Day 206 of an Unknown Number

"Image 206"

I recently saw a very sexy alcohol product shot online, and thought, "How could I make this completely unsexy?" Well, I think I am on to something. The lighting is similar (though the wine bottle in the inspirational image was made of glass), and I think my version has a very similar feeling to it.....but not at all. There are three strobes working here. Our key light is a snooted speedlight, and it is just out of frame at camera-left, and it lights only the sticker. Next, there is a gridded strobe behind the bottle, and it has two layers of CTB to cool things down. Lastly, there is a third strobe directly above our product, and it defines the highlight on the cap, and along the upper edge of the bottle. I imagine many of you are on Amazon right now, buying up Mr. Bubble. My job here is done. Thanks for stopping by!!

#mrbubble #bubblebath #product photography #bubbles #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #tabletopphotography #canon5dmarkIII #canon580exII #canon24105 #grid #sexy

Day 68 of an Unknown Number

"Image 68"

So, at the last minute my wife decided she did not want to be photographed. That only left myself as a possible subject. Your loss. With that said, this is the lighting set up for the pill from yesterday. Our key is a finely gridded strobe at camera-left, just illuminating our subject's face. Next, there is a strip box at camera-right, and it delivers the edge light to the side of the face. It prevents that side of the face from vanishing into shadow. Lastly, there is a gridded strobe throwing just a kiss of light on to the grey background for separation. I love the grid on the key light, as it leaves the camera-left side of the face in shadow. I really like that ability to focus the light on a small area. Thanks for dropping in!!

#selfportrait #blackandwhite #portrait #grid #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein

Day 129 of 365

"The Famous Conjoined, Bearded Magnets of Sherman Oaks"

Today's image is my first portrait of twins. They are conjoined, bearded and proud.......and highly magnetic. I've had these magnets standing by for an image for months, but was not sure what to do with them. When my container of iron filings arrived, I knew something magical might happen. Well...at least something magnetical. I propped the magnets up (probably the most difficult part of the shoot), dusted the little guys with iron filings, and let them do their thing. As you can see, there are strip lights on both sides, providing the vertical highlights on the outer edges. There is also a snooted speedlight, up high, behind the magents, making sure we had some light on their shiny heads. I see additional magnet-related images in the future! Thanks for sticking around!!

#magnets #twins #ironfilings #beardedmagnets #canon5dmarkIII #tamron70200 #macrophotography #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #stripbanks #canon580exII #roguegrid

Day 323 of 365

"Begg of Nails"

Several months ago I used this small bed of pins to create a self portrait. I knew I would use it again in some capacity, and when I spotted my collection of hollowed-out eggs (don't ask), I thought something might come to mind. So, I gently pressed the egg shell into the bed of pins, and began to play with light. There is a strip bank at camera-left, and it softly lights half of the egg. I snooted a speedlight, and fired it through the pins at camera-right. Much to my surprise, it created this semi-circle highlight on the egg. This is called a "happy accident." At that point, I was going to stop and post the image. However, I felt something was missing. I walked around with another speedlight, firing into the pins from every angle. Unfortunately, I could never achieve the look I was going for. Apparently it only exists in my head. At the last moment I decided to see what my handy laser might do. With the controlled focus of the laser, I started to get the look I was going for. I tried several different methods of painting the egg and pins with laser, and went with this final version. This is a 1.6 second exposure, and after the strobes fired, I painted the egg. At the very last moment (seconds before posting), I rotated it 90 degrees. Thanks for dropping by!!

#egg #laser #laseregg #lightpainting #bedofnails #crescent #canon5dmarkIII #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #speedlight #pocketwizard #eggnap #sleeplittleegg #abstract

Day 334 of 365

"Portrait 334"

Today's concept was stol.....borrowed from a fellow photographer on Instagram. I saw an intriguing image, and have tried to reverse engineer it here. I knew it was a double exposure, but was not sure how the image was confined to the area of the body. I then decided it was probably achieved by blowing out the background. After experimenting on myself (I do this all the time...too often, actually), I brought in my more attractive model. I gave her some direction, and she did the rest. We discovered that if she wandered too far from her first pose for the second, all we were left with was a blank area without a head. I suppose the outtakes would make more sense than my babbling about it. Anyway, our key light was a strip bank at camera-left, feathered a bit ahead of the young lady. The key to the image is the second light. It is the one what blows out the white background. It is essential because it fills in (and blows out) the areas not recorded on the first exposure. Does that make sense? Fortunately for me, both exposures are viewable on the LCD screen as these multiple exposure images are recorded. This technique requires a lot of trial and error, as I did not intend to blend the exposures in post, but preferred to go with the image created in-camera. Thanks for exposing yourself to this!!

