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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

How to Create a Truly White Background in a Photo

One of the most essential and useful artificial lighting techniques a photographer can know is how to create a pure white background. There are several ways to go about this, each with advantages and disadvantages. This fantastic video tutorial will show you a few reasons why photographers often have trouble with this and some techniques that are sure to help you find success.

Canon Is Finally Bringing Out a Premium 35mm Prime Lens Soon

Once they got serious about mirrorless cameras and lenses, Canon wasted little time expanding the RF mount's offerings, but one standard lens that is still missing is a fast, premium 35mm prime. No doubt, that lens is coming eventually, and it looks like we can expect it later this year.

5 Reasons to Not Be a Wedding Photographer

Wedding photography can be a rewarding genre and can also be lucrative if you can make it to the upper echelons, but just like any other one, it has plenty of drawbacks as well. If you are newer to photography and exploring your options, check out this interesting video essay from an experienced wedding photographer that discusses five reasons why you might want to think twice before you pursue wedding photography.

A Review of the Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 Aspherical Lens

Voigtlander is known for making rugged lenses with good image quality, and the Voigtlander APO-LANTHAR 50mm f/2 Aspherical is no exception to that rule. 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.

A Review of the Fujifilm XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR Lens

Wide-aperture 35mm lenses are some of the most popular out there, at home in a quite varied range of applications, including portraiture, weddings, astrophotography, traveling, and a lot more. For Fuji shooters, there is the XF 23mm f/1.4 R LM WR lens, and this awesome video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Can This Affordable, Long Zoom Lens Keep Up With More Expensive Options?

100-400mm zoom lenses are some of the most popular out there, offering a highly versatile focal length range suitable for just about everything from wildlife photography to sports and more. There are many versions of such lenses at a wide range of prices, with the Canon RF 100-400mm f/5.6-8 IS USM sitting at the budget end of things, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in real-world usage.

The Importance of Aspect Ratios in Landscape Photography

Back in the days of film photography, you had to think very carefully about the aspect ratio of your image before you shot it, and different aspect ratios held enthusiastic fans that specialized in their usage. The advent of digital and the standardization of the sensor into just two aspect ratios has seen that focus die away a bit, but they remain highly important in how your images are rendered, and this excellent video tutorial discusses their usage.

Do You Need the M1 Ultra Chip in Your Mac Studio?

The Mac Studio is powerful — ridiculously so. It comes in two flavors, the M1 Max and M1 Ultra, and you might be wondering which version is right for your needs. This great video review discusses both and weighs their performance and cost to help you decide.

How to Ensure You Never Lose a Photoshop File

There is perhaps nothing more frustrating than spending hours working on a Photoshop file, only to discover that you saved the wrong version or that you can't undo a certain step a few changes back. So, what can you do to ensure you never encounter that situation? This fantastic video tutorial will show you three important tips to ensure you always have access to the history of your Photoshop files.

The Magic of Photography

Whether you are a professional or hobbyist photographer, it can be easy to get frustrated by a variety of things, whether creative blocks, annoying clients, online vitriol, or something else. Before you let that discourage you from picking up your camera, though, take some time to watch this excellent video that will remind you of the magic of photography.

Lessons a Professional Landscape Photographer Has Learned After 10 Years in Business

Of all the genres out there, landscape photography is probably one of the most nebulous when it comes to establishing yourself professionally and building a career out of it. This great video features an experienced professional discussing his journey from amateur to professional landscape photographer over the last decade and many of the lessons he has learned along the way.

How to Create Dynamic Waterscape Photos

Long exposure images of moving water are popular for both photographers and viewers, but it takes more than slapping an ND filter on the front of your lens to create a compelling one. This helpful video tutorial features an experienced landscape photographer guiding you through the process, including equipment, safety, shutter speed, composition, and more.

What Do You Do When You're Sick of Photography?

The truth is that no matter how much you love photography, just like anything else is life, there will likely be periods when you are sick of it, whether because of creative frustration, frustrating clients, or something else. So, what do you do when that happens? This great video discusses how to handle those periods and come out the other side with a renewed vigor for photography.

A Review of the OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4 PRO Lens

One of the best parts of the Micro Four Thirds system is the wide selection of sharp but quite portable lenses, and if you do not need a particularly wide aperture, the OM SYSTEM M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm f/4 PRO is especially compact and light while also not breaking the bank. 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.

Three of the Biggest Myths in Photography

Photography is a complex topic full of myths and misconceptions, and those can lead you astray and be detrimental to your growth and success as a creative. This interesting video essay discusses three common photography myths that can undermine your work and the truth that is often hiding behind them.

One of the Keys to Improving Your Landscape Photography

One of the most interesting and sometimes frustrating aspects of landscape photography is that you get no control over the elements of the frame, the lighting, or the surrounding conditions. And that will often mean that things will not be as you hoped or planned, but that should not deter you. This excellent video features an experienced landscape photographer discussing one of the key elements to improving your work.

A Guide to Retouching Portrait Images

When it comes to portrait photos, lighting and shooting the image is only half of the process. Knowing how to edit your images with a careful touch while still applying your signature creative look is the other half. This excellent video tutorial will show you how one photographer edits his shots using a combination of Lightroom and Photoshop.

A Review of the Versatile Tamron 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD Lens

Tamron has established itself as a manufacturer of superbly practical and affordable lenses in the last few years, but they have also started to push the boundaries of lens design to create some impressively extreme lenses. One such lens is the 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Di III VXD, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.

Why You Should Consider a Superzoom Lens for Landscape Photography

Superzoom lenses are often overlooked because their extreme focal length ranges mean inherent compromises in image quality, but in recent years, we have seen some impressive advances that make them viable options for a lot of work. This excellent video features an experienced landscape photographer making a case for using a superzoom lens for landscape work.

A Review of the New Samyang AF 135mm f/1.8 FE Lens

Samyang has long been recognized for creating affordable and sharp manual focus lenses, but in recent years, they have expanded into autofocus options, vastly increasing the versatility of their offerings while maintaining budget prices. One such lens is the AF 135mm f/1.8 FE, and this excellent video review takes a look at the sort of performance and image quality you can expect from it in practice.