Month

March 2018

Love this quote from Dennis Stock

“Photography occurs more readily when the photographer relinquishes self-consciousness for a state of humility and childlike wonderment. Then, there is a greater freshness and purity in what you capture on film.” —Dennis Stock Above: Image, Dennis Stock, James Dean Check out more of Dennis’ incredible work here. 

Ep 192: Documentary style Wedding photography with special guest Ian Weldon

We chat to Ian Weldon who shoots weddings with a difference. He’s for people who don’t want traditional wedding photography. Check out his portfolio and you will not see any pretty pictures of brides and grooms holding hands running through backlit meadows of daisies. Weldon captures weddings as they happen. His images are honest and raw and exciting. His work has been highly praised and recognized world wide including being named as one of the best 10 wedding photographers in the world in previous years. In this interview he shares his “why” and how turning his back on the more conventional style of photography and turning down this work only shoot the documentary style led to the successful artist he is now. Gina and Valerie love bringing this podcast to you. Hope you enjoy the podcast. Sign up to the newsletter for great tips and free Lightroom presets. Join the...

Words of wisdom from one of the greatest photographers of the 20th century

Above: Image, Henri Cartier Bresson FRANCE. Paris, Avenue du Maine, 1932 “Portraits are the only thing in which photography surpasses painting” —Henri Cartier Bresson Henri Cartier Bresson was one of the most influential artists of the 20th century. I love his environmental portraits of artists. One of his favourite techniques to capture an unguarded moment was to ask his sitter a question and shoot just before they answered. Here are a few of my favourite images: Above: Paris, 1961. The French poet, André BRETON, at his favourite café, The Promenade of Venus. Breton meets with his young followers. The newspaper salesman passes by and Breton buys the “Paris Soir”. Above: US writer Arthur MILLER, 1961 Above: Paris, St Germain des Pres, 1947. Simone de BEAUVOIR, French writer In this interview Cartier Bresson shares some great insights.

“We do not take pictures with our cameras, but with our hearts and minds.” —Arnold Newman

Above: Image, Gina Milicia, Kochi, India After 30+ years of driving I finally taught myself to back my car into a tight car park using the side mirrors. This is a skill I’m very proud of but I could have saved myself the time and trouble by using a reversing camera. It takes all the guesswork and danger out of reversing. The car does all the thinking for me. I can relax knowing that every time I need to reverse into a car spot my car will know exactly what to do. The problem with this kind of thinking is that letting a machine do your thinking takes the spontaneity out of life. I enjoy challenging myself and trying to improve each time I do something. Taking photos in auto mode also takes the spontaneity out of photography. When you shoot in auto you are handing your power of decision...

Ep 191: How to frame and compose portraits for maximum impact and how to speed up your editing workflow

  When you’re taking a portrait shot, you want to make sure that you’re creating an image that’s going to stay with the viewer for a long time. You want an image that’s compelling, powerful and tells a story. Gina and Valerie discuss their “go to” tips for taking portraits with maximum impact. You’ll also discover how to speed up your workflow and what platforms you can use to make this process easier. Gina and Valerie love bringing this podcast to you. 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...

Ep 190: How to go viral, photography as therapy and the fine art of giving back with special guest Bob Carey

We chat to Bob Carey, a New York-based fine art and commercial photographer who shoots from the heart. His images are powerful and meaningful. He was working regularly for some major American corporations and his fine art photography was getting exhibited in prestigious galleries. Then Bob’s world was rocked when his wife Linda was diagnosed with breast cancer, Bob was no stranger to breast cancer having lost his mother to the disease several years earlier. After his mother’s death Bob had used his art as a way of expressing how he felt. These works caught the attention of art dealers and art directors and were the catalyst for his rise as a photographer. When his wife Linda was diagnosed Bob once again relied on his fine art photography to help him deal with and heal his emotions. Bob’s personal projects were created to heal himself but when he began to...

Love these quotes about being different

Above: Image, Gina Milicia “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… You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but 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 ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.” ―Steve Jobs “If ever it’s necessary to ride the bandwagon, it’s done with one leg swinging out and eyes scoping the fields.” ―Criss Jami, Killosophy “The strongest force in the universe is a human being living consistently with his identity.” ―Tony Robbins “The person who follows the crowd will usually go no...

How to create a custom action to resize images in Photoshop

Give your social media posts a "fine art quality' by adding a border.

How to balance ambient light and fill flash

Discover how to manipulate light to change the the mood and feel of your images.

You can spot a diamond in a sea of caca from a mile away

Above: Image, Gina Milicia If you place a diamond in a sea of caca, it will stand out, right? But what happens if you take that same diamond and put it in a sea of diamonds?  Our little diamond has now lost its sparkle. Standing out in a saturated photography market is difficult if you are a diamond in a sea of diamonds. Your work is excellent, you may be technically proficient and know how to shoot in a style that all the cool kids are using. You study the lighting, posing and editing techniques of your peers and your work is just as good and sometimes your work looks better. The problem with this approach is that your work may be great, but you become a diamond in a sea of diamonds. Your work looks just like everybody else’s. Don’t get me wrong here, looking like a diamond is...
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How to direct and pose like a pro

About Gina

About Gina

Gina Milicia is one of the most widely known and respected photographers in Australia. She is the master of capturing that ‘magical moment’... READ MORE

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