Original Articles from Alex Cooke

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.

Pete Souza needs little introduction. As the Chief Official White House Photographer for President Obama and an Official White House Photographer for President Reagan, Souza had the crucial duty of documenting innumerably many historical moments, a job he did with an empathetic touch that has made his work the model for many aspiring photographers.

Your website is more important than ever. It is likely the first place potential clients look when they want to evaluate your work and if you are a good fit for them. So, to increase the chances of landing the job, make sure you do not make this mistake.  

In between the ads seemingly every three posts, forced "suggested" posts and accounts, and the infamous algorithm, a lot of us have grown very apathetic toward Instagram in the last few years. If you are one of those people, here are three ways to make the app more enjoyable again.  

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.

Color is one of the most important things to photographers, but surprisingly, we often do not do everything we can and should do to ensure our colors are accurate and consistent. Datacolor's SpyderX Photo Kit makes it easier than ever to make sure your colors are spot on from the moment you press the shutter to the final export, and Datacolor is offering it for 50% off.

There is a tendency in photography to over-engineer things, thinking that more complicated is inherently better in some way. However, that can often work against us, and often, it is better to simplify things a bit.  

2020 has brought with it a lot of very exciting new cameras and lenses, and like many, you might be considering whipping out your credit card and placing an order. Before you do that, though, be sure to ask yourself these five questions.  

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.

Yesterday, we talked about five common mistakes beginner photographers make. Now, let's talk about five common mistakes professional photographers make.  

We are all unique people, but there are some mistakes that almost every new photographer makes at some point. Here are five common mistakes to watch out for in your own work.  

Tamron has become a brand new company in the last few years and has achieved both success and popularity with their newer lenses. They are using a philosophy different from many other companies, and it is why they are currently my favorite photography success.  

We spend a lot of time discussing camera gear and the like, but given the amount of time we spend at our computers for our work, it is also worth talking about ways to make our lives easier in our office, whether that is at home or in a dedicated studio. Here are six things that make my office life easier and more enjoyable. 

I worked hard when I first started in photography to become competent both behind the camera and when interfacing with clients, but a subtle error I was making worked against me for a long time until I realized how to fix it. Here is why learning how to think more like a client can improve your work.  

If you enjoyed reading about mind-blowing photography facts, here are 10 more that you will find fascinating.  

A few years ago, Adobe moved to a subscription model for their Creative Suite, a decision that was fraught with controversy, particularly since many creatives felt it was a money grab. If you prefer to work with software that is either free or that only requires a one-time payment, here are some great alternatives. 

Eye autofocus, insanely fast burst rates, 8K raw video, and more. There is no doubt that camera features are getting better and better at a crazy pace. But the thing I am most excited for is not on a camera, it is in post-processing: artificial intelligence. 

Street photography is a particularly tough genre to achieve success in: it takes a combination of a quick eye, good instincts, and a dose of bravery, and even then, a little luck certainly helps. Personally, I think that even with that taken into account, a lot of street photography is simply bad photography and exploitative of the subjects. 

The advent of the smartphone camera completely eliminated the point and shoot market save for a few niche exceptions, thereby eliminating a large potential customer base for many manufacturers. What can those manufacturers do to attract smartphone shooters toward dedicated devices? 

While the 1D series has always been Canon's flagship line, the 5D series is the camera of most working photographers. As the industry moves toward mirrorless cameras, the release of the 5D mirrorless equivalent, the R5, leaves us wondering: will we see a 5D Mark V, or was the 5D Mark IV the last Canon 5 Series DSLR? 

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a considerable impact on the photography industry, and (at least in the United States), it is not clear when a permanent return to normalcy can be expected. Photographers need to develop contingency plans to deal with ever-changing conditions and scenarios as we move forward. 

Modern cameras often have a vast array of features, some more useful than others. There are some features that are less common than others that are still highly useful, however, and here are five that I wish would appear in more cameras. 

Most of us gravitate toward a few key features in cameras: things like ISO range, continuous burst rate, etc. Here are five camera features I think do not get enough credit. 

Sony has been pushing hard in the mirrorless camera realm for about seven years now, and they have undoubtedly made major progress both in terms of technology and market share. Still, Canon and Nikon hold a major advantage over Sony that if leveraged correctly can help them significantly in the long run. 

The new Canon EOS R6 and the R5 in particular have generated loads of excitement with their powerful feature sets. However, Canon also announced four new lenses alongside the cameras, and I think those are just as much reason to be excited. 

Apple recently announced that they will soon begin a two-year transition away from using Intel chips in their computers to using in-house ARM chips instead. How will this major paradigm shift affect creatives who use Macs for their work? 

Have you watched any old television shows lately? Have you noticed anything strange about them? In watching an older show recently, I was surprised by just how many shots are blatantly out of focus. 

Many photographers buy and sell gear at a steady pace, always looking for some interesting new lens or body to try. I am no different, and I have bought and sold my fair share of gear over the years.  I have come to regret selling one specific camera and lens, though. 

2020 has been an unprecedented year both for the camera industry and the world at large. What will the landscape look like five years from now? 

Working as a photographer is not all doom or gloom; in fact, there are some really great moments along the way. What has been your favorite memory along the way? 

In this article, Fstoppers writers share some of their favorite memories working as creatives.

New camera gear is really cool. But you know what else is cool? Sitting in your new hot tub while your miniature horse grazes nearby. It's time to look at the things you can spend your money on instead of new camera gear. 

Let's play a game. Your rich uncle just gave you his credit card and told you to buy whatever camera and lens (old or new) you want. What do you pick? 

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.

The exposure triangle is one of the most fundamental concepts any photographer needs to master to take control of their images. If you struggle to understand how it all comes together to produce a complete exposure, this article is for you. 

Photography is full of tradeoffs where you gain one thing in exchange for losing another. Here are five tradeoffs that every photographer should know.