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Articles written by Alex Cooke

Fstoppers Photographer of the Month (September 2017): Michael Shainblum
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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.

Five Things to Think About Instead of Gear
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If you're at all like me, your thought process when it comes to gear probably involves a constant battle in your mind between remembering that it doesn't matter as much as we pretend it does and drooling over that new body, because holy cow, it shoots so many frames per second and has enough dynamic range to shoot the sun and the inside of a dark cave in one exposure. Here are five things to think about instead the next time gear pops into your head.

Ten of the Best Cinematographers of All Time
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While the director and stars of a film are typically the names most people call to mind when they think of it, the cinematographer is one of the most important members of the crew, heading the choices of camera, lenses, filters, lighting etc. to help achieve the vision of the director. Here are 10 of the best cinematographers of all time.

How Your Computer Thinks About Color
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Have you ever looked at hexadecimal color codes and wondered what the logic was for that string of letters and numbers representing some color? Did you know I can count to 1,023 using only my fingers? Are you wondering what on earth these two things have to do with each other? Check this out.

An Effective Way to Blend Exposures Using Photoshop
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Modern digital cameras have some pretty impressive dynamic range, but the world at large still has many scenes that are simply too much to capture at peak quality in one exposure. This helpful tutorial will show you a powerful and effective technique for blending multiple exposures using Photoshop.

The Unique and Powerful Capabilities of a Large Format Camera
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Large format photography is probably the most technical and methodical process of all methods of shooting, but you're rewarded with prints that have mind-blowing renderings and resolution. Along with that technical process come some pretty unique powers, however. This video shows off one such capability and how it helped the photographer realize his creative vision.

Some Useful Tips for Lighting Bald People in Video
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Lighting bald people can present some difficulties, as the extra exposed skin can create additional hot spots that take some care to prevent, while separating them from the background often takes a bit of a different approach than when working with someone with hair. This helpful video will show you a proper lighting setup for someone who's bald.

Ten Helpful Tips for Posing Women
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Posing is a highly nuanced art that can take a lot of experience to feel comfortably proficient at. This helpful video will give you 10 tips for better poses when working with women.

How to Make an Awesome Splash Photo Using Only One Speedlight
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While many of us don't own dedicated studio strobes, most of us do own at least one speedlight. And while they may not be as powerful as their bigger cousins, they offer more capabilities than we might give them credit for. This fun video demonstrates how you can create a high-quality splash shot using only a single speedlight and a little DIY ingenuity.

The Power and Convenience of Lightroom's Web Features
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Most of us use Lightroom for our cataloging needs as well as probably a fair chunk of our editing. As Adobe continues to push for greater and greater cloud capabilities, if you haven't examined the power of Lightroom's web features yet, this helpful video will show you how they can make working with a client far easier.

Creating a Low Key Portrait Using Rembrandt Lighting
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Multi-light setups can be tricky to master, but they also offer a remarkable amount of control and creative possibilities. This helpful tutorial will walk you through one such setup with its take on a classic lighting setup, showing how each light contributes to the final image and how you can replicate it yourself.

Stephen Curry Blasts Sports Illustrated 'Unity' Cover for Not Including Colin Kaepernick
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A few days ago, Sports Illustrated revealed a cover addressing the protests against police brutality and racial inequality via kneeling during the national anthem. The cover was supposed to represent the increasing unity between professional athletes (particularly in the NFL) in protesting both the original issues first brought to attention in this fashion by Colin Kaepernick, as well as the responses by President Trump. There was only one problem: Sports Illustrated didn't include Kaepernick on the cover.

How to Turn a White Wall Into a Black Background for Photos
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You might think that if you want a dark background in your photos, you need to be shooting with a, well, dark background. However, the beauty of lighting and exposure is that with a proper setup, you can turn even a white wall into a dark background. This helpful video will show you the basics of doing just that.

Shaping the Light of a Landscape Photo Using Only Lightroom
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There's often the belief that creating a fully polished photo requires the use of Photoshop at some point in the process. However, Lightroom is itself a very powerful program, and often, one can create a finished image using only it. Here's how to do just that with a landscape photo.

The Difference Between Vibrance and Saturation in Photoshop
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Photoshop is a powerful program full of hundreds of functions, many of which seem to behave very similarly, but definitely have distinct purposes that make them more or less appropriate than related tools depending on the situation. This video examines one of the most common cases, vibrance vs. saturation, and how you should use each in your editing.

How to Add a Lovely Rim Light Effect Using Photoshop
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Rim lights can be some of the most underappreciated yet important parts of a setup. They can add definition and drama to an image and are the main source of subject-background separation in many scenarios. This helpful tutorial will show you how to add a lovely rim light effect using Photoshop.

The Difficulties of Being a Socially Anxious Photographer
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Being a photographer who shoots people in some capacity requires the distinct ability to readily socialize with near-complete strangers and build engagement and trust in a relatively short timespan. For those who are introverted and/or socially anxious, that challenge is doubled. Here's how one successful photographer deals with that.

Some Helpful Tips for Better Golden Hour Portraits
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Ah, the golden hour, that magical time when photographers emerge from their editing caves to maniacally snap as many portraits as they can before the sun goes down. Ok, I exaggerated slightly, but most of us do love the golden hour. Here are some helpful tips to get better shots during that special time.

A Very Quick and Helpful Tip to Save Time When Posting to Instagram
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Instagram continues to grow as a legitimate tool for photographers to feature their work, build connections, and find clients. As such, developing an efficient workflow on the app is something most photographers should consider. This helpful video will show iPhone users a neat trick to save time.

Three Tips for Taking Better Portraits in Poor Locations
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It's going to happen at sometime during your career (probably a lot of times): you'll be forced to shoot in an uninspiring or just bad location. However, the potential of almost any location can be salvaged to produce good portraiture. This helpful video will give you three quick tips to do just that.