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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

The Lightroom Features a Professional Photographer Uses Most

Lightroom is the sort of program that you can spend years using, only to discover something you had never seen before. Whether you are new to the program or a seasoned user, this great video tutorial is likely to have a useful nugget of information in it sure to improve your images and make your workflow easier and more efficient.

How to Create Three Distinctive Looks Using One Octabox

The octabox is one of the most fundamental and useful lighting modifiers out there, able to provide a wide variety of looks for portraiture while remaining relatively easy to set up and master, making it an ideal first choice for anyone working on learning artificial lighting. This excellent video tutorial will show you how to take one octabox and get three distinctive lighting styles from it, giving you a lot of versatility without a lot of work.

How to Create Compelling Woodland Photos

Woodland photography is an interesting and challenging sub-genre of landscape work that requires a bit of a different approach in order to create successful images. If you would like to improve your forest photos, check out this fantastic video tutorial that features an experienced landscape photographer discussing some helpful advice for taking better landscape images.

A Review of Sigma's 105mm f/1.4 Art Lens

Sigma's Art series of lenses features some of the most highly regarded options in the industry, offering impressive image quality at prices that often significantly undercut those of first-party options. The 105mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is the longest focal length in the lineup with an f/1.4 maximum aperture, making it an intriguing option for portrait and wedding shooters. 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 Long-Awaited Canon Lens Is on the Way

Canon's RF lens library has been steadily growing, with a wide variety of standard lenses and more extreme options for a range of photographers' needs. Nonetheless, there are still a few lenses that professionals are looking for, and thankfully, another one will likely be on its way soon, with some major improvements in tow.

Should You Specialize or Be a Generalist Photographer?

When most photographers start out, they photograph a wide range of genres and eventually find one or a few genres they enjoy and would like to specialize in. If you want to start making money from your photography, you will encounter an important question: should you specialize or be a generalist? This excellent video features an experienced photographer discussing the question and offerings some useful advice.

Who Makes the Best 85mm Lens? Samyang, Sony, or Sigma?

An 85mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is the tool of choice for countless portrait and wedding photographers, offering a classic, flattering focal length in tandem with shallow depth of field and plenty of low-light capabilities. Such lenses run a wide gamut of prices, however. This excellent video comparison takes a look at three options with a $1,000 price difference between them, the Samyang AF 85mm f/1.4 FE II, Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM, and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art.

7 Tips for Better Flower Macro Photography

Flowers are some of the best subjects for macro photography, offering an almost endless range of looks and opportunities to expand your portfolio. If you are interested in your improving your flower macro imagery, check out this excellent video tutorial that will show you seven useful tips sure to put you on the track to better photos.

A Review of the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AF II Lens

A 35mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is useful for a huge range of applications, including portraits, landscapes, astrophotography, events coverage, and more. However, such a lens can easily cost over $2,000. As such, at $799, the Samyang 35mm f/1.4 AF II is quite an intriguing option. This excellent video review takes a look at the lens and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in usage.

A Look at the New Sigma 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Lens

Sigma's latest two lenses, the 20mm f/1.4 DG DN Art and 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art, continue the Art series custom in that they provide sharp and impressive image quality while significantly undercutting the prices of many first-party options. This excellent video review takes a look at the 24mm f/1.4 DG DN Art and the performance and image quality you can expect from it.

An Easy and Effective Trick for Natural Light Portraits

Shooting natural light portraits does not mean you are stuck using the sunlight exactly as it is without any modification. You can use modifiers to shape the sunlight to be more flattering, and this great video tutorial will show you an effective way to create such illumination.

How to Take Great Landscape Photos With Boring Skies

For most people, the prospect of a clear blue sky makes for a nice day, but for a landscape photographer, it is a nightmare that leads to boring frames. While those clear skies can be difficult to deal with, they do not mean you should just pack up your camera and lens and head back home. This great video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer working under such conditions and sharing some helpful tips to improve your images.

All the Ports You Need: We Review the Ugreen USB-C Triple Display 13-in-1 Docking Station

Laptops are more powerful than ever, easily capable of replacing a desktop for many creatives. However, when it comes to the needs of creatives, the ports on most laptops simply aren't enough to cover everything. Enter the docking station. In this review, we take a look at the Ugreen USB-C Triple Display 13-in-1 Docking Station and if it can cover all the needs of a demanding professional.

A Look at the Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera

The Canon EOS R3 is the most advanced camera the company has ever created, offering some incredible features, like a 195 fps continuous burst rate, making it a compelling option for a wide range of creative applications, particularly sports and wildlife work. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it.

How Do You Notice Worthwhile Photos?

We all want to take compelling photos that capture the viewer's eye and encourage them to linger instead of quickly scrolling by. How do you notice the potential in the frame in the first place, though? This excellent video discusses the concept and offers some helpful advice sure to help you take better photos.

3 Tips for Tackling Self-doubt as a Photographer

Being a successful photographer often takes a lot of confidence: confidence in your abilities with a camera, in your problem-solving, in your creative vision, and in how you interface with your clients. Despite all that, it is quite common to experience self-doubt. This excellent video discusses three ways to tackle that self-doubt and to overcome it.

Some of the Best Little Things About Canon Cameras

When it comes to mirrorless cameras, there are normally a few specifications and features that capture all the headlines — things like frame rates, sensor resolution, and autofocus. And while those are important, every camera comes with little features that might not capture those top headlines but that make a significant difference in your day-to-day usage. This interesting video discusses some of the best little features in Canon cameras.

A Review of the Nikon NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S Lens

The 24-70mm f/2.8 lens is the workhorse you will find in a ton of photographers' bags, as it provides a useful zoom range in tandem with a wide maximum aperture. That being said, such lenses are generally rather expensive. If you do not need that wide aperture, you can save a lot of money and get more reach by opting for a lens like the NIKKOR Z 24-120mm f/4 S. 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.

How Good Is the Affordable Canon EOS R10 Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless cameras have come quite a way in the last few years, offering some incredible technology. As awesome as all that tech is, not all of us want to spend a ton of money on a camera. Canon's EOS R10 packs a lot of the company's advanced features into a body that sits below $1,000, making it quite the intriguing option. This excellent video review takes a look at the camera and the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.