Alex Cooke's picture
Average rating:
3.2 out of 5
3.2
Alex Cooke
Cleveland, OH

Articles written by Alex Cooke

You Don't Need Expensive Gear to Enjoy Landscape Photography

No matter what genre you shoot, you can quickly fall down the hole of spending a ton of money on gear in the pursuit of the perfect shot. However, you can easily create high-quality, compelling images even with basic budget gear. This excellent video is an important reminder that you do not need a lot of pricey gear to create good photos and just as importantly, to enjoy the craft.

A Beginner's Guide to Aperture in Video

There are certainly a lot of similarities between photo and video, but there are also some fundamental differences you should be aware of to ensure you get the best results. If you are new to video and working on the fundamentals, check out this excellent tutorial that will show you how aperture works in video and how to properly adjust it to get your best results.

A Beginner's Guide to White Balance in Photography

Along with shutter speed, aperture, and ISO, white balance is one of the most fundamental settings on your camera and something you will want to consider before you take a photo. So, what is white balance and why does it matter? This excellent video tutorial will introduce you to white balance, what it is, and how to control it for better images.

A Powerful Editing Tool for Landscape Images in Capture One

Rarely is a landscape photograph finished when you press the shutter, as the vast majority of such images will take some amount of post-processing to create a finished result. Capture One is the tool of choice for many professional photographers, and this helpful video tutorial will show you one of its most useful tools for creating compelling final results.

How to Take Sharp Handheld Macro Photos

Although sharpness is important in just about every genre, it is a particularly strong priority in macro photography. However, it is particularly challenging in macro work, especially when you are not working in a studio where you have complete control over the placement or stabilization of your subject. If you want to shoot on the go without setting up a tripod every time, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you some helpful tips for getting sharp images even when shooting handheld.

How to Properly Back Up Your Photos and Avoid Disaster

One of the most important habits every photographer or filmmaker should develop is a strong backup strategy that guarantees the safety of your files in the event of a hard drive failure or natural disaster. If you have not created yours yet, check out this helpful video tutorial that will show you how to properly ensure the safety of all your files.

A Portrait Photographer's Basic Editing Workflow

As much as lighting, posing, composition, and settings matter for creating a good portrait image, they are only half of what it takes to create a successful final result. You also need a strong post-processing workflow. If you are new to portrait work, check out this great video tutorial that will show you a basic editing workflow for creating polished final images.

Should You Delete Old Instagram Posts or Hide Like Counts?

Most photographers have had an Instagram account for several years now, and as such, they have each accumulated likely hundreds of even thousands of posts. Most people will simply leave their old posts up, but for professional creatives, there is an argument to be made for removing older entries. So, should you remove those old posts? Should you hide like counts on your images? This interesting video podcast discusses these questions.

A Helpful Tip for Improving Your Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is a unique genre that takes a combination of technical skill, creative vision, perseverance, and often, a bit of luck. If you find yourself struggling to create worthwhile images lately, check out this great video tutorial that will give you some helpful advice sure to put you back on the right track.

Can This Ultra-Cheap 85mm Lens Give You the Results You Need?

An 85mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is one of the most desirable options out there, especially for portrait photographers, who prize the focal length and narrow depth of field. However, such lenses can easily cost well over $2,000 for a good option. At less than $200, the Meike 85mm f/1.8 is highly intriguing, but can it offer the results you need at such a low price? This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

How to Turn a Bland Raw File Into an Interesting Photograph

If you are a new photographer and you just started shooting in raw, you have probably noticed that the files look rather flat and bland, especially compared to JPEG files. Don't worry, though, that is exactly what is supposed to happen. If you are wondering how to turn a raw file into an eye-catching finished image, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you how to edit a raw file from start to finish using Photoshop.

3 Reasons You Might Be Frustrated With Your Photography

Photography can be a frustrating thing. It takes a combination of technical skills, creative vision, and often, a bit of luck, and any one of them going awry can throw off the entire process and final result. If you are feeling a bit frustrated by the whole thing lately, check out this great video that features an experienced photographer discussing three reasons why you might be experiencing that irritation and what you can do to remedy the situation.

How to Take Long Exposure Landscape Photos

One of the most popular techniques in landscape photography is the long exposure, which allows you to really add your creative take on a scene. However, it takes more than just using a longer shutter speed to create a compelling final result. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to create a long exposure photograph.

Valuable Creative Insights and Tips for Mobile Photos and Video: We Interview David Ma

David Ma is a director and filmmaker whose cinematic photos and videos of food have caught the attention of both the culinary and creative worlds, earning him a spot in Adweek's Top 100 Creatives of 2021. In this interview, we learn his valuable creative insights, advice for filmmakers and photographers, and how creating content on the go allows him to be more productive, build stronger client relationships, and make more compelling content.

You Can Create Great Landscape Photos in Any Conditions

Of course, it would be great if the weather would cooperate every time we went out to take photos, but that simply is not going to happen, and if you avoid creating images whenever the conditions are not ideal, you are going to lead a frustrating career as a photographer. This great video tutorial is an important reminder that even in terrible conditions, you can create compelling images.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (July 2022): Robyn Damianos

The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2022, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

A Review of the Voigtlander Nokton 21mm f/1.4 Lens

Voigtlander is known for making all-metal manual focus lenses that offer durable construction and sharp and contrasty images. The Nokton 21mm f/1.4 Aspherical lens is another in that tradition, and it offers a unique focal length paired with a very wide maximum aperture. This great video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

A Review of the Canon EOS R7 Mirrorless Camera

Canon's 7D series of DSLRs were some of the company's most popular cameras, as they borrowed many features from the company's more expensive full frame bodies and put them all in small and more affordable packages. And so, the announcement of the EOS R7, the mirrorless successor to the 7D line, has generated a lot of excitement. With a range of new features and improvements, it looks to be quite the camera. This great video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in use.