Profile picture for Alex Cooke
Editor-in-Chief

Alex Cooke

Cleveland, OH
18 3 Star badge
1 10+ Portfolio Images badge
1 Editor's Pick badge
1 Top Contributor badge

Articles from Alex Cooke

Discovering New Perspectives With an Ultra-Wide Angle Lens

Choosing an ultra-wide lens can profoundly affect how you approach photography, forcing you to reconsider perspective and composition. Such lenses aren't for every situation, but when used correctly, they can offer dramatic, unique results.

Transform Flat Photos With Simple Lightroom Masks

Editing a flat landscape photo to look engaging often feels tricky, especially when the lighting isn't ideal. Lightroom offers powerful tools to address this challenge, making dull scenes vibrant and engaging with careful masking techniques.

Breaking Free From Safe Photography

Finding your unique style in photography isn't about new gear or mastering every tip you read. Your personal perspective and approach matter far more than the latest camera or lighting setup.

Capturing Powerful Photos From Everyday Moments

Taking photos that genuinely capture the feeling of a moment is harder than it looks. You might find yourself in an inspiring new location, camera ready, only to feel disappointed when your pictures don't match what you see.

Color Spaces: Why Your Choice Matters More Than You Think

Choosing the right color space for your photography workflow directly impacts how vibrant and accurate your images appear. The difference between a stunning sunset with rich gradients and one that looks flat and posterized often comes down to this technical but crucial decision that many photographers make without understanding the consequences.

How Shadows Transform Black and White Photography

Black and white photography creates a unique visual language through its deliberate absence of color. The power of shadows and negative space within monochrome images transforms ordinary scenes into graphic, evocative compositions that engage viewers in a completely different way than color photography.

Maximizing Your Photography Budget: Pro Gear Without Pro Prices

Getting the most value from your photography equipment requires strategic thinking, not endless spending. Smart gear choices can save you thousands while still producing professional-quality images that stand up against those shot with the latest and most expensive equipment.

Advanced Photoshop Techniques for Perfect Window Views

Getting a clear, balanced view through windows in real estate photography often presents unique challenges, especially when different windows have varying levels of brightness. Tackling this issue effectively can significantly improve the quality of your interior shots, highlighting the property's surroundings without distracting exposure discrepancies.

JPEG vs Raw: Which Format Fits Your Workflow?

The debate about shooting in JPEG versus raw format is familiar territory for most who hold a camera. Understanding their differences isn't about deciding a winner, but rather about knowing which works better for your specific needs as you shoot and edit.

How to Capture Stunning Landscapes in Any Light

Understanding how to use light creatively transforms ordinary scenes into extraordinary photographs. Knowing how to handle different lighting conditions ensures you never walk away empty-handed, even when conditions initially seem less than ideal.

Testing Nikon’s Versatile 28-400mm Lens in the Real World

When traveling, choosing what gear to pack is always a balancing act between capability and convenience. A single lens that covers a wide focal range can drastically simplify your kit, but often at the cost of certain performance trade-offs.

Advanced Photoshop Layer Techniques for Cityscapes

Mastering complex lighting conditions is a crucial skill when capturing city scenes at night. Getting clear, balanced exposures in areas with intense contrast can significantly elevate your final images.

Find Clarity and Direction in Your Photography

Feeling stuck, unsure of what to shoot, is a common issue when you pick up your camera. It’s frustrating and can sap the joy out of photography if you let it linger too long.

Simplify Your Photo Edits With Smarter Masking

Masking is one of those skills that can dramatically change how you edit your photos. Knowing how to manipulate masks effectively can save you a lot of frustration and improve your editing results, especially when the AI selections in Lightroom or Photoshop Camera Raw aren't quite perfect.

Physical Filters vs. Digital Editing: What's Best for You?

Are filters still relevant in landscape photography, or have they become outdated? Deciding whether to invest time and money into filters or rely solely on digital editing significantly affects your photographic workflow and results.

