Above: Image, Gina Milicia Successful photographers don’t follow trends, they create them. The best photographers in the world have a unique style that sets them apart from all the other photographers. They photograph subjects that they are passionate about and light, pose and edit in a style that is unique to them. Photography is a visual conversation a photographer is sharing with the world. Copying other photographers or whatever style is hot on Instagram right now is like a musician that only plays covers in their sets. It doesn’t matter how much they sound or look like Adele, Beyonce, Prince, Elvis or Madonna – this style of music will only take them so far. Many of the greatest artists in history start out by copying their idols. The reason they became successful leaders in their craft is because at some point their work no longer resembles anyone else’s. They develop...

  “Art is when you hear a knocking from your soul — and you answer.” – Terri Guillemets

Above: Image, Gina Milicia Ever had a conversation with someone who was distracted? On the surface they appear to be listening to your amazing story about the dream you had last night. They are nodding in all the right places and saying “oh wow” and “oh no” every so often but there is something that tells you they aren’t 100% present. It’s nothing tangible. It’s a feeling, there is a disconnect. I often look at portraits and feel that same disconnect. The shot is beautifully lit, posed and composed but when you look into the eyes it’s like the lights are on but nobody’s home. If you want your portraits to stand out from the pack a great starting point is making sure the lights ARE on, somebody’s home and they welcome you with a big hug, a cup of tea and freshly baked Nutella doughnuts. Here are my favourite...

Above: Image, Gina Milicia “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.” -Diane Arbus

Removing external drives such as hard drives and memory cards without safely ejecting them won’t damage them the first, second or third time but like smoking the damage is cumulative and doing this continuously will eventually corrupt the card and you will lose date. To safely eject a card from Windows: Double click on Computer or (My Computer) Find the card or device icon Right click and select eject To safely eject a memory card from a Mac: Right click on external device icon (memory card or external hard drive) Select eject

Above: Image Gina Milicia Dear Nikon, We need to talk. I’m not sure if you remember me, we met in the summer of ‘85. I was young and inexperienced and you were, well you know, Nikon, the cool kid on the block. I fell in love that day and remained fiercely loyal for the next 18 years. We did great things together but my needs changed and I moved on. It’s been over 30 years since that first time with you Nikon, and I’ve gone on to build a successful career as a photographer. One of the things I love most about being an artist is the fact that the celebration of excellence is gender neutral. In my lifetime I have been inspired and influenced by hundreds of photographers from all over the world. These have included fashion, street, portrait and commercial photographers. I’m inspired by the work and then...

Above: Image Gina Milicia “I began to realize how important it was to be an enthusiast in life. He taught me that if you are interested in something, no matter what it is, go at it at full speed ahead. Embrace it with both arms, hug it, love it and above all become passionate about it. Lukewarm is no good. Hot is no good either. White hot and passionate is the only thing to be.” – Roald Dahl

Ever wanted to quickly and easily change the colour, intensity or brightness of a particular colour in an image in Lightroom? Or, have you ever wondered what the HSL panel is for? In this tutorial (above) you will discover the difference between Hue, Saturation and Luminance and how to use it to improve your images.

Above: Image Gina Milicia “The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism.” – Norman Vincent Peale Aside from “did you just finish the entire jar of Nutella?” the most common question I get asked is “do you like my photo?” On the surface it sounds like a perfectly reasonable question to ask, right? Most people ask this question as a way of measuring if it’s any good. Measuring progress is a great way to improve your photography but asking “do you like this photo?” is not the best way to go about it and here is why. When you ask someone if they like something, what you are really asking is “what do you like?” and just because someone likes or doesn’t like something doesn’t make it good or bad. Taste is totally personal. An example of this is...

Above: Image, Gina Milicia When I was in my first semester of art school, my teachers took a group of us on a camping trip. This trip was the first time I’d slept in a tent, been away from a hair dryer and central heating, so the first few days were a bit traumatic. One of the first lessons of survival was how to build a fire. We split into groups, and each of us had the opportunity to start a fire. Our fire mentor, Dave had taught us a step-by-step approach on the best way to light a fire. Dave had lived on the land for the last 65 years, and I have to admit he built an excellent fire, but I thought his technique was a bit slow. I had a better way. So I headed out to gather lots of twigs, leaves and some rolled up newspaper...