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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

A Look at How to Improve One-Light Portraits

I firmly believe that anyone starting out with artificial lighting should master working with a single light first, but that does not mean one-light setups can't produce versatile and professional results. This great video will show you a critique of several one-light images and provide you with a ton of helpful advice on lighting, posing, and more.

Can a $100 Vintage Lens Compete With Its $1,500 Modern Equivalent?

The rising popularity of mirrorless cameras has reinvigorated the vintage lens market, with many photographers opting for far cheaper older glass used with adapters over much more expensive modern options. This excellent comparison video takes a look at the Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM versus the Canon FD 24mm f/2.8.

How to Create Fake Fire Through Creative Lighting

Fire will always be something that evokes feelings of excitement, dread, and more, making it a fantastic dramatic tool in short films, wedding videos, and more. But of course, you can't just go around lighting fires wherever and whenever you want, so this great video will show you how you can convincingly fake it with your lighting.

Softboxes Versus Diffusion Panels: Which Is Right for Your Work?

Fundamentally speaking, diffusion panels and softboxes serve the same purpose: creating a larger source and thus, softer overall light. However, in practice, they can have different effects on your subject and can also be easier or harder to work with depending on your needs and setup. This great video will show you their advantages and disadvantages to help you decide which is right for your work.

Want to Have Some Fun at Home? Try Splash Photography!

A lot of us are stuck at home right now and probably itching for something to shoot to keep our technical skills sharp and the creative juices flowing. If you are looking for something that is a ton of fun to shoot, now is a great time to learn more about splash photography, and this great video will get you up and running in no time.

All About Lightroom's Tone Curve: What It Is and How to Use It

The tone curve is by far one of the most versatile, efficient, and powerful adjustment tools in Lightroom, and mastering it can take you a long way to better image edits and more creative control. If you are unfamiliar with the tool, this fantastic video will show you not only you can use it to adjust things like shadows and highlights, but how it can also be used to color grade an image.

Lightroom Versus Luminar 4: Which Is Right for Your Needs?

Luminar 4 has brought with it some advanced AI features that can save a lot of time in edits and enable new creative avenues. How does it hold up against Lightroom when it comes to editing? This great video shows a photographer processing the same image in both apps and what you can expect from each.

What Does It Take to Photograph a Car in Studio?

Photographing cars is no small task — literally. Their size makes them trickier to photograph than a lot of other subjects, requiring more lights, more space, and a range of other adjustments and considerations to create a successful shot. This interesting video shows you what it takes to photograph a car in a studio.

Fuji Confirms 50mm f/1.0 Lens Is Coming This Year

You might remember Fujifilm's announcement of the development of an ultra-fast 50mm f/1.0 lens. Good news for those who have been waiting for it to arrive: the company has confirmed that we will see it later this year.

The Canon EOS R5 Will Cost Less Than $4,000

The upcoming Canon EOS R5 camera has generated more hype than any other camera in recent memory, with some showstopping features that have caught the attention of photographers and videographers alike. With many wondering what the price of such a powerful camera will be, there is some great news.

3 Ways to Fix a Bad Sky in a Photo

A lot of photography is learning how to control different parameters: lighting, composition, posing, etc., but one thing we will never have control over is the sky. Bad skies are something we all have to deal with at one time or another, and this great video will show you three different ways you can fix them.

Can Affinity Photo Replace Photoshop?

In the past few years, serious alternatives to Photoshop have started to crop up, with Affinity Photo being one of the most comprehensive options. If you are looking for a subscription-free alternative to Photoshop, check out this great look at using Affinity Photo to edit a beauty image.

Huge Canon Announcements Are Coming This Summer

It is a good time to be a fan of Canon. The company will be making some major announcements in the coming month or two that should excite a wide range of photographers and videographers.

The Danger of Arbitrary Cropping and How to Be More Consistent

If you want to create a consistent body of work, it is crucial that you unify the elements of style that go into each image. One of the most overlooked of these is proper cropping, and this excellent video will show you why that is such a crucial thing to master.

What Will Work Made During the Pandemic Look Like?

Often, times of adversity — war, social crises, pandemics, etc. — lead to some of the most creative, introspective, and deep works of art across many genres. What sort of art can we expect to be made during and after the coronavirus pandemic? This fascinating video discusses art made in times of adversity.

How to Properly Organize Your Photos in Lightroom

The more time you spend as a photographer, the bigger your image collection will become, and if you do not put good effort into keeping things organized, it can become difficult to navigate through all your photos. This great video will show you how to use star ratings and keywords to keep everything organized and easy to find.

A Beginner's Guide to Shutter Speed in Photography

Along with aperture and ISO, shutter speed is one of the three fundamental parameters that determine the exposure of a photo and that give you creative control over the look of an image. If you are new to photography, this helpful video will show you the ins and outs of how shutter speed works and how it affects the style of your photos.