The Shot by Gina Milicia

THE SHOT PORTRAIT AND POST-PRODUCTION ESSENTIALS

BY

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ABOUT Gina Milicia Gina Milicia is one of the most widely known and respected photographers in Australia. She is the master of capturing that ‘magical moment’ both in studio and on location, especially when working with people. As a result, Gina has photographed the ‘who’s who’ of the entertainment and fashion industry, not only in Australia but throughout the world. Chances are that you’ve seen her work on billboards, posters, books and DVDs, magazines covers and in countless editorial layouts and national publicity campaigns. She is regularly engaged by major Australian networks and she has been instrumental in producing images for hit shoes including; Underbelly, Beaconsfield, Project Runway, The X-Factor, Neighbours, Dancing with the Stars, Wentworth and more. Gina has photographed high-profile personalities including Daniel Radcliffe, Justin Beiber, Jon Bon Jovi, Ricky Martin, Princess Mary, Liza Minelli, Shane Warne, David Wenham, Shaun Micallef, Dannii Minogue, Megan Gale, Gary Sweet, Ben Mendelsohn, Shane Jacobson, Lachy Hulme, Rove McManus, Hamish & Andy, Vince Colosimo, Magda Szubanski, Gina Riley … and many more. Commissioned regularly for editorial shoots for Australian, her work has also appeared in publications in the UK, Europe and South East Asia. Her celebrity portraits appear daily in Australian newspaper and magazines. Well known in the business community for her corporate photography, Gina’s images are also seen in business magazine, annual reports and corporate websites.

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HOW TO GET “The Shot” When I was starting out as a self-taught photographer 25 years ago, I was constantly frustrated by my attempts to create images that looked like the ones I was inspired by in magazines, books and advertising campaigns. I just wanted to spend a day with any photographer who would explain – in easy to understand lingo – what equipment they used and why.

I was lucky enough to be mentored by a few great photographers who taught me some really useful techniques in lighting, posing and post production. All my work is a combination of dozens of influences and many years of trial and error. Now I’d like to share my three most used and popular techniques with you.

Tutorial 1: My Grungy Daylight Headshot

Tutorial 2: My One-light Fill Flash Trick

Tutorial 3: The Classic White Background Shot

This is a technique I’ve used for many cover shoots, TV promo shoots and advertising campaigns.

This is my go-to lighting style for 80% of my outdoor shoots.

When it comes to celebrity, advertising and fashion shoots, this is the technique that’s most requested.

So I’m opening the kimono and revealing all. I’ve used three techniques in high-profile magazine shoots and major campaigns. And you can do the same. I wish someone had shared these techniques with me when I was starting out. Take these methods as a starting point and add your own spin to create a technique that reflects your own personal style. Enjoy! Gina Milicia

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Tutorial 1: My Grungy Daylight Headshot

This is a great shot when you want a gritty feel. The result is striking image that has a real edge to it. It’s always a winner. The following tutorial is a step by step of how I pose, light and post process many of my headshots. This set up is great as a go to set up for headshots because it’s incredibly quick and easy to set up. The other advantage of this set up is it can be recreated almost anywhere there is a window. The example I’ve given is of a full-face shot but this also works with ¾ shots and profile shots. My postproduction technique will give your portraits a grungy, edgy look. Take my settings as a base and experiment to create a look that reflects your own personal style.

Jared Daperis

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Option 1: Use side window lighting Gear Checklist [ ] Canon 5D Mark II [ ] Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L lens This lens will give amazing results in very low light conditions and the shallow depth of field will eliminate any background clutter giving me the luxury to use this lens in any location. I’ve avoided shooting wide open at 1.2mm because I find it’s very tricky to get the eyes sharp. This depth of field is so shallow that if you focus on the eyeball your image starts to drop out of focus around the edges of the eyelid.

• You will get a similar effect using an 85mm 1.8 Lens at 2.2mm



• If you have a cropped frame sensor the 50mm 1.8 will also give a similar result.