#doubleexposure #portrait #woman #girl #studio #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbox #multipleexposure

Day 168 of an Unknown Number

"Image 168"

I had the pleasure of working with my friend, Michael, once again. He and his partner, Andrew, have created an awesome collection of hair coloring products. Their company is called Underground Cosmetics. They've allowed me to come up with my own concepts for the last two collections. I found an LED light at their lab, and I ended up swinging it in the background during a long exposure. There are strip banks on both sides, and they provide the separation from the background. I used a gridded beauty dish for the face of the tub. It helped focus the light, and not infect the background, or the LED light effect. The LED rope has a remote control with which one can adjust the color and the brightness. I did my best to match each background color with that of the different hair color tubs. With a camera remote in one hand, I would trip the camera, then swing the LED rope back and forth behind the Plexiglass table. Fun stuff. Thanks for dropping by!!

#undergroundcosmetics #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #pocketwizard #haircolor #hair #cosmetics #productphotography #makeup #dailyimage #dailypost #imageoftheday

Day 177 of 365

"Clean Coal Revolution"

I've had this concept swirling in my head for months.....but I didn't have any charcoal. I then realized that I had a bag for my carnivores' potting mix. Our key light is an Octa, almost directly above. I had to move it around, as I was creating unwanted specular highlights at times. With the phone opened at this angle, no light was reflecting back into the lens. Then, directly above the charcoal is a snooted speedlight. You really have to pump quite a bit of light into a handful of charcoal. It just sucks up the light! As for the background, it is lit by a speedlight at very low power. I just wanted a kiss of light to bring up the exposure on my grey canvas background. I was quite happy with how the black tile just vanished into the background. I added the fonts in post. Thanks for chuggin' by!!

#coal #charcoal #cellphone #phone technology #cleancoal #sustainability #thefuture #fuel #energy #canon5dmarkIII #canon580exII #snoot #pocketwizards #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octabox

Day 309 of 365

"Portrait 309"

Today's portrait is brought to you by a syringe. This little bastard hopped on me as I took out the trash this morning. In a very masculine way, I swatted him frantically.....and he volunteered to be my subject today. That is a minuscule needle in his posterior. With the recent purchase of my macro extension tube, I have been exposed to a new world of macro possibilities. This guy is no larger than a healthy crumb. So, he is resting on a syringe, which is clamped on an extension arm, which is attached to a light stand. Because the extension tube renders auto-focus unusable, I had to manually focus this sucker. Needless to say, even finding him in the view finder was difficult. The depth of field is......small? I mean, his eyes are in focus, but the top part of his forehead is not. That's shallow!! As for the lighting, there is a socked beauty dish directly above him, and a there is a snooted speedlight over his camera-left shoulder. It delivers the highlight on his temple and camera-left paw. Lastly, there is a piece of foamcore directly beneath him. Without that shadow-filler, the lower half of the frame is very dark. The foamcore is also what creates that unexpected highlight all over the background. I can't quite explain how it happened, but it was a happy mistake, and I selected this frame to post. Thank for laying your eyes on this one!!

#macrophotography #macro #spider #hoppingspider #californiaspider #arachnid #closeup #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #extensiontube #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #beautydish #syringe #canon580exII

Day 339 of 365

"Nick in a Nut"

As a child, I was always told that there was a tiny Santa Claus inside of each and every peanut. Well, after today's research, I can indeed

confirm that there is a minuscule bearded man inside each nut. Whether it is Santa Claus, I could not say. With that said, I've heard that they very recently found some bones which could be Santa's. Wow! Oh, sorry kids. As for the lighting, there is a soft box at camera-left, and a piece of foamcore at camera-right, slightly behind the nut. It fills in the shadows and provides a bit of a hair light.....nut light. Thanks for stopping by!

#peanut #macro #nut #santa #santaclaus #saintnick #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #pocketwizard

Day 332 of 365

"Cork Deconstructed"

For some reason the other day, I sliced up a cork. I think I was imagining photographing it as though it were a sharpened pencil. Taking a second look at it today, I thought I would try to reassemble it. But how? Well, why not put it back together with pins? O.K. Once I had the pieces in place, I pinned it back together, and slowly pulled the pieces out from the central piece. It sort of resembles a tiny solar system. As for the photographing, there are three strobes involved. Our key light is a strip bank at camera-left. It wraps nicely around the pieces, and I filled in the shadows with a piece of foamcore at camera-right. Imagining as though I was shooting for the company, I realized the logo was not lit properly. So, I stuck a speedlight on top of the camera, and attached my Ray Flash ring flash. It is turned way down, just offering a kiss of light to show the name. Lastly, there is a tightly snooted speedlight, directly above. It delivers all of the light on top of the pieces, and offers just a little variety in exposure. Again, we shot against a white background...because I was too lazy to put up the black one. However, because we were far enough from the background, and because the lights were not pointing that direction, the white remained black. Thanks for popping by!!

