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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

6 Essential Tips for Street Photography

Street photography, an ever-popular genre, offers photographers a canvas to capture the spontaneity and rhythm of urban life. Its significance lies in its ability to tell compelling stories through candid moments, making it an essential skill for photographers looking to explore the nuances of everyday life in urban settings or improve their work in genres that demand a similar eye, such as wedding photography. This helpful video discusses six tips sure to improve your street images.

What Is Bokeh and Why Are So Many Photographers Obsessed With It?

Bokeh, a term derived from the Japanese word "boke," meaning "blur," is central to the aesthetic quality of photography and videography. This phenomenon creates a soft, pleasing effect that can significantly enhance the visual storytelling of a photo or video.

How to Create Dreamy Light for Landscape Photos in Lightroom

In the realm of landscape photography, post-processing can transform a good image into a great one, and that means mastering tools like Lightroom is essential. This helpful video tutorial will show you a useful technique for making dreamy light in a landscape image using the program.

Mastering Perspective and Focus: A Deep Dive into Tilt-Shift Lenses

Tilt-shift lenses offer unique capabilities, transforming images with unparalleled control over focus and composition. This is particularly vital for photographers who demand precision in architectural and landscape photography, where maintaining straight lines and selective focus is key. They're also fantastic creative tools. This helpful video will show you everything you need to get started with them.

Why Photography Is the Perfect Hobby for Older People

Photography, a hobby often celebrated for its universal appeal, holds a special charm for older individuals. Embracing the art of photography can be a particularly rewarding pursuit for those in their golden years, offering a unique blend of creative expression, mental stimulation, and physical activity, all of which are key components to a fulfilling and balanced lifestyle in later life.

How to Use TTL Mode on a Speedlight

Understanding how to effectively use speedlights is crucial for capturing high-quality images in various settings, from weddings to family events. Speedlights offer photographers a compact, versatile lighting solution that enhances the quality of their work, especially in fast-paced and low-light environments. The helpful video tutorial will get you started working with one.

Breaking Free from Technical Obsession in Photography

In professional photography, developing a personal style and understanding industry trends is as crucial as mastering the technical skills. This important video challenges you to think beyond technical proficiency and consider your unique artistic voice and how it resonates with your audience.

Choosing Between the Nikon Z9 and Z8 for Wildlife Photography

Choosing the right camera is crucial to capturing those once-in-a-lifetime shots in wildlife photography. For Nikon shooters, the Z8 and Z9 are excellent options, albeit with some notable differences. This helpful video review takes a look at both to help you choose the right one for your work.

A Review of the Astounding Fujifilm GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR Lens

Typically, medium format lenses have smaller aperture sizes compared to full frame lenses, making it uncommon to find one with an aperture wider than f/2. However, the Fujifilm GF 80mm f/1.7 R WR stands out in this regard, as explored in this detailed video review. The review takes a deep look at the lens' capabilities, highlighting its image quality and performance in real-world scenarios.

Lightroom Classic: Essential Customization Tips

Understanding the nuances of Lightroom Classic can significantly streamline a photographer's workflow and open up new creative possibilities. In an era where workflows demand both creativity and efficiency, mastering modern editing applications becomes indispensable. This is especially true when considering the software's vast customization options, which can significantly enhance a photographer's editing process.

Clarity, Dehaze, and Texture: Mastering These Lightroom Tools

Mastering the nuances of photo editing can transform an average image into an extraordinary one. In photography, the ability to subtly manipulate elements like clarity, dehaze, and texture is fundamental to enhancing image quality and bringing a creative vision to life.

Balancing Blues in Photography: A Guide to Better Color Management

Color management is a critical skill that can significantly impact the final outcome of an image. Mastering this aspect of photography is especially important when dealing with colors that subtly influence a photo's mood and tone, such as blue. This helpful video tutorial will show you how to carefully manage the blue hues in your photos to produce a more polished final product.

One of the Least-Known but Most Useful Sliders in Lightroom

Lightroom is an intricate program with dozens of controls, and among all those options, a few hidden gems are waiting for you. This excellent video tutorial takes a look at one of the least-known but useful sliders.

The Essential Photoshop Keyboard Shortcut Guide

Photoshop's keyboard shortcuts offer an invaluable tool for photographers, streamlining their workflow and increasing efficiency. These shortcuts, often underutilized, can significantly reduce editing time and simplify complex tasks, making them a crucial aspect for any serious photographer.

A Review of the Impressive Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 Lens

The Samyang AF 35-150mm f/2-2.8 lens brings a remarkable combination of a wide range of focal lengths and large maximum apertures at a surprisingly budget-friendly price. This makes it a compelling choice for photographers specializing in weddings, events, sports, and portraits. But how does it hold up in real-world use? This detailed video review delves into the lens's performance and the quality of images it produces.

Mastering Minimalist Snowy Landscapes

Capturing the essence of a snowy landscape presents unique challenges and opportunities for photographers. The tranquility and minimalism offered by a snow-covered scene can transform an ordinary location into a unique visual story with the right approach. This helpful video tutorial will give you useful advice on how to shoot and edit such scenes.

A Look at Three Generations of Canon Nifty Fifty Lenses

The 50mm f/1.8 lens, often dubbed the "nifty fifty," is a cornerstone in a photographer's growth, celebrated for its versatility and natural field of view. Its popularity stems from its ability to closely mimic the human eye's perspective, its wide aperture, and its affordable price. This fun video takes a look at three generations of Canon's nifty fifty lenses.

The Real Reason Gear Matters

Photographic equipment, often perceived as the key to getting better shots, serves a more nuanced role in the creative process. Understanding this relationship between gear and creativity is not only essential for new photographers looking to evolve but also for those questioning the impact of their equipment on their work. This insightful video addresses the dilemma faced by many photographers: balancing the allure of new technology with the essence of creativity.