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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

Should You Purchase the 14" or 16" MacBook Pro?

The MacBook Pro is the computer of choice for countless creatives who need high levels of power for advanced editing tasks in a portable device. Now in the M2 generation, the lineup offers a variety of options, but perhaps no choice is more fundamental than size: should you get the 14" or 16" version? There is more to the decision than just size and price. This insightful will show you everything you should consider to ensure you pick the right computer for you.

A Review of the Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 DG DN Art Lens

The 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is the primary tool of choice for a huge range of photographers and filmmakers who value its versatile combination of a practical focal length range and wide maximum aperture. Such lenses can easily run up to the $2,000 mark, though, making them a purchase many consider twice. However, Sigma's 24-70mm f/2.8 Art lens sits at about half that, making it quite intriguing. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and if its performance and image quality can match the pricier options.

Creating Long Exposure Photos With an iPhone

A few years ago, the idea of taking quality long exposures on a phone would have seemed absurd, but major advances in the quality of the cameras in phones and in computational photography have enabled numerous techniques that simply were not possible before. This neat video takes you behind the scenes to show you just what you can accomplish with an iPhone.

Is This the Ultimate Camera for Landscape Photographers?

When it comes to choice of camera, many landscape photographers desire two things above everything else: resolution and dynamic range. And as such, the Fujifilm GFX 100S looks like one of the most ideal candidates for the genre. How does it hold up in practice? This great video review features a respected landscape photographer sharing his thoughts.

5 Helpful Tips to Improve Your Portrait Photography Portfolio

Your portfolio is your calling card and is the place where most potential customers will make the decision to pursue hiring you or not. As such, your portfolio deserves a lot of careful consideration. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced photographer sharing five tips to help you improve the quality of your portrait portfolio.

A Review of the New Sony FE 50mm f/1.4 GM Lens

Sony's new FE 50mm f/1.4 GM lens has arrived, and with it comes some of the company's best design features and optical performance. For many portrait and wedding photographers, a top-level, wide-aperture 50mm lens is one of the most important tools in their kit, and thus, the new lens is likely catching the attention of many. Can its performance match its impressive specs? This great video review takes a look.

Here's What Canon Has Planned Next

Canon recently released their corporate strategy for the next few years, and it sheds some light on where they plan to take their camera and lens business.

Settings You Should Change on Your Camera

Modern cameras are tremendously complex and intricate machines, and as such, there are often settings that may not be the best choice for your work and may even cause you to miss a shot or not come home with the best quality images. This excellent video tutorial features a seasoned photographer showing you some important settings you should consider changing to improve your workflow and photos.

A Review of the Tamron 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD Lens

In recent years, Tamron has entirely reinvented themselves as a company that produces competitive lenses that offer excellent performance and image quality at prices that are often significantly more affordable than many first-party options. One of their latest lenses, the 50-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di III VC VXD, offers a highly versatile focal length range suitable for a huge range of genres and applications. This great video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Why Landscape Photographers Should Embrace All Light

When it comes to landscape photography, many photographers like to stick to the golden light that is only available around sunrise and sunset, when warm, dramatic rays of sunlight cascade through the frame. However, if you only shoot during those times, you are missing out on a ton of photo opportunities. This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer showing you why different times and conditions can make for worthwhile images.

Why You Get Stuck in Creative Ruts and How to Get Out of Them

Creative ruts happen to just about everyone, and they can be both frustrating and detrimental, particularly if you derive your income from your work, often leading to a vicious circle. If you find yourself stuck in a rut and unsure of how to get out of it, check out this great video that discusses why these lulls happen and what you can do to get the creative juices flowing again.

10 Landscape Photography Mistakes and How to Fix Them

Landscape photography is a challenging genre that requires good technique, planning, creative visions, and sometimes, just a bit of luck. If you would like to improve your landscape photography, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced photographer sharing 10 common mistakes landscape shooters make and how to fix them or avoid them altogether.

How to Improve the Color of Foliage in Landscape Photos

When it comes to landscape photography, foliage is often one of the most important components of an image, and as such, it deserves a lot of close attention, particularly when it comes to color. If you would like to improve your landscape photos, check out this great video tutorial that will show you how to leverage Photoshop to create more accurate and vibrant foliage.

A Review of the Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 Laptop

The Lenovo Yoga 9i 2-in-1 laptop is a beautiful device that offers Windows users a lot of versatility in a relatively small package in tandem with long battery life. This great video review takes a look at the 2023 version of the device and the sort of performance you can expect from it in usage.

A Helpful Photoshop Portrait Retouching Tutorial

The majority of portrait photographs are only half finished once the shutter button is pressed; almost every image will require some degree of post-processing to be complete. This helpful video tutorial will show you an effective, professional-level retouching workflow using frequency separation and dodging and burning that will help you create compelling, polished results.

Is This the Ultimate Bokeh Lens for Medium Format Cameras?

Generally, when it comes to medium format, lenses do not have the same extremely wide apertures many full frame or APS-C options do. Nonetheless, there are a few such options out there for medium format users, and they can offer some extreme and unique results. One such option is the Mitakon Speedmaster 65mm f/1.4 XCD for Hasselblad mirrorless cameras, and this great video review takes a look at the sort of images you can create with the lens.

7 Tips for Taking Sharp Landscape Photographs

In landscape photography, sharpness is often one of the top priorities, and photographers will go to great lengths to ensure that their photos are crisp. If you are new to landscape photography and ready to improve, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced shooter sharing seven useful tips sure to improve the sharpness of your images.

A Review of the M2 Pro Mac mini

The Mac mini line has long been popular for offering the Mac experience in a desktop at a very reasonable price and in a small, easy package. The line took a major step forward when Apple started offering their own silicon in the computers, and in the latest iteration, users can now even opt for a Pro chip. So, how good is the new M2 Pro Mac mini? This excellent video review takes a look at the computer and everything you can expect from it.

A Simple and Effective One-light Portrait Photography Setup

A lot of portrait photographers are scared of working with artificial lighting, but it is a skill that is well worth learning, as it will make you a more capable and versatile photographer and better enable you to realize all your creative visions (and those of your clients). If you are new to working with flash, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you a simple and highly effective one-light portrait photography setup.