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Alex Cooke
Cleveland, OH

Articles written by Alex Cooke

Photograph Whatever Makes You Happy

It is easier than ever to consume literally thousands of photographs with just the swipe of a finger, and that is both a blessing and a curse, as that means we can be easily influenced into chasing trends and popular styles. This excellent video discusses the importance of discovering your own identity and photographing what makes you happy.

A Beginner's Guide to the Great Photos You Can Make With a Kit Lens

Kit lenses often have a bit of a bad reputation as being poor performers with low image quality, but they have improved quite a bit in recent years, and if you are a beginner, you do not necessarily need an expensive lens to learn. This great video tutorial will give you some helpful tips for working with a kit lens and show you how you can get awesome photos even with inexpensive gear.

Is the Canon EOS R6 the New Bread and Butter Camera for Professionals?

For many years, the Canon 5D series was the camera of choice for a variety of photographers, useful for a wide range of applications and highly reliable. Now that the company has moved on to mirrorless, is the EOS R6 the new 5D? This excellent video review takes a look at the EOS R6 and how it holds up against the venerable 5D Mark III.

10 Things People Don't Tell You About Landscape Photography

Landscape photography is one of the lesser understood genres, particularly when it comes to the business side of things, even though it is highly popular as a hobby. This excellent video discusses 10 lesser understood aspects of being a landscape photographer.

A New Sigma Lens Is on the Way

Who doesn't love a new Sigma lens? The popular company, known for its varied lines of quality, affordable lenses looks to be readying to announce their next lens in just a few days, and it will likely be a popular choice for a wide range of photographers and filmmakers.

Everything You Need to Know About Lens Filters for Landscape Photography

Lens filters are essential for just about any landscape photographer's gear bag, giving you the ability to cut down on problematic reflections or take greater control over your shutter speed for artistic exploration. This great video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about using lens filters for landscape photography.

How to Use Focus Stacking for Sharper Photos

When you need a photo with deep depth of field that is sharp across the entire frame, it might not be possible to do so in just one shot. Focus stacking is a technique that allows you to get sharper images with deeper depth of field. It is a relatively easy and straightforward technique, and this fantastic video tutorial will show you everything you need to know to use it for your own work.

Everything You Need to Know About Layers in Photoshop

For all its tremendous complexity and variety of features, perhaps no aspect of Photoshop is more important than layers. If you are new to the program, this excellent video tutorial will show you everything you need to know about layers, including what they are, why they are so useful, and how to employ them in your work.

Why You Should Use a Telephoto Lens for Landscape Photography

For the most part, landscape photographers generally use wide angle lenses, as most scenes require a wide focal length to capture them all in one frame. That does not mean telephoto lenses can't be used, however, and this excellent video shows you the unique photos you can create with one.

Hard Truths About Being a Professional Photographer

No doubt, the idea of being a professional photographer is a dream for many of us, but on the other hand, the reality of it can be far more difficult than you might imagine. This excellent video essay discusses some of the hard truths about being a professional photographer that you should be aware of before you undertake it.

A Look at the Fujifilm GFX 100S Medium Format Mirrorless Camera

The Fujifilm GFX 100S is one of the most impressive cameras we have seen in a long time, taking Fuji's highly respected 102-megapixel sensor from the GFX 100 and putting it in a much smaller body at nearly half the price, while still maintaining almost all the features from its larger sibling. This great video takes a first look at the camera and the kind of performance you can expect from it in the real world.

A Review of the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM Lens

A wide-aperture 35mm lens is one of the most useful lenses a photographer can have in their bag, as it is versatile enough to tackle a wide variety of scenarios. Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM takes that even further by adding macro capabilities, all in a very compact and affordable package. This excellent video review takes a look at how it holds up in practice.

Four Ways Dust Can Negatively Impact Your Photography

Dust is the enemy of photographers in many ways, and unfortunately, it is just about everywhere. This excellent video discusses four ways dust affects your work and how to better deal with it before it detracts from the quality of your images.

5 Helpful Tips for Posing Couples

Posing is something a lot of photographers struggle with, particularly since it is not something you can just learn objective values for like you can with camera settings. If that is something you are struggling with a bit, check out this fantastic video tutorial that will show you five tips for posing couples.

Five Effective, Professional One-Light Portrait Photography Setups

When you look at the work of professional portrait photographers, you might notice that it often employs two- or three-light setups. And while those certainly have their place, you might be surprised by just how versatile a single light and a bit of know-how can be. This fantastic video tutorial will show you five useful single-light setups for portraiture work.

5 Helpful Tips for Working in Lightroom

Lightroom is a more powerful and versatile program than a lot of photographers realize, and you can accomplish quite a bit in it without ever having to switch to Photoshop. This excellent video tutorial will show you five helpful tips for getting more out of Lightroom.

Helpful Tips for Taking Portraits in Direct Sunlight

When it comes to portraiture, we most often choose light that is soft and flattering on the subject's features. However, that does not mean that direct sunlight is totally unusable for portraiture, and in fact, you can create great portraits with it if you know how to work with it. This excellent video tutorial will give you a wide variety of great tips to improve your portraits in directly sunlight.

This 35mm f/0.95 Lens Costs Just $249

Wide-aperture lenses are quite popular for a variety of creative uses and technical requirements, but they can also be highly expensive. The 7artisans Photoelectric 35mm f/0.95 is just $249, and this excellent video review takes a look at how it performs in practice.

How to Start and Grow a Successful Wedding Photography Business

Becoming a competent photographer with good creative aptitude is only half of what it takes to become a successful wedding professional. This fantastic video tutorial will give you a ton of helpful tips and information on how to start and build a wedding photography business.