Above: Image by Gina Milicia We all have days when everything seems to be going wrong. Your last shoot sucked, you lost a client or you just feel meh and think all your photos are shite. I usually curl up in the fetal position with a 500gm jar of Nutella and watch One Tree Hill. What’s your go-to feel better hack? I also find reading these quotes (while eating Nutella) really help. Here are a few of my faves. Enjoy. “It ain’t what they call you, it’s what you answer to.” – W.C. Fields “I never loved another person the way I loved myself.” – Mae West “I used to be self-conscious about my height, but then I thought, f*** that, I’m Harry Potter.” – Daniel Radcliffe “Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that...
Above: Image by Gina Milicia “Your portrait style just isn’t strong enough… we’re looking for photographers with edgier work – but thanks anyway.” This was the fifth time in a row I had been told that my folio sucked. I was absolutely gutted. This last blow was delivered by Dave, an art director from one of Melbourne’s most well-known advertising agencies. Back then, I was 25 and had just spent the entire day schlepping my folio around in the hope that I would land my big break and pick up the Coca Cola account – and a couple of other big brands – before lunch. All my appointments that day pretty much went the same way. Flick, flick, flick of the pages of my folio…. silence…. followed by “Thanks” and a tight smile. “Your work is not really what we are looking for… but… “ I can’t remember what else...
Above: Image by Gina Milicia Stepping out of your comfort zone and taking the first steps towards something new can be a really scary experience. Here are a few of my favourite quotes to help you think differently about fear. Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. – Marie Curie Fear is a darkroom where negatives develop. – Usman B. Asif Fear is faith that it won’t work out. – Sister Mary Tricky Fear is the father of courage and the mother of safety. – Henry H. Tweedy Fear has a large shadow, but he himself is small. – Ruth Gendler To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom. – Bertrand Russell Fear cannot take what you do not give it. – Christopher Coan The cave you fear to enter holds the treasure you seek. – Joseph Campbell Fear: False Evidence Appearing Real. – Author Unknown
Did you know that after you take a photo in the JPEG option, your camera will process that file according to an exact mathematical formulation determined by Hans at the camera factory? Hans (not his real name) is commissioned by all camera manufacturers to calculate the amount of contrast, sharpening and white balance that is added to your image when you select the “shoot in JPEG” option in camera settings. Most entry level DSLR cameras and beyond – and some point-and-shoot cameras – give you the option to shoot in JPEG or RAW or a combination of both. A RAW file is like a digital negative. It contains unprocessed data taken directly from the camera sensor. A JPEG is a RAW image that your camera has processed (according to Hans’ personal preferences). I had two beautiful chickens, Marija and Consuela, who were prolific egg layers, forcing me to become more...
“A good photograph is one that communicates a fact, touches the heart, and leaves the viewer a changed person for having seen it; it is in one word, effective.” —Irving Penn
Above: Image by Gina Milicia You love photography and want to improve, maybe even start a side hustle but life keeps getting in the way. You are constantly battling with work commitments, commute times, chores, family, friends and Netflix. At the end of each day, you’re so exhausted that you can barely speak let alone pull out your camera for a photo shoot. When you first bought your camera you had the best intentions, the two of you were going to be inseparable. You had big plans, but life got in the way and now you are the proud owner of the world’s most expensive paperweight. What if I was to tell you that you don’t need to find hours in each day to improve your skills? “It is better to take many small steps in the right direction than to make a great leap forward only to stumble backward.” –Old...
“If you find yourself asking yourself (and your friends), ‘Am I really a writer? Am I really an artist?’ chances are you are. The counterfeit innovator is wildly self-confident. The real one is sacred to death.” —Steven Pressfield
Above: Image by Gina Milicia Do you remember the last time you were embarrassed? Did you accidentally call your teacher Mum, discover that you just walked five blocks with toilet paper stuck to the bottom of your shoe, or accidentally shaved an eyebrow off when you were nine? I’ve been guilty of all of these and many more. It’s perfectly normal to be a klutz, make mistakes, do dumb things. Now I want you to try and remember a time that someone you know personally, a family member, friend, or workmate went through an embarrassing experience? I’ll wait… It’s a lot harder to think of someone, isn’t it? I’m racking my brains, and I can remember someone in grade two pooped in their pants, but I can’t for the life of me remember their name, or what they look like. The rest is kind of hazy. “You will become way...
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