[ ] Manfrotto 475B Pro I shoot most of my headshots using a tripod because having my camera fixed gives me the freedom to focus on expression and pose rather than having to worry about whether my vertical and horizontal angles are straight. The other reason I love shooting to tripod is it allows me to shoot portraits at very slow shutter speeds of 1/15th or 1/8th of a second, which I could never get using hand held.

[ ] Westcott 307 30-Inch 5-In-1 Reflector (Black)

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SETTINGS ISO 100 85mm F 1.2 @ 1/40th sec Daylight

This is one of my favorite lighting setups for headshots. The daylight is soft and diffused and I’ve introduced more contrast by using a black deflector. This increases shadow on right hand side of image, which gives your portrait more depth, mood and modeling

The set up for this shot is very simple and can be recreated anywhere there is a large window. Frosted windows give the softest light, much like daylight on an overcast day. I’ve used a painted brick wall as my background but the beauty of shooting shallow depth of field is that almost any background will look interesting when it’s photographed out of focus.

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Post Production using Adobe Lightroom 4 I created this grungy look in Adobe Lightroom 4. Use these settings as a base and adjust to suit your file. • In the develop module of Lightroom 4, I have used the following settings* Exposure +55 Contrast 0 Highlight -44 Shadows +64 Blacks -45 Clarity +64 Vibrance +13 Saturation -11

Raw file

Processed in Lightroom

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Tutorial 2: My One-light Fill Flash Trick

In this tutorial I’ll show you my one-light fill flash set up and the post production technique I used. I use this style of photography for many different portrait style, including advertising, wedding, fashion, children, musicians, corporate and actors. Using fill flash correctly really highlights your model and gives great definition to their bone structure and a beautiful glow to their skin tone. But beware: using too much fill flash or the wrong modifier can actually make you images look worse than if you had just used daylight. Dylan McCabe

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Option 1: Use side window lighting Gear Checklist [ ] Canon 5D Mark II I’ll favour this camera body if I know I have to shoot with a high ISO (in very low light or on a night shoot). At 400-1600 ISO this camera is amazing. [ ] Canon EF 70-200mm This lens is my workhorse and I use it for 70% of my shoots. It’s fast, sharp and consistently gives amazing results.

[ ] Elinchrom Ranger Quadra

[ ] PocketWizard remote flash triggers

[ ] Rotalux deep octabox

[ ] Manfrotto 420B Combi boom stand

The Elinchrom Ranger Quadra kit with Rotolux deep Octabox is my go to lighting set up for 80% of location shoots. If time permits I will mount the light on a boom stand. If I need to work quickly and move around a lot I will ask an assistant to hold the light for me. In this case it’s mounted to the end of an extension pole. A cheaper alternative to the Elinchrom + Octabox set up is to use my travel option. I use Canon 580EXii speedlights as my preferred lighting when I am travelling or need to work quickly or in tight locations. I will also use a Photoflex medium size softbox that folds flat, and is perfect for lighting one person and couples.

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It’s not always practical to use a boom or an assistant so I’ve developed my MacGyver boom, which works really well.

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SETTINGS ISO 400 80mm F 22 @ 1/200th sec The secret to mixing fill flash with daylight is to try and match your fill flash to the style of daylight you are shooting in. Over lighting or using the wrong modifier will give your images that “photoshopped in” look. In the first image of Dylan I used a Rotalux deep octabox with double diffusion as a light modifier because it creates a really soft light that is very similar to the overcast daylight in the background. To create this image I will first take an ambient reading exposing for highlights, which in this case is the sky in the background.

I then add my fill flash, which is +1 stop extra light, but I keep my camera settings at the original ambient settings. My Octabox is placed very close to Dylan’s and is positioned just above his head and at a 45 degree angle. The Octabox gives a really soft light with quickly drops off to shadow adding depth and form to the image. Raw image with +1 stop fill flash added.

