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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

A Fascinating Documentary on the Early History of Photography
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Most of us are relatively familiar with the history of photography in the last decade or so, but I'd argue its early years were far more interesting, with patent wars abounding and chemicals making people crazy (ok, maybe I'm glad that part is no longer an issue). This fascinating documentary details the history of early photographic processes, their development, and the stories of the people behind them.

Three Helpful Tips to Grow Your Instagram Following
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We're unfortunately living in the days of the algorithm, and that means working with Instagram is nowhere near as straightforward as it used to be. Nonetheless, it's still a powerful tool for creatives to get their work out into the world and network. This great video will examine three things that might be holding you back when you try to increase your Instagram following.

The Incredible Detective Work Behind Finding the Photographer of This Iconic Image
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What's the most difficult environment you've ever taken a photo in? The time when you had one chance to get the shot with no opportunity to try again? Does it compare to tumbling around the moon at several miles per second while capturing one of the most iconic images of all-time? Check out this great video that explores the creation of "Earthrise."

How to Pose People Who Aren't Models
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When you're first starting out, you can't just call up an agency and expect to shoot with a model. Most of us started by grabbing friends and bribing them to stand in front of our lens. Of course, most of our friends aren't trained in posing, however. This helpful video will show how to pose people who aren't models.

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (January 2018): Josh Borup
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The Fstoppers community is brimming with creative vision and talent. Every day, we comb through your work, looking for images to feature as the Photo of the Day or simply to admire your creativity and technical prowess. In 2017, we're featuring a new photographer every month, whose portfolio represents both stellar photographic achievement and a high level of involvement within the Fstoppers community.

Take $1,200 Off a MacBook Pro With This Rare Apple Deal Today Only
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The MacBook Pro remains the computer of choice for a large number of photographers and videographers, with great power, battery life, and reliability. However, they're very rarely discounted, but today only, you can get one of the top-level MacBook Pros for $1,200 off.

Photographer Heroically Attempts to Go Entire Day Without Complaining
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Los Angeles, CA: A Southern California photographer recently caught the attention of his peers as he heroically attempted to go an entire day without complaining, making it into the early evening before he was derailed by the announcement of another Canon camera without 4K.

Popular Rock Musician Tries Novel Method to Get Rid of Phones at Shows
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Camera phones are cool and all, but I'll still never understand the need to take terrible videos (with terrible audio) of live concerts while blocking the view of people around you. One musician has a new approach to stopping them from appearing at concerts.

To Be a Better Photographer, It's Sometimes Best to Not Take a Picture
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When you drag all your photography gear to a location, do you ever feel a certain pressure to come away with a shot? Certainly, we all want the time and effort we put into each shoot to pay off, but sometimes, it's detrimental to try to force a shot that isn't there.

Six Bad Habits That Can Hurt Your Photography Career
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All the talent in the world doesn't mean a thing if you undercut yourself with bad habits that can damage your career. This great video explores six bad habits that can cut a career short and how to turn them around to increase your chances of success.

One of the Funniest AI Photos Fails We've Ever Seen
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Technology is getting really smart, so much so that it often intuits what we want before we even tell it. Such is the case with Google Photos, which will do things like create panoramas out of images it detects were taken near each other. Sometimes, the AI isn't as smart as it needs to be, however, and you end up with hilarious results.

The Story of the World's First Digital Camera as Told By Its Inventor
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It's hard to believe that digital cameras have been in existence for over four decades, but thanks to one creative engineer, we have one of the most ubiquitous pieces of modern technology. Hear the story of the birth of our beloved cameras from the inventor himself.

The Best Computer for Creatives: A Real World Test of the iMac Pro Versus the MacBook Pro, Mac Pro, and a Windows PC
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The iMac Pro is undoubtedly a slick piece of hardware with some very impressive specs, but it also comes with an equally impressive price tag. And while we can drool over specs day in and out, what really matters for most working professionals are real world results. This great video pits the new iMac Pro against a Mac Pro, MacBook Pro, and a Windows PC.

How to Select Hair From Complex Backgrounds Using Photoshop
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Selecting and masking hair on a solid background isn't too terribly difficult, but doing it over a non-uniform, complex background can be very hard. This great tutorial will show you how to select and mask a subject's hair and convincingly composite it into another image.

Creating a Product Photography Shot Almost Entirely in Camera
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Product photography is all about the details, where every ray of light, every angle, and every placement can make or break a shot. This great video will walk you through setting up and shooting a watch image while working to minimize the amount of time spent in post-processing.

Why the Menu System on Sony Cameras Is a Mess and How They Can Fix It
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After a few months of dipping my toes in the water with the Sony a7R II, I finally sold both it and my Canon 5D Mark IV and consolidated with the a7R III recently. It's a top-notch camera that can excel in almost any genre, but it's still lacking in one area: the menu system. This video examines why a lot of pros aren't fond of Sony menus and how they can be improved.