Ever taken a shot that looks great but is missing detail in a certain area? Yeah, me too! This filter is awesome for selectively adjusting areas like skies.

Above: Australian entertainers, Hamish and Andy photographed using my classic 4 light setup When I was a kid and someone asked me “and what do you want to do when you grow up Gina?” my answer was always the same. “I’m going to be an artist.” I always got the same response, a small knowing smile, that I interpreted as “wow, how cool. Everyone should be an artist. It’s like, the best thing ever!” It wasn’t until I was in my mid-late teens that well-meaning friends and family started to comment on my career choice. “Yes, but what are you going to do to make money dear? Art isn’t a real job. It’s a hobby.” Or… “Don’t become an artist, you’ll end up starving in a garret.” This confused me because I didn’t know what a garret was (it’s small living space, like an attic). Luckily for me, I’m a rebel by...

“What if ironing boards were surfboards that gave up on their dreams and got real jobs?”  – Anonymous Above: “The boys” Ragusa, Ibla, Sicily photographed on the 5D MK111 using Canon 70-200mm, F2.8 @1/250th sec

Who you calling soft? Are your images as sharp as you’d like them to be? Check out my tutorial on how to sharpen images in Lightroom and discover the one little secret slider that will change your life… seriously.

Above: I photographed this uber cool store display Fotografi Reykjavik in Reykjavik using my Canon 5DMK11 and Canon 24-105mm lens. Ever wondered what the world’s most perfect photo looks like? Maybe there could be a worldwide search for the most perfect photo. Kind of like Miss Universe, only classier and with better sponsors. I’m looking at you Nutella. The Miss Universe of photos could be called Pixel Perfection (working title) and be open to all professional photographers, enthusiasts and instafamous. There would be no age limit or megapixel size and images could be film, digital, pinhole, colour, or black and white. In Miss Universe, contestants are put through gruelling challenges such as the bikini challenge or general knowledge challenge and given scores by a panel of beauty experts, celebrities and a Kardashian or two. Pixel perfection would see images scored and rated by a panel of the world’s foremost experts...

Love this quote about the difference between confidence and arrogance. “Arrogance is all about trying to prove yourself. Confidence is about improving yourself.” – Sean Stephenson

Here’s a really quick and easy way to improve the appearance and texture of hair in a portrait using the selective adjustment brush.

As you know, my co-host on “So you want to be a photographer” is Valerie Khoo. She’s the CEO of the Australian Writers’ Centre and she has now brought together her passions for both writing and photography in this awesome competition which should appeal to both writers and photographers alike. Here are the details … Bring your creativity to the Surface! The Australian Writers’ Centre invites you to unleash your creativity in an exciting new competition running throughout November 2016. Creativity can reveal itself in many ways – whether it’s writing a compelling novel, taking a mesmerising photo or producing a piece of art. And we’re all about giving you the right tools to help make it happen. Lately we’ve been sharing some great tips on how you can do that with the ultrathin, powerful and versatile Microsoft Surface. (If you missed these tips, you can view them here and here.)...

“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t—you’re right.” – Henry Ford There is one accessory I believe every photographer must possess to guarantee they nail the shot. You won’t find this on Amazon, B&H or most camera stores, and second hand versions are useless. This accessory must be acquired new and like great hiking boots, you need to break it in. A word of caution – with all good things – too much can be dangerous. It’s a delicate balancing act but when you get it right, this accessory will make you unstoppable. So what is this amazing accessory? Is it a lens, camera, light modifier, tripod? Nope, none of the above. The accessory that I speak of is CONFIDENCE. When you have confidence in your abilities to get the job done, life as a photographer becomes so much easier, and it shows. Confidence is something that...

“Be not afraid of growing slowly, be afraid only of standing still.” – Chinese Proverb