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Alex Cooke
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Articles written by Alex Cooke

How to Capture Stunning Spring Flower Photos

Spring flowers offer endless opportunities for creating beautiful photographs, but capturing them well takes more than just pointing and shooting. Knowing how to approach composition, lighting, and equipment makes all the difference in elevating simple flower snapshots into striking images worth showcasing.

The Creative Benefits of Shooting With a Single Lens

Using a single prime lens challenges your usual shooting habits and pushes your creativity in unexpected directions. By stripping away excess gear, you're forced into thinking differently about composition and approach, making this minimalist method uniquely valuable.

5 Common Reasons Your Travel Photos Aren't Sharp

Blurry travel photos are painful, especially when you’ve traveled far for rare moments. Knowing why your shots aren't sharp—and how to fix them—can make all the difference.

Dark and Dramatic Lightroom Editing for Landscape Photos

Creating dramatic, moody images that stand out is challenging, but mastering targeted editing techniques can significantly elevate your results. Lightroom offers powerful tools to shape a simple landscape scene into a striking image with depth and atmosphere.

Finding Your Own Path Beyond Photography Myths

Believing that you need specific equipment to be considered a real photographer can seriously limit your creativity. Social media and other platforms often push the idea that certain gear or methods define your credibility, but that's simply not true.

The Practical Guide to Shooting Raw vs. JPEG

Choosing between raw and JPEG can feel overwhelming if you're new to photography, but your decision significantly impacts the quality and usability of your wildlife photos. It’s crucial to understand the practical differences rather than focusing purely on technical specifications.

Why Your Worst Photos Might Be Your Best Teachers

Taking photos you consider "bad" might actually improve your photography skills more than you'd expect. These imperfect images play a crucial role in shaping how effectively you handle your camera and approach each photography session.

Lightroom Virtual Copies: Streamline Your Editing Workflow

Virtual copies in Lightroom can significantly change the way you manage and deliver images to clients. They allow you to experiment with edits without affecting your original files, streamlining workflow while expanding your creative options.

The Misguided Quest for Perfect Camera Settings

Camera settings and lighting adjustments dominate many photography conversations, but obsessing over these details might actually limit your growth as a photographer. Fixating on exact camera or lighting settings from someone else's work won't replicate their results and can distract you from developing your own instincts and creative style.

Shutter Priority Mode Explained Clearly

Shutter priority mode helps you capture sharp, clear images instead of blurry ones by letting you prioritize shutter speed over other settings.

When to Ignore Photography Rules for Better Photos

Photography rules like the rule of thirds, symmetry, or specific lens guidelines might feel necessary when you're learning, but they're often more limiting than helpful. Sticking rigidly to these rules can leave you with predictable images and stunt your creativity.

Essential Tips for Capturing Small-Scale Landscapes

Exploring intimate landscapes can push you out of your comfort zone, especially when conditions aren't ideal for sweeping vistas. Mastering this type of photography sharpens your eye for detail and opens up new creative avenues when you're faced with challenging lighting or scenery.

Wedding Photography Trends Shaping the Year Ahead

Wedding photography trends are evolving fast, shaping how you might approach your work in the coming season. Understanding these changes can significantly impact your success and client satisfaction.

When Do Catch Lights Actually Matter?

Despite their seemingly minor detail, catch lights stir controversy among photographers, sparking discussions around whether they genuinely impact the quality of portraits or merely distract from more important elements of lighting and composition.

500 Days With the Leica M11: Worth the Price?

The Leica M11 is an intriguing camera that's received a mix of admiration and critique, especially among those who appreciate the simplicity and manual control the brand is known for. Is it worth the premium price?

Viltrox AF 135mm f/1.8: Nikon's New Portrait Powerhouse

The Viltrox AF 135mm f/1.8 LAB Z Lens aims to provide Nikon Z mount users with exceptional portrait capabilities, balancing sharpness and striking background separation, all at an incredibly low price. Here's a look at how it performs.