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How to edit a portrait using Snapseed

I love taking photos on my iPhone. It’s always with me, and if you know a few simple tricks, you can take some decent shots with it. My favourite app is Snapseed, it’s awesome. I use it for all my smartphone editing. It’s so easy to use and creates really beautiful images on the go. In this demo, I show you how to: edit an image using the Snapseed App on a smartphone adjust brightness adjust contrast adjust mid-tones Download Snapseed for Android here Download Snapseed for iPhone here

Introverts do it better: How to survive and thrive as an introverted photographer

I’ve spent most of my life believing I was an extrovert. As a child, I was the class clown, always the first to volunteer to read out loud in class. I love people and will happily talk anyone’s ear off at a party. Classic extrovert right? Ahhh nooo, the truth is I’ve got this definition totally wrong my whole life. I’m an introvert. I always believed the definition of an introvert was someone who was painfully shy, hated to leave the house and socially awkward, and while this may be true for some, there are many, many introverts who, just like me, have the following preferences: 1 . They prefer to work in solitude I spent the first 15 years of my career working in a shared office in a busy studio. I was very easily distracted by other people and found I got the bulk of my work done...

Imagine how powerful you could be if you let go of the things you are most afraid of

    “The greatest fear in the world is the opinion of others, and the moment you are unafraid of the crowd, you are no longer a sheep, you become a lion. A great roar arises in your heart, the roar of freedom.” – Osho

Chit Chat 101: The best posing and directing hack I’ve ever learnt

Before I started my formal education, I spent three years at an exclusive alternative school for girls. It’s here that I learnt the most useful posing and directing hack that I still use to this day. I loved my time at this school. Most of the curriculum was completely unorthodox. I was taught how to grow strawberries, how to change a flat tyre, the secret of a perfect pizza dough, how to speak fluent Italian and how to graft a pear tree to a peach tree. Cool huh? My teacher’s name was Frank and he was awesome. I loved learning all of these practical skills, but it was watching how Frank engaged with every single person that he met, that was the most valuable lesson he taught me. Frank was a master at the art of chit chat. The chit chat artist can engage a complete stranger in a conversation...

Beautiful people do not just happen

“The most beautiful people we have known are those who have known defeat, known suffering, known struggle, known loss, and have found their way out of the depths. These persons have an appreciation, a sensitivity, and an understanding of life that fills them with compassion, gentleness, and a deep loving concern. Beautiful people do not just happen.”  – Elizabeth Kubler Ross Meeting and photographing French born Australian artist Mirka Mora was a huge honour. The first thing that struck me was the sense of child-like wonder in her eyes. She is one of the most beautiful and intriguing women I’ve ever photographed. This portrait was taken in her studio in Melbourne, Australia using a 70-200mm lens 2f2.8 and edited using Roma preset.

What everyone thinks of me is none of my business: How to deal with constructive criticism

When I was a kid, I used to love to draw pictures, show them to my mother and father and ask if they liked them. They always did, and from the age of 4 till the age 7, I thought my drawings were the best in the world because everyone in my world said so. That was until I met Natalie Del Rizzio (not her real name) and everything changed. I was 7 years old, and we were in the playground. I showed Natalie the drawing I’d just made in class. “Look, Natalie, do you like my picture?” Natalie took my art, gave it the once over, then sneered “It’s stupid, and the colours are dumb.” At first I misheard Natalie’s response, because for the last five years each time I asked the question, “Do you like my drawing?” the response was always, “Yes, I love your picture and you...

This quote sums up the way I feel about photography

“You don’t make a photograph just with a camera. You bring to the act of photography all the pictures you have seen, the books you have read, the music you have heard, the people you have loved.” Ansel Adams

Are you a photographic genius? Take the quiz to find out

  Think you know what all the photographic techy terms mean? Answer the following questions and discover how many photography terms you understand.   1. Bokeh a) Is the name of Japan’s best-selling boutique beer b) Hipster slang for something amazing c) The quality of blur produced by a lens   2. Matrix Metering a) Sequel to the Hollywood blockbuster The Matrix b) The way your internet provider calculates your data usage c) An exclusive metering system used by Nikon to calculate exposure   3. The Golden Mean a) A Chinese restaurant famous for their pork dumplings b) The sequel to the movie Mean Girls c) A composition formula   4. Blown Highlights a) A term that refers to someone who wasted their childhood b) An Indie punk band c) Bright areas in an image that don’t show any detail   5. Megapixel a) The latest cheese, corn and bacon...

How to photograph something you can never see

“A snapshot records what you see; a memorable photograph also captures what you feel.” I’m ashamed to say that I’ve eaten my fair share of Golden Arches meals at 2am on the way home from a 16-hour shoot. It’s been a few years since I’ve done it but I can still remember how those meals made me feel. I was tired, hungry and too lazy to cook. A Big Mac did the job I could not be bothered doing myself. It’s so easy to walk around on autopilot these days and look for quick fixes to get the job done. There are times when I’ve tried the Big Mac approach in my photography. I’ve created something fast and cheap. But just the way some people argue that a Big Mac can’t be called real food, a snapshot has not earned the right to be called a photograph. A photograph that...
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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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