#cork #foodphotography#wine #alcohol #productphotography #pins #slowpress #winery #canon5dmarkIII #canonmarco100 #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein

Day 345 of 365

"Inverted, Broken and Only Half There"

Today was one of those days when I had absolutely no idea what I would shoot. I started photographing a metal wheel...and that was a terrible waste of time. I then spotted an empty egg shell, and proceeded to fill it with tiny ball bearings. That also seemed stupid. My shiny black tile still has some solidified gallium on it, and I thought it would make for a nice work surface. I then inverted the egg shell, and the image suddenly had some potential. I then went vertical with the image, and observed the egg's reflection. When I saw that it had the impression of being a whole egg, and knew I was on the right track. I loved the symmetry, and was finished......until I thought that I should try to add smoke to the image. So, with a pair of tweezers, I gently dropped half of a lit match into the hole on the top of the egg, and we had smoke!! I lit my egg with a diffused beauty dish at camera-left. When I noticed that the smoke was not registering, I realized I would have to light it from behind the egg. So, I added a snooted speedlight, and placed it just below the edge of the tile on which the egg was resting. Suddenly, the smoke popped off the background! And.......scene. Thanks for dropping in!!

#egg #foodphotography #smoke #ballbearings #reflection #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #beautydish

Day 118 of an Unknown Number

"Atheist Praying for Focus"

Some friends brought over a lovely bouquet of tulips last night. I thought to myself that they would make for an obvious photographic subject for today. However, when I went to check on the garden this morning, I happened upon a small praying mantis on one of our chili pepper plants. Let me clarify that......I found a very, very small praying mantis on our chili pepper plant. I immediately offered it temporary housing, and then pondered how I might photograph our minuscule subject. Assuming I would use my macro lens and macro extension tubes, I had no idea how our model might behave. Even with a subject this small, the depth of field would be teeny-weeny at best. With that in mind, I arranged a backup plan, and set up to photograph the tulips themselves. Having no patience, I carefully placed our model on the top of the tulip, and she proudly took her place. She walked around a couple of times, but willingly crawled on to my finger as I placed her on different parts of the flower. Within a few minutes I had several images, and hoped I had captured at least one image in focus. I got to my computer and discovered that my favorite photograph was crisp. I must admit that I am quite happy with the results. There is an enormous softbox at camera-left, and I used it because it was the only light already set up. Thanks to our model, and thank you for stopping by.

#prayingmantis #mantis #insect #bug #nature #macrophotography #tulip #flower #floral #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #macro #entomology

Day 276 of 365

"Odd One Out"

Today's portrait has been a long time in the works. However, having two small children makes it difficult to find all the parts. When I could not find the smallest penguin.....I used the Russian doll baby instead. It was at that point that the story was developed. Our lighting is relatively simple. There is a strip bank at camera-left, and can be seen in our heroes' heads.....the highlight resembles the hairline of a balding man. I used a piece of foamcore at camera-right to bounce the strip's light back on to the unlit side of our sphenisciformes. Lastly, there is a second strobe lighting the white seamless paper in the background. Not only does it light the paper, but it also supplies the edge light on the camera-right side of our little friends. The only work done in post was to lower the father's eyes. Perhaps you did not even notice. Thanks for taking a bird's eye view!!

#nestingdolls #penguins #sphenisciformes #toys #toy #dolls #nesting #birds #winter #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #studio #platictoys #eyes

Day 338 of 365

"Sous Vide: Working Under Pressure"

Today's image came to me while preparing dinner. I had just vacuum-packed my asparagus in preparation for the sous vide cooking. If you've never used a sous vide before, you...should be.......sued........ No, that joke does not work. For one reason, it is more of an audio joke. For those of you who are interested, sous vide cooking involves submerging a vacuum-packed bag of food, and cooking it at an extremely consistent temperature....within a tenth of a degree, to be precise. Your guests will be impressed....and it is just fun to do. Anywho, on to the photograph. I used a strip bank at camera-left, and it moved it in very close. By moving it in very close, it became a very large light source, and created the soft, creamy highlights on the plastic. Had I used a small light source, one would only see the specular highlights, and it would be...ugly. On the camera-right side there is a piece of foamcore, just bouncing some of the strip bank's light in to the shadows. It reminded me of a wall of bamboo. Oh, 185 degrees (Fahrenheit) is the perfect temperature at which to cook asparagus. It cooked for 15 minutes. Thanks for stopping by!!

