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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

A Review of the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens for Sony E Cameras

Sigma's Art series is well known for offering high optical quality at affordable prices, and a 50mm lens is one of the most popular for a lot of photographers. If you are looking for a 50mm lens, this great video review takes a look at the Sigma 50mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art lens for Sony E cameras.

Learn How Manual Mode Works in Five Minutes

Working in manual mode is a skill every photographer should master to take better creative and technical control of their images. If that is something you struggle with, this great video will get you up and running in just a few minutes.

Is It Worth Photographing Popular or Classic Scenes?

Hop on Instagram and search for any popular location, and you will find thousands upon thousands of very similar photos, so much so that you might wonder if there is ever a point in spending the time, money, and effort it takes to shoot such places. This thought-provoking video discusses whether it is worth photographing the classic scenes or if you should spend your time and energy trying to be more creative in other places.

How to Remove Noise From Video Audio

Any video needs it accompanying audio to be clean and with good levels to make a successful final product, but unless you are shooting in a controlled environment, you will often have to deal with issues like background noise or static. If you struggle with editing audio, this great video will show you how to take care of common issues like noise for cleaner audio and better overall videos.

Common Mistakes Landscape Photographers Make With Telephoto Lenses

Most landscape photographers turn to wide angle lenses for the majority of their work, but there is an entirely separate world of great images waiting to be made with telephoto lenses. That being said, telephoto lenses come with their own challenges and pitfalls, and this great video will show you some of the most common mistakes landscape photographers make with them and how to correct those errors.

The Power of V-Flats for Negative Fill

When you work on building a lighting setup for a portrait, you likely think about it from the perspective of adding different lights and modifiers. But as important as adding light is, knowing where and how to take it away is just as crucial to shaping your subject. This great video will show you how to use v-flats to create negative fill and improve the look of your portraits.

A Comparison of the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art Lenses

Sony's G Master lenses are the best the company has to offer, but Sigma's Art series often offers comparable performance at more affordable prices. If you are looking for a top-notch portrait lens and wondering which is right for you, check out this helpful video comparison between the Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG DN Art lenses.

A Review of the Sony ZV-1 Compact Camera

Sony makes some of the best compact cameras out there, and the ZV-1 is one of their latest and most unique models, with a wide variety of features designed especially for vloggers. This excellent video review takes a look at the ZV-1 and the sort of performance you can expect from it in real-world usage.

Should You Use an HSS Flash or an ND Filter?

If you want to shoot outdoor portraits with a shallow depth of field using artificial lighting, you are going to run into issues of overexposure due to the limitation imposed by the sync speed of your camera. There are two solutions to this: high-speed sync or using an ND filter, and this great video shows you the workflow using each as well as their respective pros and cons.

A Comprehensive Guide to Canon FD and K35 Lenses

Modern lenses are technological marvels that can often offer spectacular image quality, but they are also very expensive. With the advent of mirrorless cameras and the usage of manual focus by filmmakers, vintage lenses have seen a resurgence in popularity. This fantastically comprehensive video will show you everything you need to know about Canon's FD and K35 lenses.

Cheap and Versatile: A Review of the Canon RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM Lens

Canon's RF mirrorless lenses have been widely lauded for their stunning optical quality, but they are also quite expensive, and some photographers may not want to pay top dollar for them. Thankfully, as the RF lens library continues to fill out, more affordable options are starting to appear, and this great video review takes a look at one such option, the RF 35mm f/1.8 IS Macro STM.

Are You Making Time for Photography?

Whether you are an amateur or a professional (surprisingly), it can be difficult to actually find time to just photograph things for yourself. If that is something you struggle with, this great video will help you get on the right track to get more time behind the camera.

Learn How to Blend Exposures in Lightroom

Learning how to properly and convincingly blend exposures will enable you to have much more versatility in your process, particularly when you are dealing with scenes with a high amount of dynamic range. This great video will show you how to use Lightroom for exposure blending and how to ensure your edits are smooth and convincing.

How Good Is the New Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Lens?

The Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art lens was one of the most highly anticipated lenses in recent years, and Sigma recently released a new version for Sony E and Leica L mirrorless mounts that offers a smaller size and performance improvements while maintaining an affordable price. This excellent video review takes a look at the new version and what you can expect from it.

Which Brand Has the Best Eye Autofocus: Canon, Sony, or Nikon?

No doubt, one of the most useful advancements mirrorless cameras have brought is eye autofocus, and in the past couple years, the technology has seen some major improvements. Now that Canon, Nikon, and Sony all have advanced mirrorless cameras, it is time to reevaluate just how good each brand's version is, and this helpful video does just that.

Is the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 Lens Worth $4,000?

Zeiss lenses are well known for their stunning optical quality, but along with that quality come high price tags. This great video review takes a look at the Zeiss Otus 55mm f/1.4 lens and the sort of performance you can expect from it in practice.

5 Helpful Tips for Sharper Eyes in Portraits

No doubt, it is crucial to get your subjects' eyes in focus in any portrait, but that can be a bit difficult, particularly since a lot of photographers love to shoot at very wide apertures. If that is something you struggle with, this great video will give you five helpful tips for getting sharper eyes in your portraits.

How Good Is Autofocus Using Adapted EF Lenses on the Canon EOS R5 and R6 Cameras?

The Canon EOS R5 and R6 cameras have created a lot of excitement in the photography world, and for the tons of photographers who already have deep investments in the EF lens library, the question of whether adapted performance can keep up with professional demands looms large. This great video shows you the kind of performance you can expect in real-world usage.

One Lens for All: A Review of the Fujifilm XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR Lens

For a lot of photographers, a superzoom is the lens they can leave on their camera most of the time for walking around and tackling whatever they can throw at it. For Fuji shooters, the closest lens is the XF 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lens, and this great video review shows you how it holds up in practice.