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Post Production

Lightroom 4 settings Exposure -25 Contrast 0 Highlights -44 Shadows +65 Blacks -60 Clarity +63 Vibrance 0 Saturation -20

The post processing for this image is quite basic. I’ve added more shadow detail, added clarity and desaturated image slightly. As a final step I removed the softbox that was visible in the top left hand corner of the image. This was done using photoshop.

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This image is from a publicity shoot I did for the Nine Network Australia’s production of Househusbands.

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Tutorial 1: The Classic White Background Shot In this tutorial I show you the lighting of my classic white backround set up. This is the style of lighting that is most requested by my clients. I use this set up most often for advertising, television, editorial, and some fashion shoots. This set can be easily transported and recreated almost anywhere. You need to have a minimum space that is approximately 3meters across by 5 meters deep and 2 meters high. Many of the celebrities, entertainers and business people I am commissioned to shoot don’t have the time to travel away from their offices, or film sets, so I’m often asked to set up in kitchens, marquees, garages, foyers, boardrooms, and tiny greenrooms. You name it I’ve squeezed my set into it. When my daughter was born, I moved my studio into my home for a year and converted my dinning room into a shooting area. I shot many magazine and CD covers in that space as well as several lifestyle and fashion shoots. It wasn’t ideal but I made it work. After a year I moved into a 6500 sq foot studio but that year I spent working out of a confined space prepared me for all the future location shoots I’d be asked to do in similar spaces.

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Gear Checklist [ ] Canon 1Ds Mark III This is a pro-level camera, so it’s more expensive and a lot heavier but it’s designed to survive heavy usage. I would say I use this camera for 80% of my shooting.

[ ] Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens I like shooting fashion on a long zoom lens because it allows me the luxury of getting full length, medium and tight shots without having to move around.

[ ] Manfrotto 475B Pro

[ ] 2x Elinchrom EL 20727 Digital Style 1200RX Compact Flash Unit 

[ ] 2x Elinchrom 600RX Flash

[ ] 2 x Chimira Medium softbox

I’m a huge fan of working with softboxes. Why? The quality of light is soft, flattering and flexible. Changing the angle and proximity of the softbox to the subject, easily changes the quality and direction of light. A softbox, I feel, recreates the effect of soft daylight through a window. I think what I like most about softboxes is that they are subtle. Highlights gently merge to shadows. If it’s a studio shoot I love using my Chimira Medium softbox, with white reflective interior. The white interior creates a softer light and this particular softbox has an extra layer of diffusion on the inside, adding even more softness to the light.

[ ] White roll paper [ ] Heavy Duty Background Stand and Light

Stand Combo 9ft x 12ft

[ ] Sheet of white Perspex

(as big as you can fit in your car)

[ ] 2x PocketWizard remote flash triggers

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SETTINGS ISO 100 150 mm F 11 @ 1/200th sec

The lights you use will depend on the style of shooting you do most. When I use studio lighting I need heavy duty mono blocks with fast recycle times and a high quality of light. I love using Elinchrom because they are fast, light and really easy to work with. Here is my set up for this type of shot

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This is a 4 light set up. Two 1200s + softboxes light my model and 2x 600 with wide reflectors light my background. I use black cutters to eliminate flare, which is caused from light bouncing off the white roll paper and onto the lens. I position my main light ( camera right) as close to my model as possible. This keeps my lighting really soft. My second softbox acts as fill only. If you want to achieve a moodier look you can leave this light out all together. I measure all my lights using a light meter. My background is +1.5 stops brighter than my model. This will give you a bright white background. I also use a piece of white Perspex on the floor. This will protect my roll paper and gives a really slick looking reflection on the floor.

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THANK YOU! So there you have it. Three of my most requested techniques unpacked. I hope that breaking these down for you will help save your hours – sometimes years – of trial and error. I love sharing my passion for photography. Even though it’s easy to get stuck in the technical side of photography, remember that you often get the best shots when you can really connect with your subjects. But that’s whole other ebook!

Gina Milicia Photographer

Connect with me GinaMilicia.com @ginamilicia facebook.com/Gina.Milicia.Photography

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