#sousvide #anova #underpressure #foodphotography #foodprep #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank #asparagus #bamboo

Day 190 of an Unknown Number

"Ronald"

As the title might suggest, this is Ronald. Ronald is our electrician. Ronald and I recently bartered for some work around the house. In exchange, I shot his headshot for his website (Barin Electrical) and for his social media. Ronald was also a semi-pro table tennis player. I look forward to him schooling me in the sport. Ronald did not have a headshot on his site, and he also did not have a certain look he was going for. We could have shot a cowboy (portrait from the waist and up) showing his tool belt, but I thought we'd just go with a simple and friendly portrait. There are four lights creating this portrait. As can be seen in Ronald's eyes, there are two strip lights, positioned vertically at both sides of the camera. They create a punchy, even light, and also provide the fun highlights. Next, there is a third strip light at camera-right, behind our subject's left shoulder. It provides that slice of light along his camera-right cheek. Lastly, there is a fourth light working the white background. For a few of the portraits, we turned off the back light, and it made the white background go a lovely shade of grey. We kept a few of those, but I thought the white made for an open, friendly image. Thanks for stopping by!!

#headshot #portrait #ronald #studio #striplights #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #barinelectrical

Day 32 of an Undetermined Number

"Image 32"

When someone unwittingly walks into my photographer's garret, I must take advantage. I had things set up to try out my new collapsible ring flash, so when Alistair asked what it was......I thought I would show him. He was a sport. He is always dressed to the nines, so we had to shoot. There is a gridded strip bank at camera-left, and it is blocked further by two flags. I just wanted a very narrow strip of light to hit his face. The fill light is my new ring flash, and it is turned up just enough to throw some light on the camera-right side of his visage. You can see the highlights of both lights in the eyes. Lastly, there is a snooted speedlight, throwing just a dash of light on the grey background. The trick to the lighting set up was that my subject had an area of about a quart of an inch in which to move. Too much forward, and only his ear was lit. Too far back, and he was in shadow. While we captured several images of him laughing....I naturally went with this one. Thanks to the Scotsman for posing, and thanks to you all for stopping by!!

#scotsman #man #portrait #studioportrait #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #ringflash #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbox #pocketwizard

Day 35 of an Unknown Number

"Super Bowl Cheesecake"

Yay, football. Today's young model is courtesy of our visiting friends, the Cohens. Being the huge football fan that I am not, we had a few friends over for the big game. I really believe that Morgan Freeman was the winner tonight. Anyway, tonight's portrait is another one-lighter. At camera-left is a large Octabox, and it is feathered a bit in front of your model. It provides a bit of light to our background, and does not cause a hot spot on our subject. There is a bounce board at camera-right, as we didn't want to leave that side in shadow. Simple and to the point. I hope her parents like the results. Thanks for dropping in!!

#superbowl #cheesecake #girl #model #studio #portrait #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octabox #pocketwizard #canvasbackground #canon100macro

Day 233 of an Unknown Number

"Wilbur"

One of my latest hobbies is raising chili peppers.....the hot ones. The little unassuming pepper at the left is currently the hottest chili pepper in the world. As for the lighting, our key light is a very large Octa box at camera-left, feathered away from the black background. I then used a piece of white bounce board to....bounce a little light into the camera-right side of the peppers. Because of the old Inverse Square Law, that silly jalapeño went rather dark. I was shooting from above, and the peppers are resting on a piece of black Plexiglass. Oh, Wilbur Scoville was the man who came up with the system of rating chili pepper piquancy (spiciness). If your mouth is not watering......you don't have salivary glands. Thanks for stopping by!!

#peppers #chilis #chilipeppers #foodphotography #heat #hot #food #scoville #scovillescale #canon5dmarkIII #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon24105

Day 356 of 365

"Father"

This is Tom, my father. He is the most intelligent human I know. He agreed to pose for me today. For inspiration, I looked to one of my books by Yousuf Karsh, one of my two favorite photographers. His famous portrait of Churchill seemed a little intimidating, so I went with something more along the lines of the Einstein portrait. A total of four strobes were used for this image. Our key light is a gridded beauty dish, and it is located just above our subject's head, and slightly to camera-left. Next, there are strip lights at ten and two o'clock, providing the rim/hair lights. They really help to separate our model from the grey background. Lastly, there is a snooted speedlight working the background. At first it was centered directly behind Dr. Tom, but I later decided to have it come at an angle, providing a more abstract shape. Very lastly, there is a piece of foamcore, just outside of frame at camera-right. It fills in the shadow- side of the face, by bouncing some of the camera-left strip light back towards our subject. As for the pose, I asked our subject the standard question I go to while shooting someone's portrait. I simply inquired, "Could you show me the way you would like people to view you?" As I would expect, he thought a pensive look would make sense. Whether it is history, physics, chemistry or politics, the man is constantly pondering something. I ponder if he will like his portrait. Thanks for stopping in!!

#portrait #man #studioportrait #yousufkarsh #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #rimlight #beautydish #canon580exII

via Instagram ift.tt/2ufhBum

Day 198 of 365

"Beauty Portrait of a Beetle"

So, I found this little guy in the yard today......post mortem. I postponed my other two concepts for the day, and set up for this beauty portrait. After inserting the required....chair, we were on our way. Our key light is a ringflash, and it provides the specular highlights in the exoskeleton, and fills in all the shadows. I then brought in a gridded beauty dish directly above, and it works to give us some separation from the black background. Who knew a figeater beetle had so many parts?!!! Thanks for stopping in.

