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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

How to Quickly Improve Your Landscape Photography Compositions

Of all the techniques, philosophies, and approaches that go into making a successful landscape image, perhaps nothing gives new and experienced photographers alike more trouble than composition. If you find yourself often struggling with composition, check out this fantastic video that offers a useful approach to get you on the right track in no time.

Is This the Perfect Camera for Street Photography?

Micro four thirds is enjoying a bit of resurgence right now, with its lighter and smaller size, lower cost, and array of excellent lenses making it a fantastic choice for a wide number of genres and applications. Is it the ideal system for street photography? This great video makes a case for why that might be so.

3 Reasons Budding Photographers Fail

Finding success as a photographer requires a complex multitude of factors, but regardless of your ultimate goal in the craft or the specific genre in which you are interested, there are some universal truths every budding creative should be aware of. This helpful video essay discusses three common reasons why budding photographers fail to find success.

A Review of the Tamron 11-20mm f/2.8 Di III-A RXD Lens

Tamron has become one of the most impressive manufacturers in the photo industry in recent years, creating an array of lenses that offers both practical and affordable designs and that push the boundaries of traditional capabilities. The 11-20mm f/2.8 Di III-A RXD falls into the former category, offering Fujifilm and Sony shooters an affordable ultra-wide angle f/2.8 zoom, making it appealing for a wide range of applications. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in use.

A Review of the New Fujifilm X-S20 Mirrorless Camera

The Fujifilm X-S20 is the latest entry in the company's highly respected X Series line of mirrorless camera, and it offers a nice balance of price and features, making it a reasonable option for a wide array of photographers and filmmakers. This excellent video review takes a look at the new camera and the sort of image quality and performance you can expect from it in usage.

An Important Lesson for All Photographers

No doubt, photography is not a cheap hobby, and the camera gear hype machine is designed to make you continually reach for your credit card to buy the latest and greatest gadget, camera, or lens. Whether you are a new photographer or a seasoned veteran, though, it is important to remember that a compelling image is not made by a great camera, it is made by a great photographer, as this insightful video essay demonstrates.

A Beginner's Guide to Using Your Camera's Manual Mode

One of the best things you can do as a new photographer is to take your camera out of automatic mode and begin learning how to control it manually. This can be a bit daunting, but once you get the hang of it, you will b glad you made the leap. This helpful video tutorial will get you started on the right foot with using your camera's manual mode.

What Kind of Photographer Should You Be?

When you become a professional photographers, you can take one of two general paths: a specialist with a focused approach to a single genre and/or style, or a jack of all trades who can competently tackle a wide variety of jobs, if not quite at the level of a specialist in each area. So, which is right for you? This helpful video essay features an experienced commercial photographer discussing the pros and cons of both approaches to help you decide.

5 Common Lightroom Questions and Answers

Lightroom can be a sneakily intricate program, and it is not always obvious how to accomplish something you want. Whether you are still learning the program or a seasoned veteran, this helpful video tutorial discusses five common issues with not-so-obvious solutions that will make your life and workflow a little easier.

Learn How This Incredible Portrait Was Lit and Photographed

Generally, you shoot a portrait with either continuous lights or a flash, but not both. What happens when you mix them, though? You enable some pretty incredible creative possibilities. Check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to shoot an eye-catching portrait using a mixture of continuous lights and flash.

Photography Website Mistakes to Avoid

Few things are more crucial to a photography business than the website, as it is the place where most potential clients will go to see your work, to decide if you are the right fit for their wants and needs, and to initiate contact with you. As such, your website deserves careful attention. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced commercial photographer sharing some common website mistakes and how to fix them.

How to Light and Photograph a Wine Bottle

Wine bottles can be a real challenge to light and photograph, particularly with their curves and reflective glass. Nonetheless, you can learn quite a lot from the process. If you would like a fun weekend project, check out this great video tutorial that will show you everything you need to know to create a professional wine bottle product image.

Why an Octabox Should Be Your First Lighting Modifier

Learning artificial lighting is something that every portrait photographer should do, as it frees you from relying on the sun and enables you to explore creative avenues that simply are not possible with only natural light. However, lighting modifiers can be quite expensive, so knowing which is right to start with is important. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced photographer discussing why an octabox should be your first choice.

Will We See the Canon EOS R5 Mark II Later This Year?

The Canon EOS R5 was a runaway hit for the company, offering a wide array of highly advanced features and signalling to the industry that Canon had become quite serious about professional mirrorless cameras. It has now been almost three years since its release, leaving many fans wondering when the next iteration of the camera will be on its way. Luckily, that may be later this year.

A Crucial Mistake Aspiring Professional Photographers Make

Becoming a successful professional photographer takes a lot more than being good with a camera; you need to have a lot of business sense and a keen understanding of how a career as a creative differs from that of a traditional 9-to-5 job. That latter point often trips up aspiring professionals. This excellent video tutorial features an experienced commercial photographer sharing one such mindset mistake and what you can do to avoid falling prey to it.

Six Months With the Fujifilm X-T5 Mirrorless Camera

X Series mirrorless cameras have become some of the most popular out there, including a traditional photography experience in tandem with a portable footprint and a wide array of some of the most advanced features available in a modern body. The X-T5 sits at the top of the line, bringing with it a new sensor with the highest level of resolution ever seen in an X Series camera along with advanced performance and features. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and how it holds up after six months of usage.

A Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR Lens

The Nikon NIKKOR Z DX 12-28mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ VR lens offers Nikon DX users an affordable wide angle zoom with some nice extra features sure to please filmmakers. Can it offer results beyond its low price? This excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.
How to Edit a Portrait in Lightroom

Traditionally, you edit portraits in Photoshop, where you can take advantage of the program's powerful array of local editing tools. On the other hand, Lightroom has taken tremendous steps forward in the past few years, and while Photoshop still sits at the top for portrait work, there are many situations in which you can complete a portrait edit entirely in Lightroom. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to do just that.

This Might Be the Most Exciting Camera Feature in Years

For the most part, camera firmware updates are a relatively unexciting affair, mostly bringing bug fixes and minor new features. However, occasionally, manufacturers will introduce major new capabilities via firmware upgrades, and Nikon's latest firmware update for their flagship mirrorless camera, the Z 9, has introduced one of the most exciting features we have seen in years.

A Review of the DJI Mavic 3 Pro Drone

DJI's drones have come to dominate the marketplace, offering sophisticated and easy-to-use devices that make it simple for beginners to get compelling photos and videos and straightforward for advanced users to take deep creative control over the process. The Mavic 3 Pro offers some of the company's most impressive features yet while maintaining a portable footprint, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it, particularly for landscape photos and video work.