Why I Stopped Using Alkaline Batteries In My Speedlights And You Should Too!

Out with the old and in with the new! 

That's what I said about the batteries in my speedlights not so longs ago.  For as long as I could remember I was using just regular old Alkaline batteries to power my speedlights on location.  Not only was I wasting a ton of money (while definitely getting my money's worth from my Costco membership), I was also wasting a ton of time waiting for my flash to recycle everytime I took a photo!

I decided it was time to make a change... 

The day was Amazon Prime Day 2016, Panasonic Eneloop Pro rechargeable batteries were 70% off so I thought "what harm could come from ordering some?" I also ordered a couple external charge packs for my flashes (which were not on sale but still really affordable.) Once the batteries arrived, they made such a difference that I ordered 12 more at regular price because I knew this would be a complete game changer! Check out the video below to see how different types of batteries effect your flash recycle time.  You'll be amazed at the results!

If you have any questions please feel free to ask and I will do my best to respond in a timely manner. 

I hope you enjoyed this little tutorial and if you want to see more be sure to subscribe and also follow us on Instagram @ReadylightMedia and "like" us on Facebook!

Until next time,

Jeff C.

How To Take Your Images To The Next Level In Just 2 (ish) Easy Steps!

Today I am going to show you how to create a stunning image in just 2(ish) steps with minimal gear...



Keep on reading to find out how!

Adapting to your surroundings and creating amazing images!

As a photographer you constantly have to adapt to the different locations you shoot in. Sometimes you get lucky and are able to shoot in beautiful locations and other times you're not so fortunate.  In this post I am going to show you how I created an amazing image with a single speedlight in possibly the ugliest location I have ever shot in... (My Parking Garage!) Here is the final Image.  Keep reading to see my process.

Portrait Setup 101 (black background studio portrait)

Want to learn how to create this portrait? Check out the lighting diagram below!

Lighting Setup (Bar/Coffee Shop Portrait)

I hope everyone has had a great week! In this post I want to help you create some cool artsy portraits in a bar or coffee shop setting.  Everything below will help you get started and then you can take it from there and make it your own.  Click on the "Read More" button below to check out the gear I used as well as a lighting diagram.

Headshot How To: Mixing flash and ambient light (in low light conditions)

Living in Nashville I get the pleasure of working with a lot of really amazing clients.  One coolest clients I get to work with here in town is the iconic Sound Emporium Studios, which if you haven't heard of them it's definitely worth a google search.  I've been working with the Sound Emporium for a little over 4 years now shooting everything from the rooms themselves to product shots of the gear and even taking headshots for the staff.

In this post I am going to explain my lighting setup for the most recent headshot session I had with the staff.  One of the things that the Sound Emporium prides themselves on is the "vibe" of the studio so I wanted to try to capture that in the photos I took of the staff.  That being said, I didn't want to just shoot a basic white, black or grey background headshot and call it a day.  I needed to add some interest to the image which I did by placing the subjects in front of the recording console in one of the control rooms.  After I placed my subject, I used a simple two light setup and a shutter drag technique to capture the final image.  Keep reading to view the lighting diagram and camera settings...

How To: Simple 2 light portrait with no modifiers (kind of)

Here is a simple two light portrait that is sure to make any client happy.  In the title I stated that I "kind of" didn't use any modifiers, which was probably kind of confusing.... All I mean by that is that you can recreate this look with just two bare bulb flashes.  To take it up a notch, I added a blue gel to my backlight to give the image some more contrast.  keep on reading to view the lighting setup for this image...