#beetle #figeater #bug #creepycrawly #entomology #shinybeetle #creature #nature #garden #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #canon580exII #orbisringflash #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #insect

Day 194 of 365

"Girl in a Johnny Cash Tanktop"

I smiled as I took today's portrait. This is a happy 18-month-old girl. She sat on an apple box the entire time, and never checked her e-mail or texted throughout the entire shoot. All shoots should be so easy. There is a large diffused umbrella at camera-left (see the reflection in her eyes), and a piece of foamcore directly to her left. Lastly, there is a second strobe working the background, making it go nuclear. All I had to do was make some very silly faces, and pop up from behind the camera. Next!!

#happygirl #gums #babyteeth #headshot #girl #johnnycash #portrait #studioportrait #tanktop #canon5dmarkIII #pocketwizard #umbrella #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein

Day 227 of an Unknown Number

"McKenzie's Hip"

Following my shoot with McKenzie Westmore a couple of weeks ago, I realized that I had only posted a couple of the multitude of images we shot. So, I thought I would post one more. This was actually the last image we shot, and I insisted on attempting to add a water element to the image. Though it is barely perceptible, there is a misting effect going on in the background. I have a misting bottle, and I am standing behind McKenzie at camera-right. We initially had two rim lights working, but I was now standing in front of the one on the right. To back things up, there is a five-foot silver umbrealla at camera-left, and the catchlight is evident in her eyes. Lastly, there is a rim light at camera-left, over her right shoulder. It provides the edge light, and it also reveals the water droplets. Without that backlight, I would simply be annoying my subject.....which is always a possibility. Though the water effect is not overpowering, I think it adds a subtle something to the image. Thanks again to Julie Grace for the lovely hair and makeup work. And thank you for taking a look!!

#McKenzie #Westomore #McKenzieWestmore #juliegrace911 #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #umbrella #pocketwizard #fitness #swimsuit #canon24105 #syfy #faceoff #makeup #mwestmore #westmorebeauty

Day 101 of 365

"Bee Catchers.....fer Real!"

Today's portrait is actually a portrait!! We had bees in our compost drum, and Nicole and Sean of Bee Catchers came to our rescue! I selected their company because they don't kill the bees. After removing the bees (and letting me keep the honeycomb), we set up for the portrait. Their key light is a beauty dish at camera-left. It has a sock on it, which creates a less punchy look. I originally had a grid on it, but it confined the light way too much. There is a strip back to Nicole's right, and it provides that edge light along her side and cheek. My intention for the rim light was to light the smoking thing which I assumed they might bring. They did. The dreaded sunlight kept making an appearance, but I did what I could to avoid it. With that said, I love that it crept on to the grass. Nice touch, Sun! Who you gonna call? Bee Catchers!! Thanks for buzzing by!!

#beecatcherssocal #bees #honeycomb #savethebees #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #beautydish #portrait #outdoors #nature #jumpsuit #stripbank #dontbeadrone

Day 22 of an Unknown Number

"What is That?"

I'm glad you asked! This is a light meter. Sure, your camera has one inside, but if you are shooting in "MANual" mode, you are not using it. However, with the advent of the LCD screen on the back of your camera, one can receive instant gratification after each exposure, sort of eliminating the need for a manual meter. Thank you, technology. However, assuming it is calibrated, you hold it next to your subject, and in one flash, know you the "correct" f-stop. With that said, it is also easy to "chimp" from behind the camera. Regardless, sometimes I like to look like I know what I'm doing, and I'll bring the old meter out. I used my trusty piece of black Plexiglass as a working surface, and stuck the bare beauty dish above and behind the meter. With a little maneuvering, I was able to center up the meter inside the light's hotspot. That gives the image a shadow around a highlight, around a shadow, around our subject. Light is fun!! Thanks for stopping by!!

#lightmeter #meter #minolta #photography #canon100macro #canon5dmarkIII #beautydish #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #plexiglass #productphotography #dailypost #dailyphotograph

Day 213 of 365

"Underground Cosmetics: Red Test"

My friend and his business partner have created some brilliant hair color products and makeup adhesives. I got to visit their shop recently (complete with props from "Raging Bull" and "Star Trek" series). We are discussing having me shoot their line, and here is my first attempt with their red hair color. I ran over to Home Depot and purchased a large piece of silvery insulation. True story.....upon quickly realizing that the pieces would never fit into my car, I proceeded to break them into four pieces as several men in the parking lot looked on.....and snickered. I'm pretty confident they were snickering. As for the lighting, I used only two lights for this set-up. I employed a tilted strip bank at camera-left to light our tub of color. The color of the product reads because you are seeing the direct reflection of the white diffusion of the light. Secondly and lastly, there is my old friend, the snooted speedlight. It is positioned at camera-right, and is hitting the silvery insulation panel in the background. I hope the look is a little Hollywood-esque with a hint of edginess to it. Thanks for reflecting!!

