We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Gina B. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Gina below.
Gina, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?
Truthfully, my mother. She instilled in me at a young age the concept of working for what you want. I still remember being in high school and asking for a little beater car for a graduation present. She told me that I absolutely could buy a little beater car… with the money I was making from my part-time job. At the time it was irritating, but I understand the importance of not expecting anything and working to earn the things you want.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
I jumping into modeling prior to professional photography, but I’ve always had an interest in those fields since high school. Around the age of 16, I had looked into get scouted for modeling, while also starting to play with digital cameras I would borrow from friends. While modeling at the time fell through, I continued to play with taking pictures, namely nature and landscapes as well as self-portraits.
I picked modeling up in 2012, dropped it in 2013, and picked it back up in 2016, initially thinking it was a solid side hustle. It wasn’t at first, but I immediately fell in love with the art and continued regardless. Photography was always something I did casually, but once I picked up my first even DSLR in 2018, my path completely changed and I haven’t looked back since.
My primary focuses are photography and modeling, and I’m well experienced in both. I’ve modeled for over 8 years now, that includes print, commercial, and runway, and I’ve worked within a number of genres included fashion, editorial, fine art, and boudoir among others.
As for photography, I’m transitioning my shooting styles towards a more cinematic, documentary approach. I want my photos to feel *real* rather than posed, and really capture the moments I’ve been hired to capture.
Something new I’m starting to offer is mentoring both in modeling and photography. I can teach various modeling techniques, such as posing, cat-walking, and professional etiquette; and I can teach a number of different photography concepts, including shooting in manual mode, photo composition, and using Lightroom as a photo editing tool.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
1. Shooting in manual mode. It was an absolute game changer for me and once I had it figured out, I never shot in any other mode again. Nothing beats the level of control you have over your photo with manual mode! 2. How to run a business. Taking and editing pictures is great but if you don’t know how to manage a business, it makes it take much harder to get to a place of lucrativity.
3. Social media marketing. Social media has come a long ways from simply poking each other on Facebook. At this stage in the game you almost need a strong social media presence to be seen. That’s not to say you’ll be set if you have millions of followers. It’s more important to have dedicated followers who regularly turn to you to provide your services.
Over the years of trial and error, it’s been these three key aspects that’ve had a huge impact on my momentum.
Okay, so before we go we always love to ask if you are looking for folks to partner or collaborate with?
I am forever looking for individuals to collaborate with!
– my look as a model has changed drastically in the last year or so, and I’d love to build my portfolio back up with me new look, and
– as I’m shifting my shoot style, I need people in front of my lens to practice. This includes graduating seniors, couples at any stage in their relationship, even business owners looking for some branding content.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: You can find my work at @ginabmodeling and @ginabcreating
Image Credits
Photography credit: Kate Payne, Bailey Crawford Media, Tugo Photos, Gina B Modeling credit: Cielo Aubee, Cain Rivers, Kyla Volino