How Much Camera Automation Is Too Much?

Automation can streamline your workflow, but it also has clear limits. Understanding when and how to use automation effectively can significantly impact your final images.

Unlock the Potential of Your 28mm Lens

Unlike the popular 35mm, the 28mm is often misunderstood or underutilized, but with the right approach, it can significantly improve your photography.

The Challenges of Producing Your Own Photography Book

Creating a photo book involves far more than just selecting images; the practicalities of production, publishing, and shipping present significant hurdles. Understanding these challenges can help you realistically plan your own book project.

Mastering the 35mm Lens: Key Composition Tips

The 35mm focal length holds a special place in photography, prized for its natural perspective and storytelling ability. Its strength lies in capturing just enough context without overwhelming or distracting the viewer, striking a balance that feels intuitively right.

Efficient Exposure Control Using Auto ISO

Auto ISO can significantly improve your photography, especially when handling shifting lighting conditions or needing quick adjustments. If used correctly, it helps you maintain consistent aperture and shutter speed settings without constant manual tweaks.

The Art of Creative Photography

Creating powerful photographs often comes down to how deeply you can enter a creative state during a shoot. This state, known as the photography flow state, can significantly improve the quality of your images by letting you focus entirely on composition, lighting, and storytelling elements without distraction.

Photoshop’s Updated Hue/Saturation Tool

Photoshop recently updated its hue/saturation adjustment tool, making it simpler and more intuitive to quickly modify colors in your images. Mastering color adjustment techniques can significantly improve your editing efficiency and image quality, offering precision control without complicated procedures.

How to Precisely Apply Lightroom Gradients

Applying a linear gradient in Lightroom can feel limiting since the effect usually starts strong at one edge and gradually fades out. Here's a better way.

Nikon's New 135mm f/1.8: Worth the Premium?

The Nikon NIKKOR Z 135mm f/1.8 S Plena lens has sparked considerable attention for its high-end optics and build quality. It's an attractive choice, particularly if you specialize in portrait photography.

The Key to Sustainable Wedding Photography Marketing

Marketing a wedding photography business differs greatly from marketing other businesses. Weddings involve high emotion, significant expense, and one-time events, making client trust and connection crucial.

Simplify Your Scenes for Stronger Photos

Minimalist photography challenges you to see landscapes differently, stripping away complexity to highlight the simplest, most essential aspects of a scene. It's a style that demands thoughtful observation and a willingness to slow down to uncover quieter, more intimate perspectives.

Master Manual Mode With These Outdoor Portrait Tips

Learning to shoot in manual mode gives you greater control over your photography and helps you understand how to adapt to various lighting conditions. Mastering this skill is particularly valuable for outdoor portraits using natural light since you have to constantly adjust settings to match changing circumstances.

How to Use Color Theory to Improve Your Photography

Color impacts your photography more than almost any other factor. It shapes the mood, guides the viewer's attention, and can determine whether your image resonates emotionally or feels disconnected.

Unlocking Better Outdoor Portraits With a Beauty Dish

Using a beauty dish in portrait photography is often misunderstood or avoided because of misconceptions around harsh lighting and challenging shadows. Yet, mastering this lighting tool can elevate your outdoor portraits significantly, creating a natural, defined look that large, soft modifiers can't replicate.

Canon RF-S 14-30mm f/4-6.3: A Video Creator’s Ideal Lens

Canon recently introduced the RF-S 14-30mm f/4-6.3 IS STM PZ lens, a zoom lens tailored specifically for video creators using APS-C sensor RF-S mount cameras. With its power zoom and wide angle coverage, it aims directly at vloggers and video enthusiasts looking for flexibility without sacrificing portability.

Transforming Everyday Landscapes Into Extraordinary Photos

Landscape photography doesn't require faraway places to be compelling. You might overlook your local area, dismissing it as mundane compared to exotic locales you see online. But recognizing the hidden potential around you can transform your creative outlook and lead to exceptional photographs.