#silver #undergroundcosmetics #makeup #haircolor #productphotography #product #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank #pocketwizard #foamcore

Day 179 of 365

"Semi-Sphere"

As is often the case, today I had no idea what I would shoot for my daily posting. I am currently painting my second canvas background, but it is not interesting yet. I looked around the room, and spotted this weathered, gold, ceramic ball. Pretty. I immediately knew that it might do. I needed something interesting on which to place it, so I used this old bed railing which I found in an alley some time ago. Once I lit the background with a snooted speedlight, the colors started to pull the image together. But how to light a golden orb? I was sure I was going to use a large source, as it would be needed to wrap the light around the sphere. A small specular highlight would not do. So, I brought in my large Octabank, and placed it just out of frame to the right of camera. I feathered the light by placing the ball just inside the back edge of the light.That way it would wrap around the ball, and would not pollute my background at all. I then brought in a piece of white foamcore, and just bounced some of the key light back into the camera-left side of the ball. I wanted to retain the black edge on both sides, so I kept the foamcore away from the back edge of the ball. With the foamcore further back, it created a nice, crisp white edge...but that is not what I wanted. Lastly, I tilted the camera a bit to give the image a little...tilt. Oh, just before taking the last couple of images, the Octa fell off my light, crashed down, and broke the sphere. Thanks for rolling by!!

#sphere #ball #orb #gold #canon5dmarkIII #tamron70200 #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein

Day 109 of 365

"Pain in the Glass"

Today's portrait is a self-portrait....of me. I recently viewed a portrait of someone in the rain.....bu realized it may take a while before it rains in Los Angeles again. I got tired of waiting outside, so I decided to shoot it indoors. I hung a piece of glass, sprayed it with a mixture of water and glycerin (it sticks better than water alone), and focused on the glass. Focusing on the glass was crucial....because I didn't want to see my mug. The result is a surprisingly creamy appearance to the skin, and I love the texture on the glass. I think the contrast in these textures is what almost makes this interesting. Just for a little separation, I snooted a speedlight and shot it against the canvas background. Thanks for dripping by!!

#selfportrait #portrait #sosad #glass #rain #blur #outofocus #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #canon580exII #paneintheglass

Day 29 of an Unknown Number

"Freyed Egg"

Today's image came to me in a vision. We recently inherited several of these water-filled splat balls which one can purchase from a kiosk vendor at the mall. I knew I would eventually use one of them for a portrait, but when and how? I was setting up for an upcoming job, and thought the Plexiglass surface would make for a great splat. So, with eyeball in hand, I slammed it against the Plexiglass, and triggered the camera with my other hand. It took several exposures to get the eye to look at me as it splatted, but it worked in the end. It was also a timing issue, as one does not want the eyeball to fully recover before being shot. There is a strip bank at camera-left, and a bounce board at camera-right. Because there is no light source behind the eye, there are no reflections, and the eyeball seems to be suspended in space. Fascinating, you say? You would like to see MORE images of splat toys? I hear your cries. Thanks for plopping in!!

#eyeball #splat #splatball #friedegg #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #waterballoon #art #eye #toy

Day 285 of 365

"Portrait 285"

Today's mission was to photograph our subject against a softbox, thereby creating a completely white backgroud, and an edge light all around our young model. We did a few of those, then I turned off the backglight, and she gave me this. Our key light is a gridded beauty dish just above camera. The giveaway is always the highlight in the eyes. Those eyes!! She is leaning on an apple box, and the pose was her idea. I managed to get her to not smile for about four exposures, and this was my favorite. We finished up the shoot with a few Hamlet-inspired poses, which I will post at another time. Sometimes one light is all it takes to create a little drama. Hey, that might be her new nickname!! Thanks for spending a bit of your weekend with me!!

#model #beauty #beautydish #girl #studio #portrait #reddress #glitter #hamlet #drama #canon5dmarkIII #pocketwizard #canon100macro #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #eyes #studioportrait

Day 191 of an Unknown Number

"Penelope in Mixed Light"

I had the pleasure of working with Penelope again today. We've shot twice before, and we always come away with something different. I believe we shot eight different looks. This concept was stol....borrowed from a photographer I follow on Instagram. It is a simple matter of using mixed lighting, both warm and cold. There is a snooted speedlight at camera-left, and it is very close, and is gelled with two layers of CTO (color temperature orange). Because the color balance was set to fluorescent, everything went blue. To counter that blue, I used the CTO gel on the speedlight. Lastly, I fired a third strobe at the white background paper. Because of the fluorescent setting, it also went blue. Once the lighting was complete, I left it to Penelope to do the rest. Thanks for dropping in!

