Ever taken dozens or hundreds of images in the same location and then spent hours, sometimes days editing each image one by one? There is a better way and this simple hack is one of the main reasons I love using Lightroom so much. Check out my tutorial below.

Above: Image, Gina Milicia “And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom.” – Anais Nin

Above: Image, Gina Milicia Three minutes is a very long time. If you don’t believe me, then try holding your breath for three minutes. Go ahead; I’ll wait for you… See what I mean? Holding your breath isn’t the only incredible feat you can achieve in three minutes. You can also: take 134 selfies, which is a world record achieved by two UK school boys in April 2017 eat an entire jar of Nutella. (Relax people I’m not talking about the 5kg tub, the small 500gm/1lb size.) Most importantly taking just three minutes before you press the shutter to check exposure, composition, lighting and cosmetic details will not only improve your images but save you hours of “I’ll just fix that in post.” Life is short, Netflix is awesome, you don’t have time to waste hours fixing avoidable mistakes in post-production. Wouldn’t you rather be binge-watching Game Of Thrones, reading...

Above: Image Gina Milicia “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” – Sir Winston Churchill

Above: Image Gina Milicia “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire.” A few years ago I decided to invest in a fancy coffee machine. You know the ones that grind the coffee for you, give you the option of making short black, long black, decaf, latte, macchiato or whatever type of coffee all the cool kids are drinking. Dave, the salesman at the place where beautiful shiny things get sold, did an amazing job selling and upsizing this gorgeous machine. Then he proceeded to give me a demo: “It’s easy,” he said, “here’s what you need to do…” At this point I did what I always do when someone is giving me simple instructions or directions, I tune out, smile politely, nod approval now and then and assure them I understand the “simple” 79 steps needed to make “the best coffee ever!” “Boiler...

Above: Image, Gina Milicia “Nothing in the world can take the place of perseverance. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost legendary. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Perseverance and determination alone are omnipotent.” – Calvin Coolidge

Have you ever photographed a portrait and wanted to change the eye colour or colour of the lips or an item of clothing? It sounds complicated but it’s actually a quick and easy fix. Check out my tutorial below.

Above: Image Gina Milicia “Photography for me is not looking, it’s feeling. If you can’t feel what you’re looking at, then you’re never going to get others to feel anything when they look at your pictures.” — Don McCullin

Above: Image, Gina Milicia I once worked as a pasta chef in an Italian restaurant that was famous for its bolognese sauce. It was packed out every night with bolognese junkies who couldn’t get enough of chef Rosa’s secret sauce. Whenever anyone asked if Chef Rosa would share the recipe she would generously hand it out. At the time I thought that by giving away her precious recipe that Rosa would eventually lose patrons. Why eat out when you can make it at home for free? When I voiced my concerns, Rosa smiled and said, “I only give them the raw ingredients, the secret to a great sauce can’t be measured, bought or taught. It has to be earned from hard work and experience.” This was a powerful life lesson. Finding out “how” something is done is the easy part. Mastering a skill and making something memorable can’t be hacked...

Above: St Lucia, Caribbean, photographed on Canon 5D MK111 and 24-105mm lens fluke [flook] noun unlikely chance occurrence, especially a surprising piece of luck. “their triumph was no fluke” How to take a great photo 101 Some of my best images that I’ve shot over the last 30 years have been complete flukes. I happened to be in the right place at the right time.   A portrait of a young boy peering out the back of a vintage Fiat 500 as he drove past me in a tiny village in Sicily was a complete fluke. So was the image I photographed of the city of Dubai breaking through low cloud cover at dawn. Right place, right time. Two elderly ladies, walking in the rain, wearing matching outfits in the streets of Madrid was another fluke, a gift from the photo Gods. #blessed Many photographers spend their lives relying on...