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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

How to Approach Compositions in Landscape Photography

Composition is a challenging thing that is difficult for a lot of landscape photographers, particularly because it is a bit more nebulous and difficult to codify than something like the settings to choose for an image. If that is something you are struggling with a bit, this excellent video tutorial will run you through how one experienced landscape photographer thinks about composition while featuring some great example photos.

How to Remove Creases From Backdrops Using Photoshop

Backdrops are a fantastic tool for a wide variety of work, but the majority of the time, they are made of fabric, and fabric has a nasty habit of accumulating creases and wrinkles that can be distracting. If you are dealing with that issue, this great video tutorial will show you how to get rid of them using Photoshop.

The Camera Gear and Settings Peter Hurley Recommends

There are few people on the planet who know as much about headshots as Peter Hurley. In this helpful video tutorial, he discusses the sort of camera gear and settings you should consider for your headshot work.

5 One-Light Portrait Photography Setups

A lot of the work by professional portrait photographers uses more complex two- or three-light setups. And such setups absolutely have their place and give a wide amount of technical and creative control, but you can also accomplish quite a bit with only a single light. This excellent video tutorial will show you five great one-light setups for portrait photography.

Want to Be a Better Wedding Photographer? Try Street Photography

Wedding photography is a challenging, high-pressure genre, and anything you can do to be as prepared as possible will help you to ensure that when the big day comes, you can deliver the shots your clients want. One way to improve your abilities that you might not have considered is street photography, and this excellent video will show you why you should practice it.

5 Common Landscape Photography Mistakes

Landscape photography is a popular genre that challenges a lot of aspects of your technique and creativity, and as such, there are plenty of places where things can go awry if you are not being careful or are not totally solid in your abilities. This excellent video tutorial discusses five common mistakes landscape photographers make and how to either fix or avoid them altogether.

How to Edit Portraits Using Luminar AI

Editing portraits can be a time-consuming task, especially when you have done something like a corporate session and have multiple subjects to work through. However, newer software offers the ability to automate many parts of the process and vastly increase your efficiency. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to edit portraits using Luminar AI.

A Few Helpful Studio Portrait Photography Tips

Studio photography allows you complete creative and technical control over your imagery, which also means all your skills and imagination are put to the test. This helpful video tutorial will give you a few quick tips to improve your studio portrait images and expand your creativity.

How to Choose Camera Settings for Landscape Photography

The neat thing about landscape photography is that any single subject can be rendered in many different ways simply by your choice of settings and more. So, how do you know which settings to choose for a specific shot? This excellent video tutorial discusses what to think about when you are deciding which camera settings to use.

How to Improve Your Landscape Photo Compositions

Composition is one of the most challenging aspects of landscape photography, and a good composition can be what takes an interesting subject and creates a compelling photo of it. If you have been struggling with creating good compositions, this great video tutorial will show you an effective method for finding worthwhile subjects and using them to make better photos.

How to Blend Photos With Different Shutter Speeds in Photoshop

Landscape photographers often blend images shot at different focal distances for maximum sharpness and occasionally those shot at separate focal lengths for creative effect. However, you can also blend images shot at different shutter speeds for both creative effect and high levels of sharpness, and this excellent video tutorial will show you how to do it using Photoshop.

A Year With Fuji's Flagship X-T4 Mirrorless Camera

Fujifilm's X Series of cameras has gained a lot of respect over the years as a line of capable, well-designed bodies that offer photographers a functional and creatively inspiring experience. The X-T4 is the most recent flagship in the company's line of mirrorless cameras, and this excellent video review discusses how it holds up after a year of usage.

5 Things You Should Do Before Every Wedding You Photograph

Wedding photography is a high-pressure genre in which being prepared in every aspect is crucial to ensuring success when the big day arrives. This excellent video tutorial features a seasoned wedding photographer discussing five things you should do before every wedding you shoot.

How to Get Started in Deep-Sky Astrophotography With a Telescope and Your Camera

Astrophotography is a very challenging genre, requiring specialized equipment, technical knowledge, top-notch technique, and a lot of patience, but it can be tremendously rewarding when it all comes together and you get a stunning image of something that is an unfathomably large distance from our home. If you are new to deep-sky astrophotography, this great video tutorial will show you the basics of getting started with a camera and a telescope.

Don't Listen to Photography Gatekeepers

Photography culture is a weird thing, and there can be a lot of unnecessary gatekeeping regarding gear, skills, creativity, access to opportunities, and more, and it can all be rather discouraging, especially for newcomers. This excellent video essay offers some important words of encouragement for facing those gatekeepers.

A Beginner's Guide to Autofocus

One of the most fundamental and important features of any camera is autofocus, and modern bodies have impressively capable and comprehensive systems that are designed to competently tackle just about any scenario you can throw at them. With those capabilities come some complexity, however, so if you are new to photography, check out this great video tutorial that will show you the ins and out of autofocus systems and settings and how to choose the right option to get the best results.

Do You Deal With Impostor Syndrome?

Being a creative comes with a healthy dose of assaults on our confidence, both internal and external. When it comes to those internal assaults, one of the worst is impostor syndrome. Impostor syndrome can undermine your confidence and make it difficult to perform at your best behind the camera. This excellent video essay discusses the issue and what you can do to overcome it to become a happier and more confident creative professional.

A Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 20mm f/1.8 S Lens

With a relatively light and small footprint along with a wide aperture for its focal length, the Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED is a compelling option for Nikon mirrorless shooters in a wide variety of genres. 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.

A Look at the Pentax K-3 Mark III DSLR

Pentax may have a smaller market share than most, but their users are quite loyal to the company and its determination to keep DSLRs alive and evolving. The K-3 Mark III is their latest flagship APS-C DSLR, and this great video review talks about some of the improvements to the camera and shares lots of sample images to show what you can expect from it in practice.

Shooting With the Canon EOS R5 and RF 50mm f/1.2L

The Canon EOS R5 and RF 50mm f/1.2L USM lens are two of the company's best offerings, offering top-notch image quality, high resolution, and performance even with an extreme aperture, making them an especially exciting option for portrait shooters. This excellent video shows the kind of performance and image quality you can get from the combination.