#portrait #woman #studio #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #mixedlight #colortemperature #beauty

Day 50 of an Unknown Number

"Francois"

I call this portrait, "Francois"......but that is his name. He is family. He is a boat builder, designer, artist, dancer, and father. With a face like this, I had to ask him to pose for me. He graciously accepted the request. I recently viewed a portrait of Martha Graham by Yousuf Karsh, and I was inspired to attempt something similar. While I cannot speak to Sir Karsh's lighting, I used two strobes for my portrait of Francois. There is a gridded beauty dish at camera-left, a little high, and feathered a bit in front of him.The grid was to avoid lighting much further below his arms. There is a second strobe with a dish focused on the grey background behind our subject. It is used to separate him from the background. Two lights, one face, and a lot of character. Thanks for taking a look!

#francois #portrait #man #dancer #helivedonaboat #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #pocketwizard #beautydish #studioportrait #karsh #yousuf

Day 165 of an Unknown Number

"D*ck in a Box"

Who loves their V-flat, raise your hand? I am raising my hand. How else can you kill so much light? For this portrait, I am standing deep inside the fold of the flat. There is a strip bank (a long, thin light modifier) at camera-left, and it is partially blocked by the edge of the flat. This created the slim shaft of light. Whatever did not hit me in the face was absorbed by the black board. One can see the light source in my three eyes. Oh, this is also a double exposure. I struck one pose, took an exposure, moved, and hit the strobe again.Thanks for taking a look!!

#doubleexposure #canon5dmarkIII #portrait #selfportrait #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #studio #stripbank #vflat #diy #pocketwizard #canon100macro

Day 251 of 365

"Cousins"

Alright, I admit that I did not push myself creatively today, but when you have two (at least 1) willing models, you can't pass up the opportunity. I had the lighting setup arranged for the hookah experiment, and figured that a tent of light would not look too bad on a couple of lovely young ladies. So, there are white bed sheets hanging on both sides, with a strobe behind each. The background is blown out with a third strobe, and the rest of the lighting......is actually bounced light. There are pieces of foamcore on both sides of the lens, and there is a white sheet draping directly over their heads. There are essentially no shadows to be found. It's a very airy setup, and it works for just about anybody......anybody who does not mind climbing into a tent of light. Thanks for carefully stepping in!!

#studioportrait #portrait #ladies #girls #studio #canon5dmarkIII #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #foamcore #bouncedlight

Day 38 of an Unknown Number

"Portrait 38"

While her mother was my initial target.......desired subject.........my niece was more than an acceptable substitute. She is always game when her annoying uncle needs someone to sit for him. She had just come in possession of some cool head pieces, so it seemed only natural to use one of them in the portrait. Our key light (and only light) is a very large diffused softbox at camera-left. It is just out of frame, and can be seen in her eyes. The light is at a classic 45-45, delivering the "Rembrandt lighting." The little triangle of light under her left is the giveaway. Aside from that, there is a bounce board on the camera-right side, just filling in the shadows a bit. Though I would normally have my subject turn their body away from the light, I sort of liked her forward pose. It feels very natural to me. I did not select the wardrobe, but it was either the sweater or a tie-dye shirt. I'll always go with the Big Apple. Oh, in an effort to not shoot with my go-to 100mm macro lens, I decided to shoot this portrait with my 50 mm. It forced me to get a little closer to my subject, but I did not get so close that her face looked distorted. Thanks for passing through!!

#pixie #headband #newyork #eyes #canon5dmarkIII #canon50mm #portrait #girl #studio #rembrandt #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox

Day 106 of 365

"Ben......a Portrait"

Today's portrait is of singer, Benjamin Daniel. We thought we'd go for a simple portrait in front of my canvas seamless. Our key light is a large diffused umbrella at camera-left. There is a large strip bank behind Ben, at camera-right. If offers that edge of light on his cheek. Lastly, there is a snooted speedlight directly above Ben, just delivering a little hairlight. Simple, clean portrait. Thanks for stopping by!!

#benjamindaniel #singer #portrait #man #canvas #studio #topoftheworld #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon580exII #tamron70200

Day 221 of an Unknown Number

"Image 221"

If you have never used one of these, I probably don't know you. For those unfamiliar with our subject, it was a prop used in films up until the 1980s. Please notice the absence of an apostrophe. I used a two-light arrangement for this image. The key light is a strip bank at camera-left, and it supplies all the nice highlights in the telephonic device and stool. Then there is a snooted speedlight lighting the white (yes, white) background. I just wanted a little separation from the background blackness. I'm working on creating a clip which would allow me to wear the phone on my hip. I'm just worried the elastic cord will crimp the wrong way. Perhaps I'll just continue using my cell phone. Thanks for stopping by!!

