MacGyver, was one of my favourite TV series from the 80s about a secret agent with a beautiful mullet who managed to come up with ingenious ways to build really complicated devices using chewing gum, paper clips, pens and a Swiss army knife. (verb) : To improvise a creative solution to seemingly impossible situation by using everyday found objects, faith, spit, gaffer tape and a bit of luck. I love to Macgyver. I do it often. Half my home has been MacGyvered together but the place I love to MacGyver the most is when I’m on a photo shoot. I love being able to come up with creative ways to MacGyver lights together or new ways to make things using found objects. I think this is the reason I love working in television and film so much. The crews I work with are masters of MacGyver. I’ve seen them pull...

“You don’t get paid for the hour. You get paid for the value you bring to the hour.” ― Jim Rohn  

Superclamps are the best invention since gaffer tape for photographers. They cost about US$20-$30 are super heavy duty and can be used to hold lights, background rolls, cameras and 101 other uses. I use Manfrotto because they last forever. I’ve had mine for 25 years and they are still going strong.

This is the best focus hack ever. Have you ever had trouble with auto focus on your DSLR, particularly in low light or low contrast? Here are two awesome focus hacks that will get your images pin sharp. 1. Shine a torch If you’re working with flash then shine a torch onto the area you want to focus on. I use this technique when I’m working with really shallow depth of field portraits that I’m shooting in low light or when my modeling lights aren’t strong enough. The extra contrast you create in the shot will make it easier for your cameras auto focus system to detect and edge and lock on for a super sharp image. All you need is a portable penlight size flash that runs off AAA or AA batteries or even one of those LED keyring lights will do the trick. 2. Use the screen of...

“Practice isn’t the thing you do once you’re good. It’s the thing you do that makes you good.” ― Malcolm Gladwell, Outliers: The Story of Success

I was recently commissioned to do a series of shots for the marketing and publicity campaign of a new show from Foxtel called Googlebox. That’s my pic above. Gogglebox is a show about watching people watching TV. It’s already a smash hit in the UK and is proving to be the same in Australia. This is reality television so none of the people cast in the show had any prior acting or modeling experience and for most of them this was their first professional shoot. The brief of the shoot was to capture realistic shots of the cast members reacting to footage they were watching on TV. It’s a “lifestyle” shot, a photograph of a person or group of people that doesn’t looked posed and gives the vibe that I just happened to be walking past with my camera and captured this perfect moment in time, which just happens to...

Did you know that placing a drop of peppermint essential oil on the palm of your hands helps improve concentration and mental sharpness? I’ve been using it every time I have a retouching session or need to write for extended periods. It totally works. Another great hack is to add it to your hand wash in the bathroom so you get an extra hit every time you wash your hands.

Excuse me, you’re in my shot Last month I finally got to visit and photograph one of the most famous monuments in the world, excluding Kim Kardashian’s butt of course. The monument I’m talking about is The Taj Mahal, India. I’ve been lucky enough to travel to many of the most iconic monuments in the world and The Taj is definitely worth the trip. I was totally blown away by the scale and beauty of the place and just like all the other monuments of the world I’ve visited I had “the shot” in mind that I wanted to get. Unfortunately there were approximately 27,000 other people who also wanted to get “the shot” at the same time as me. Suddenly I found myself in a paparazzi scrum jostling for position. I wondered if a press call to photograph KK’s rear end might have been an easier gig. The most...

  Model Credit: Alan Fletcher on location in my studio. Canon 1Ds Mark III Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens ISO 100, F14 @1/200th sec I’ve been working with Australian actor Alan Fletcher for nearly 20 years now. We first met when he joined the cast of Australia’s longest running soap Neighbours. We done so many shoots over the years I’ve actually lost track. Alan is also a very talented musician and photographer. It was Alan who first taught me about looking for warmth in the eyes of a portrait. This shot was taken for Alan’s annual Christmas card. He wanted a Christmas looking theme so we workshopped this idea together. My lighting set up for this shot includes two large softboxes  to create the highlights on the sides of Alan’s face, one medium Rotalux deep octabox as a main light and a small Rotalux deep octabox (camera left) to create...

Want to change careers and become a full-time photographer? Gina outlines everything you need to do to make the leap. From getting industry experience, finding mentors, books worth reading and what projects you should work on, this episode is your guide to making it all happen. Enjoy! Click play to listen to the podcast or find it on iTunes here. If you don’t use iTunes you can get the feed here, or listen to us on Stitcher radio. Show notes Thanks to questions/comments from: Michael, Ron and Gary – great to hear from you! The main reason people don’t start is FEAR Begin today “Do not wait: the time will never be ‘just right’. Start where you stand, and work whatever tools you may have at your command and better tools will be found as you go along.” –Napoleon HillMake a decision and commit to it. Make it officialRegister a business name...