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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

How to Retouch Portraits Using Capture One 20

Capture One is already quite a powerful tool for working with portraits (and is used by a lot of top professionals), and the latest version brings a variety of useful new features. This great video will show you how to retouch portraits using Capture One 20.

Is the DJI Mavic Air 2 the Drone for You?

The DJI Mavic Air 2 is the latest drone from the company, and it brings with it a range of improvements along with new features. This excellent video review takes a look at the new drone and the sort of performance you can expect from it.

What Do You Do When the Sky Is Blue and Boring?

For the normal person, blue skies make for a lovely day, but for the landscape photographer, they can be pretty drab and boring. That does not mean you can't take great shots, though; it just means you need to try for different images than you would otherwise. This great video discusses how you can turn monotonous blue skies into fantastic images.

How to Get Dark Backgrounds for Close-Up Photos

A dark background is a fantastic way to keep the focus on your subject, and all it takes is a little lighting know-how to make it happen. This great video will show you how it is done and how you can use it to create dramatic, vibrant images.

A Year With a Leica: Is It Everything This Photographer Dreamed?

Leica cameras are some of the most expensive out there, and while some see them as a niche product for enthusiasts, other photographers swear by them for their work. This great video features a photographer discussing his thoughts on Leica ownership after a year with his camera.

How to Use Speedlights for Easy and Portable Headshots

While dedicated studio lights are much more powerful, speedlights are far more portable and can be a perfectly viable substitute in a lot of situations, especially location work where full monolights would be cumbersome and tedious to use. This great video will show you how you can use simple speedlights and portable modifiers to shoot professional headshots anywhere you go.

A Demonstration of Every Single Effect in Adobe After Effects

Adobe After Effects is something of a companion to Premiere Pro, offering a range of visual effects, motion graphics, and more for video work. And like other Adobe production apps, it is a fairly intricate and often complex application. This great video demonstrates every effect in the program so you can see what they can do and where they might be appropriate for your own work.

Why You Should Be out Shooting Even on the Most Boring Days

Some days are beautiful and full of vibrant color and interesting skies, while others are, well, just plain boring. However, those boring days can be the most important of all. This is why you should still be heading out with your camera, even on the least interesting days.

Why Zooming With a Lens and With Your Feet Produce Different Images

You will often hear proponents of prime lenses tell fans of zoom lenses to simply "zoom with their feet." However, zooming with your feet will not produce the same image as zooming with your lens, and understanding the difference will give you lots of creative capabilities for taking more powerful images. This helpful video will show you the difference and the impact it will have on your photos.

Why Manual Mode Is Sometimes Overrated

A lot of beginner photographers hear the advice that professionals only shoot in manual mode and that it is a necessary method for becoming truly adept with a camera. And while there is certainly some truth to the benefits of using manual mode, you might be surprised just how often professionals use various semi-automatic modes, and this great video discusses why and how they can benefit your own work.

Can This Unbelievably Cheap Lens Actually Deliver Good Images?

Generally, you need to get into about the $300 range before you start to see any lenses that can really deliver great results, but occasionally, a gem comes along at a price that seems too good to be true. The Pergear 35mm f/1.6 seems like it could be one of those lenses, and this great video review takes a look at it and what you can expect.

9 Creative Tricks Using 360 and Action Cameras

360 and action cameras are experiencing increasing popularity, especially as video quality improves more and more. This great video will show you nine creative tricks for better 360 and action camera footage.

5 Different Ways to Use a Single Octabox

An octabox is a highly versatile and relatively affordable modifier that many photographers use in a wide variety of genres and scenarios. This fantastic video will show you five different ways to use a single octabox.

Don't Be a Photography Snob

Photography seems particularly prone to creating an air of snobbery around it for a variety of reasons, and it can impede us in lots of ways. This great video discusses the problem, and it poses some greats points I am sure a lot of us will agree with.

Which DJI Drone Is Right for You?

DJI makes a range of consumer drones at varying price points, sizes, and capabilities, and you can generally find one that fits your needs within their lineup. If you are wondering which one is right for you, this great comparison video takes a look at the Mavic Air 2, the Mavic Mini, and the Mavic 2 Pro to help you decide which one is right for you.

5 Great Tips for More Powerful Reflections in Landscape Photos

Reflections are a fantastic way to create more visual interest in a photo or to add a pleasing symmetry that helps to balance the composition. They take a bit of technique and consideration, however, and this fantastic video will give you five helpful tips to make your reflection images more powerful.