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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

The Power of Luminosity Masks in Photoshop

Photoshop is a massive and nuanced program, for which there are many ways to accomplish any one task. However, one of the most useful techniques to know is luminosity masks, which are powerful and versatile additions to your editing arsenal. This helpful video will get you started with them.

Everything You Need to Know About When and How to Use the Dehaze Tool in Lightroom

Lightroom's Dehaze tool can be a lifesaver in certain cases, bringing back photos that you might not have been able to recover otherwise. But that doesn't mean you should always use it whenever you see a bit of fog or haze in your photos. This great video shows you the ins and outs of the tool and discusses the best and worst cases for its usage.

All About Lightroom's New Texture Slider

If you recently updated to the latest version of Lightroom, you may have noticed a new slider near the top of the Develop module: Texture. With many different ways to add this sort of effect to a photo already in the program, you might be wondering if and how this new slider is different. This great video will explain what the Texture slider affects and show you comparisons with things like clarity and sharpening.

Four Color Grading Mistakes Amateurs Often Make

A lot goes into making a video look professional, and one of the final and most important steps is the color grade. It's easy to make a mistake here, and this great video will highlight four such missteps that new videographers often make when it comes time to color grade.

A Review of One of the Weirdest Cameras of Yesteryear

Fujifilm has a storied history with film cameras, having created some bodies that are still beloved by photographers even to this day. This great review takes a look at one of the most unique of those cameras: the GA645.

Simple Ways to Use Flash to Create More Looks in Outdoor Portraits

There is certainly quite a lot that you can accomplish with natural light, but you're at the mercy of the weather outside, and sometimes, adding a bit of flash can go a long way to augment the light at hand or to even reshape it entirely. This great video will show you some different ways to use a flash to create a variety of looks when you're shooting portraits outdoors.

Seven Ways to Improve Your Seascape Photos

Incorporating a body of water into a landscape photo is one of the best ways to add visual interest, create a flow that leads the viewer's eye across the image, and drastically alter the mood you're trying to create. This excellent video will give you seven tips to improve your seascape images.

A First Look at the New Profoto A1X

The Profoto A1 was met with mixed reactions when it was released, with many shying away from the price, but also generally quite good reviews from those who used it. Profoto recently released an updated version, the A1X, which improves on the original in several ways. This great video takes a look at the changes in the new model and what it's like to shoot with.

How to Create More Depth in Your Landscape Images

One of the more subtle but powerful ways to create impact in your images is to give them the feeling of greater depth. This excellent video discusses six methods you can use to create more dimensionality in your landscape images for a greater impact on the viewer.

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Photoshop Blending Modes

Blending modes are one of the most foundational features in Photoshop and something that almost anyone working with the program should understand well. This in-depth video will show you the ins and outs of every single blending mode, allowing you to better understand when to use each one and how they can help you achieve your desired results.

Five Lightroom Tricks That Will Help You Work Faster and Improve Your Photos

Lightroom is an intricate program full of hidden features and tricks that can both improve your images and make your workflow far more efficient if you know how to use them properly. This great video will show you five hidden features and tricks you might not have known about before.

Why Is the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens So Expensive?

The Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM is one of the company's best lenses, but of course, with that quality comes a hefty price tag. This fun video takes a look at the wide angle zoom lens and answers just what makes it so expensive.

What's It Like Working on a 49-Inch Ultrawide Display?

Many photographers and videographers like to work on dual-monitor setups with the two screens side by side, but that can cause some complicated logistics with connections and the like, and of course, it can be quite annoying to have bezels right in the middle of your vision. Can you solve that problem with an ultrawide monitor? This great video takes a look at LG's 49-inch monster to help answer that question.

Olympus Shows Massive $157 Million Loss in Imaging Division Last Fiscal Year

It's no secret that the market for cameras has been shrinking for a few years now, and with that, camera companies are certainly feeling the squeeze and looking for ways to gain more market share or even reinvent themselves. Among those facing the pressure is Olympus, who fiscal report for last year indicated a $157 million loss.

How to Remove Almost Anything Using the Clone Stamp Tool

Photoshop has numerous tools at its disposal that can perform a multitude of advanced functions, many of which are highly automated. But those automatic functions don't always perform perfectly, and sometimes, you'll need to fall back on a tried and true method: the Clone Stamp tool. This great video will show you exactly what you need to know about the powerful tool.

Samyang Announces AF 45mm f/1.8 FE Lens for Sony Full Frame Cameras

If there's one lens almost every photographer or videographer can get some use from, it's a wide aperture, normal length lens. Samyang has thrown their hat into the ring with the announcement of the AF 45mm f/1.8 FE lens, which offers Sony shooters a cheap and light option appropriate for a multitude of shooting scenarios.

Four Tips to Improve Your Photo Compositions

Composition is one of the most nebulous and difficult concepts to discuss and work on in photography, but it's also one of the most important to master. This great video will give you four tips to help improve your compositions.

Insane Closeups: A Review of the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro Lens

Venus Optics makes some unique and impressive lenses, and the Laowa 25mm f/2.8 2.5-5X Ultra Macro lens is another entry into that line. With its highly affordable price tag and crazy magnification capabilities, it's a very interesting option for macro photographers or anyone who's interested in the genre. This great video takes a look at the lens and its capabilities.

Five Mistakes Photographers Make When Switching to Video

More and more photographers are either switching to or beginning to add video to their services, and while there are lots of similarities between shooting photos and shooting photos, there are enough differences that it's important to take the time to learn to do it properly. This helpful video will show you five common mistakes photographers make when switching to video and how to avoid them yourself.