Above: Image, Gina Milicia Lazio, photographed with Fuji X100F “Learning is the only thing the mind never exhausts, never fears, and never regrets.” —Leonardo da Vinci About a year ago I decided to experiment with the mirrorless camera system. Everyone I know who owns a mirrorless system is head over heels in love and raves about how much better their lives are now that they made the switch. Switching camera systems is kinda like dating. It’s a big commitment and whilst something looks incredible and sounds amazing I believe It’s important to get to know each before making a commitment to become exclusive. So, I decided to ease myself into a relationship with mirrorless and test the waters first. I then completely ignored my own advice and hooked up with the first mirrorless camera that caught my eye. I based my decision to buy the Fuji X100F on looks alone and if...
“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 most frightens us.” —Marianne Williamson Above: Image, Gina Milicia
Above: Image, Gina Milicia A few years ago I had a portrait shoot with a woman by the name of Dawn, well-loved and respected in the music industry (name, date and industry changed to protect the innocent). From the first moment I met Dawn my inner monologue was “Houston we have a problem.” Dawn shook my hand but her eyes were cold. I knew I could take a great shot but there was something about her energy, yep, I said ‘energy’, that threw me. When I finally got Dawn onto the set I approached her again for a quick pre-shoot chat. This is something I like to do to establish a connection. Sometimes I ask how people got to the studio or notice an item of clothing. There isn’t a formula, it’s just chit chat. This technique usually works but every once in a while you meet someone like Dawn...
Above: Image, Gina Milicia ”Embrace light. Admire it. Love it. But above all, know light. Know it for all you are worth, and you will know the key to photography.” – George Eastman The most important day in a photographer’s life is the day they start to see light The second most important day is the day they understand how to work with it. The best camera, lens and location can be reduced to mediocre if you don’t have the right light. Beautiful lighting can turn the most bland location into a magical wonderland. The wrong lighting can make a supermodel look like Super Mario! The best way to learn about light is to start with daylight. When a photographer can understand the subtle differences in daylight then it becomes much easier to work with artificial lighting like flash or continuous lighting. Regardless of whether you are a beginner or more...
Above: Image, Gina Milicia “Success isn’t owned – it’s leased. And rent is due every day. Every single day, someone’s coming for your job. Someone’s coming for your greatness. If you’re the greatest, someone wants to be the greatest, and so if you’re not constantly improving your game, somebody else is.” – J. J. Watt The Adult Entertainment Industry is one of the most successful industries in the world. Its net worth is roughly 100 billion dollars. Oh yes, yes, yes! So what does this have to do with photography? Stylistically, not much. If I was critiquing one of these videos my notes would read something like this: What’s the backstory on the hunky plumber? Why is the lighting so flat? Replace saxophone soundtrack! More dialogue. Can you film at 24fps? Did the sink get fixed? But there is one thing the Adult Entertainment Industry has implemented recently that we could...
Above: Image, Gina Milicia “First move me, astonish me, break my heart, let me tremble, weep, stare, be enraged-only then regale my eyes.” – Denis Diderot
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
