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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

A Complete Guide to a Popular Children's Portraiture Retouching Look

If you look at a lot of children's portraiture, you'll probably notice a popular look that is the signature of quite a few photographers, namely natural light, shallow depth of field, and an airy, soft, and vibrant retouch. This awesome and comprehensive tutorial will show you how to replicate that look in your own work.

How Does Your Significant Other Feel When You Work With Models?

If you're a photographer who works with models, your line of work can naturally put you in situations that could easily make a significant other uncomfortable. This interesting video examines how one couple overcame their initial issues with exactly that.

Five Fun and Cheap Items for Creative Portraiture

It's easy to get caught up in thinking of only photographically intended accessories when trying to expand your creativity and as a byproduct, getting locked into paying photography accessory prices. However, with a little imagination, some very cheap items can make for inspiring and fun portraits.

f/138: Taking Pictures With No Lens at All

Lenses are obviously some of the most talked about pieces of photography equipment out there. However, there's one type of photography that requires no lens at all. This neat video follows a photographer as he spends a day shooting landscapes with a pinhole camera.

How to Add Snow to a Photograph Using Photoshop

A portrait taken in falling snow is a neat look that can create a much different atmosphere. If you don't have falling snow ready on hand for your next shoot, this helpful and fun tutorial will show you how to convincingly fake it using Photoshop.

This New York City 'Layer-Lapse' Is Jaw-Droppingly Cool

The thing I love about creative people is that just when I think I've seen it all, they do something that never even crossed my mind. Such is the case with this very unusual and very cool time-lapse of New York City that completely blurs the line between day and night.

Five Color Grading Mistakes to Avoid in Your Video Work

The color grade is one of the most essential aspects of any bit of video work. Not only does it help provide the finishing touch that makes your work look professional, it's a chance for you to really add your style to your work to develop a signature look that's more memorable. This helpful video details five mistakes to be wary of when you're working on a color grade.

Why Do We Love 'So Bad They're Good' Movies?

Oh hi, Fstoppers readers. Do you have any guilty pleasure movies — films you know are bad that you still enjoy anyway? Ever wonder why it is you enjoy them in spite of their questionable style, dialogue, acting, and/or execution? This great video essay examines why some movies are so bad they're good and how good films take advantage of their hilariously bad qualities.

How to Pre-visualize, Shoot, and Edit a Landscape Photo

Knowing how to visualize a shot in your head before you take it is an important step in the creative process, else you're simply firing off shots and hoping for a good edit to come out of the process. This great video follows a landscape photographer from pre-visualization all the way to printed photo.

How to Add Text to Any Object Using Photoshop

Sometimes, a photo needs a little text to really complete the message or the look, but slapping it on without trying to blend it in just makes it look like a terrible watermark. This fun tutorial will show you how to blend text into whatever object you please to make it look realistic.

Making Your Camera Work Faster With Custom Settings

A lot of photography revolves around your ability to be prepared when the moment strikes and be able to adapt quickly as the scenery and required settings change. One of the best ways to be more efficient and increase your chances of getting the shot is by using custom controls, which this great video goes into detail about.

How to Add a Nice Sunray Effect Using Photoshop

Nothing makes me forget that winter is just starting and I'm basically going to be uncomfortably cold for the next five months like a nice photo of somewhere warm with sun rays peeking through. This fun tutorial will show you a relatively quick and effective way to add sunrays to a photograph.

The Rewards of Patience in Photography

In a lot of genres, you have to shoot quickly and efficiently, lest you'll possibly miss an important shot. In other genres and situations, being in too much of a rush can be what actually causes you to miss the shot or come home with less-than-stellar results. This great video examines the idea of patience.

Facebook's Imperfect Attempt at Preventing Revenge Porn Reveals the Dark Side of a Photo-Laden Future

Facebook recently announced the launch of a new tool aimed at preventing cases of revenge porn, an act in which an ex posts intimate imagery of their former partner without permission in an attempt to humiliate or cause the person serious distress. While obviously well intentioned, the program has a major flaw and highlights a future where photos of every part of our lives will not always be a good thing.

Success as a Creative: The Only Way to Be a Professional Is to Be Professional

There's a certain mysticality that often gets assigned to work as a creative — the gifted artist that somehow conjures genius from thin air. This image is inaccurate at best, and it's downright poisonous for the artist themselves to subscribe to it. Here's how a professional really thinks and works.

A Quick and Easy Way to Enhance Skin Tones Using Photoshop

Whether it's because you're shooting in the dead of winter or just because your model is naturally pale, sometimes, you'll want to add slightly more vibrant tones that give your subject richer skin. This helpful tutorial will show you how to do just that quickly and effectively.

Follow the Re-creation of One of the Most Famous Photographs in History

Philippe Halsman's "Dali Atomicus" is one of the most famous images ever, notable for its complex composition and remarkable timing that captured the soul of its famous subject. This modern re-creation goes to painstaking effort to replicate the original, and the process is very neat to watch.

Why Photography Matters to Us

The one thing that ties us all together here is our passion for photography. For some of us, it's a beloved hobby, while for others, it's a career. This awesome video tells the story of how photography has had a positive impact in one person's life.