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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

How to Use Depth of Field for Better Photo Compositions

Depth of field is one of the most fundamental yet powerful tools for crafting your images, and it is important to make sure you have full creative and technical control of it in your work. This great video discusses three aspects of using depth of field to create stronger compositions.

9 Helpful Composition Tips for Landscape Photography

Composition in landscape photography can be a really subtle and tricky thing. If it is something you struggle with, this excellent video tutorial will give you nine guidelines that can help you improve the compositions of your landscape images.

How to Retouch Skin Using Dodging and Burning in Photoshop

It is quite impressive just how advanced editing and retouching tools have become, but even so, many of the world's best retouchers prefer a more fundamental, old fashioned technique: dodging and burning. This fantastic video tutorial will show you how you can use dodging and burning for retouching skin using Photoshop.

A Review of the IRIX 150mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 Lens

Most macro lenses are generally in the 100mm range, but sometimes, macro photographers prefer longer focal lengths, as they can give better telephoto compression and longer working distances when trying not to disturb a subject. If you are interested in such a lens at an affordable price, check out this great video review of the IRIX 150mm f/2.8 Macro 1:1 lens.

A Complete Guide to the Sony Camera Menu System

There is no doubt that Sony cameras are some of most advanced on the market, but with those advanced capabilities come some very intricate and complex menus that can be a bit difficult to navigate. This great video tutorial will show you every item in the Sony menu system, including what it does and how you can customize it to your liking.

Learn How This Beauty Image Was Lit and Shot

Beauty images are a wonderful chance for you to find your personal style through your choices of lighting, posing, and editing. This excellent video tutorial will show you how a photographer used two lights and gels to create a unique beauty image.

Instagram Finally Brings Messaging Ability to Desktop

If there is anything that annoys me about Instagram, it is definitely the inability to respond to direct messages on a desktop computer. Thankfully, the company has finally brought the ability to read and respond to direct messages to the web version of the app.

Check Out These Great Three-Light Setups

You can produce great images with a wide range of lighting setups ranging from natural light all the way up to several lights. However, a three-light setup is often a sweet spot for a lot of photographers, as it provides a lot of versatility while still being relatively manageable. This excellent video will show you a range of creative three-light setups you can use for your own images.

A Look at the Eerily Empty World of New York City During the Coronavirus Pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic has led to unprecedented shutdowns, bringing normal life to a complete halt in many places around the world, making for eerie scenes as normally bustling neighborhoods stand empty and quiet. This fascinating video tours the streets of New York City to show how starkly different the world is during the COVID-19 shutdown.

The Benefits of Using a Grid With a Softbox

Softboxes are by far some of the most commonly used lighting modifiers, but they are not perfect. One of the most useful ways you can augment a softbox's functionality is by adding a grid. This excellent video will show you how to use a grid on a softbox and why it will make your work easier and better.

Canon Patents 8mm f/4 Fisheye Lens

Canon has been pushing the boundaries of lens design recently, with some highly impressive optics coming to market, some never seen before. It seems the company is showing no signs of stopping, as a patent for an extremely wide full frame fisheye lens has just emerged.

A Review of the Samyang XP 35mm f/1.2 Lens

A 35mm lens with a wide maximum aperture is one of the most useful optics a photographer can own, as it offers a versatile focal length along with excellent light-gathering and depth of field performance. This excellent video review takes a look at the relatively affordable Samyang XP 35mm f/1.2 lens and if it can stand up to the demands of professional photographers.

How to Photograph Flowers With Items From Around Your House

If you are stuck at home and itching to practice your technique and explore your creativity a bit, you might have to get a bit clever with your use of materials and choice of subjects. This great video tutorial will show you how you can photograph flowers using just materials you have lying around your house.

Learn How This Natural Light Beauty Image Was Shot and Edited

If you are interested in beauty photography, you might be used to complex lighting setup to produce the often intricate lighting you see in the final images. And while these sorts of multi-light setups certainly have their place, you might be surprised by just how much you can accomplish even using only natural light. This excellent video will show you how a photographer lit, shot, and edited this natural light beauty photo.

How to Properly Export Your Photos From Lightroom

The final step of any Lightroom session is the export process, and while it might seem like a simple thing, the application actually provides you with a wide range of options that allow you to customize the output to your needs. This excellent video will show you everything you need to know about exporting photos from Lightroom.

A Beginner's Guide to Camera Exposure Settings

The exposure triangle refers to the three parameters that control the exposure of your photographs: shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Each affects your photos in a different way, and as such, it is very important that you master them both to shoot technically apt images and to ensure you can bring your creative visions to fruition. This great video will introduce you to the exposure triangle and how to use it for your own work.

Stunning Quality: A Review of the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM Lens

The 70-200mm f/2.8 is a workhorse lens for a wide variety of photographers in many genres, providing a versatile range of useful focal lengths paired with a wide maximum aperture. This great video review takes a look at the Canon RF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM lens and if it continues the tradition of excellence established by its DSLR predecessor.

How to Properly Use a Tripod

One of the most fundamental and useful pieces of gear any photographer or videographer can own is a tripod. These two excellent videos will give you numerous tips to ensure that you are getting the most out of your tripod.