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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

An In-Depth Review of the New Fujifilm X-S20 Mirrorless Camera for Photography Work

The Fujifilm X Series of mirrorless cameras has become a favorite of many photographers, offering a fantastic blend of tactile shooting experience, professional features, and impressive image quality. The X-S20 is the newest member of the X Series, and it offers a nice balance of capabilities and cost, making it a nice option for many photographers. This great video review takes a look at the camera for photography use and the kind of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

A Common Mistake Photographers Make When Pricing Their Work

Pricing can be an extremely tricky things for photographers to master, and even small mistakes can add up to big losses over time. This fantastic video tutorial features an experienced commercial photographer discussing a common and easy-to-make mistake, how to recognize it, and how to fix it.

One of the Best Ways to Improve Your Photography

We all practice photography as much as we can, but how often do you consider how you approach your practice? More focused and purposeful practice can yield better results in less time, and one of the best ways to go about that is with a project. This fantastic video essay features an experienced photographer discussing the power of projects and offering some great ideas you can try out yourself.

One of the Most Useful Features in Photoshop

Photoshop is a tremendously complex and multilayered program, and as such, it can be easy to overlook some of its less obvious features. Blend if is one such feature, but despite its somewhat hidden location, it is one of the most of useful tools at your disposal. This fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about Blend if, including how it works and some of its most useful applications.

Do You Need a Tripod for Landscape Photography?

Besides the camera and lens, perhaps no piece of equipment is more standard in landscape photography than the tripod. And while a tripod can help ensure you get the best image quality possible, it does not come without drawbacks. So, do you really need a tripod, or would you be better off without one? This excellent video essay discusses the issue.

Why New Gear Won't Make You a Better Photographer

We live in an age of instant gratification, and as such, it can be hard to have the patience it takes to develop and master a skill over the course of several years, and photography certainly is not immune to that. There is a temptation to throw money at the problem, and while that shiny new camera or lens will certainly be fun to play with, it will not make you a better photographer. This insightful video discusses seven reasons why.

A Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S Lens

Ultra-wide angle zoom lenses are quite useful in a variety of different genres and applications. Professional models usually have an f/2.8 aperture, but in recent years, we have seen an influx of high-quality f/4 options that offer reduced size and weight and far lower prices. One such option is the Nikon NIKKOR Z 14-30mm f/4 S, and this great video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

How to Get the Most Out of Your Camera's Autofocus

Perhaps no technical innovation in modern photography has had more of an impact than autofocus. Long gone are the days of rudimentary systems with just a single autofocus point or two. Modern autofocus systems are tremendously powerful and customizable, and as such, it is well worth knowing how to get the most out of your camera. This helpful video tutorial discusses autofocus modes, tips, and problems and how to get the most out of your camera's capabilities.

What Do You Do When There's Nothing to Photograph?

Feeling uninspired or like there is nothing worth photographing can be a very frustrating place to be in, and it is not always clear how to find your creative spark once again. The truth is that there is always something to photograph, but often, the problem is how we are approaching things. If you are struggling with your creativity right now, check out this fantastic video tutorial that shares a range of useful ideas and advice for getting back on track.

One of Lightroom's Oldest and Best Tools

Lightroom has made some remarkable steps forward in recent years, bringing an array of innovative new features that can automate many tasks that used to be quite tedious to perform manually. And as impressive as many of those new capabilities are, one of its most effective tools is a simple one that has been around for quite some time. This great video tutorial features an experienced Lightroom pro showing you how to get the most out of the tool in your work.

5 Powerful Lightroom Masking Techniques for Landscape Photography

When you edit landscape photos, you will often make use of a variety of masks to target adjustments to different areas of the frame. Lightroom has made some major steps forward in its masking capabilities in recent iterations, making it far easier to efficiently and precisely process your photos. This excellent video tutorial will show you five uses for Lightroom's masking capabilities when working with landscape images.

A Review of the Fujifilm XF 8mm f/3.5 R WR Lens

The Fujifilm XF 8mm f/3.5 R WR offers an intriguing combination of an extremely wide focal length suitable for a lot of applications in tandem with weather resistance and a decent price, making it an option many photographers will be interested in. This fantastic video review takes a look at the new lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

A Review of the Venus Optics Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D Lens

Venus Optics has established a reputation for impressively unique and interesting lenses. The Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D continues in that tradition, giving Fujifilm medium format users a particularly wide angle of view, making it appealing for genres like landscape and architecture photography. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it.

5 Common Landscape Photography Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that requires good planning, solid technique, strong creative vision, and often, just a bit of luck. As such, there are a lot of places where things can go wrong. If you would like to improve your images, check out this excellent video tutorial that features an experienced landscape photographer discussing five common mistakes and how to fix them.

How to Use Negative Space in Landscape Photography

A lot of landscape photography tends to be maximal, using intricate collections of elements in the frame to create lush balances that convey the grandeur of scenes at least partially through their sheer overwhelming nature. Of course, that is not the only way to approach the craft, however. Embracing negative space can help provide more balance in your images. This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer discussing negative space and how to apply it to photos.

A Review of the Canon RF 135mm f/1.8 L IS USM Lens

135mm lenses have long been a popular second option to 85mm lenses for portrait photography, where their longer focal length and higher levels of telephoto compressions offer flattering renderings. Canon’s EF 135mm f/2L lens was long one of the company’s best hidden gems, offering fantastic image quality in tandem with deep contrast and colors and snappy autofocus. It’s successor, the RF 135mm f/1.8 L IS USM is here, and it looks like an awfully impressive lens. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

The Craft of Telling Stories With Photos

As photographers, we work hard to create photos with technically accurate exposures, balanced compositions, and skilled edits, but what often separates a good photo from a truly compelling one is storytelling. Storytelling can be a difficult thing to develop, though. This helpful video tutorial features two experienced photographers sharing their thoughts and advice on what makes for good storytelling in photography.

Why You Should Embrace Difficult Locations in Landscape Photography

Landscape photography often requires a large amount of physical exertion simply to get to a location, particularly when you are carrying a heavy bag of gear. While you might want to stick to the trails and the paths of least resistance, sometimes, it pays to embrace the more difficult locations. This great video tutorial discusses why you should head off the beaten path every once in a while.

A Review of the Impressive New BenQ PhotoVue SW272U 27" 4K HDR Monitor

BenQ is one of the most respected monitor manufacturers in the industry, offering an array of devices for professionals and hobbyists alike. The new PhotoVue SW272U 27" 4K HDR offers a huge range of features sure to please most users and does so at a reasonable price. This excellent review takes a look at the new monitor and the sort of performance and quality you can expect from it in usage.

Here's What's in the Sky This Month

The night sky is a surprisingly active place, and it helps to know what is on deck for the next few weeks. If you want to enjoy a nice summer night or two with your camera, check out this fantastic video tutorial that discusses some of the most exciting astrophotography opportunities coming up in July and offers some useful for getting the most from your images.