lightroom presets.
Join the dynamic Gold Membership in our Community which delivers monthly tutorials, live mastermind and lots of behind the scenes videos into the creative process.
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
What you SHOULD say
It’s really important to speak in a language and tone that suits your personality. If you are softly spoken, it’s pointless trying to be loud and extroverted because you don’t sound convincing. Good energy is essential. You know what it feels like to be served by a shop assistant or waiter that . . .
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About Me
Gina Milicia is one of the most widely known and respected photographers in Australia. She is the master of capturing that ‘magical moment’...
@ginamilicia
About Me
Gina Milicia is one of the most widely known and respected photographers in Australia. She is the master of capturing that ‘magical moment’...
Community login@ginamilicia