#phone #telephone #alexandergrahambell #antique #retro #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #rotaryphone #pocketwizard #canon580exII #canon100macro #communications

Day 218 of an Unknown Number

"Image 218"

I just had the pleasure of working with McKenzie Westmore of "Passions", QVC and "Face/Off" fame. As "Face/Off (an awesome special effects makeup competition show) comes to a close this week, we thought we would shoot something a little less Syfy. You are looking at my DIY V-flat, of which I am very proud. Alright, you are not looking at my V-flat...but I don't care. McKenzie is wearing a velvet curtain which has been A-clamped in the back. As for the light, I had set up my large diffused umbrella at camera-left. However, when I saw the way her makeup was reading, I thought it my be interesting to remove the diffusion, and use the very specular silver interior. It was totally improvised, but I think it did a lovely job at adding a pop to the portrait. We shot about seven set-ups during our shoot, so there are more images to come. Oh, thanks to Julie Grace for the phenomenal makeup work. Thanks for stopping by!!

#studio #portrait #mckenzie #westmore #mckenziewestmore #faceoff #qvc #syfy #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #silverumbrella #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #vflat #diyvflat #headshot #losangeles #bringbackfaceoff #juliegrace911

Day 54 of an Unknown Number

"Fridae"

I decided to have a little ice cream this evening! After struggling to scoop the frosty treat with a little spoon, I realized we recently purchased an ice cream scooper at our local restaurant supply store. Too lazy to go to the laboratory to fetch it, I got by with the spoon. The ice cream inspired me to photograph the scoop. I placed the contraption on my black plexiglass, and positioned a strip bank behind and above the device. I moved the light around in order to avoid any blinking highlights. While the image is essentially devoid of any color, I still converted it to black and white....just because I can. Thanks for plopping by!!

#icecream #cream #utensil #foodphotography #sundae #scoop #scooper #blackandwhite #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank #canon100macro #icecreamscoop

Day 202 of 365

"Portrait of a Button"

Today's subject was the only person available for a self-portrait. That's the way it goes sometimes. Let's ignore the subject, and just look at the light. First of all, yes, that IS my diy canvas background. Thank you for noticing. So, our key light is a gridded beauty dish, and it is at about a forty-five degree angle, right down the middle. A flag was used to block the top of the light, creating the shadow on the forehead. This was done to focus the viewers' attention to his mug. The next light is a ringflash on the camera. It fills in some of the shadows created by the rather harsh beauty dish, and creates that very light shadow against the background. When a subject is very close to the background, the ringflash creates that classic shadow around the subject. Lastly, a snooted speedlight was used to put a little additional light on the background on the camera-right side. Because the flag cancelled out some of the light on the top, this last light was employed to give a little separation between the subject and the background. In post I added a green tone to the background, and added a layer of an image of a rusted piece of metal. I then faded that layer, allowing just a bit of the texture to show through. Thanks for spending a tiny bit of your Saturday with me!!

#diybackground #canvasbackground #portrait #man #canon5dmarkIII #canon580exII #snoot #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #pocketwizard

Day 39 of an Unknown Number

"Self, Self, Self Portrait"

I almost didn't post this image. But......then I did. I won't comment on the content. Our key light is a large softbox at camera-left, as is evident in the eyes. To fill in the shadows on the camera-right side, there is a ring flash on the camera. It is the tiny dot in the center of the pupils. The concept came to me while staring in the bathroom mirror. Was I just born with extra skin? Can I donate it? While triggering the camera with my foot, I took three exposures as I stretched my face. So, there was a bit of work done in post. The only confusing part was figuring out which hands would be behind which hands. When that was decided, I simply masked out the undesired parts of hands. I don't have much else to say on the subject. Thanks for not staring!!

#face #portrait #stretch #skin #layering #canon5dmarkIII #canon50mm #hands #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #stretchface #plasticman

Day 324 of 365

"Image 324"

As I slowly lose mind while shooting my current job, an intriguing idea comes along on occasion. Part of the job involves photographing minute ball bearings (actually they make up a coating material), and when the little guys fall, they bounce like crazy. I thought, wouldn't it be fun to see how they would look while bouncing on a piece of black Plexiglass? That became another image which I may post at a future time. If your working surface is not completely level, these tiny balls go rolling all over the place, and on to the ground. In order to contain them, I grabbed a pair of tweezers. Once I saw the tweezers on the black surface, the tweezers became my new subject. I filled the tweezers with the little fellas, and moved my strip bank all around the place. If the light's reflection was seen in the Plexiglass, the background was white. If the light was not visible, the black Plexiglass was......black. However, if part of the light was visible, and some of it was not, one achieves this sort of watery look. That is what I wanted!!!! So, with my macro extension tube on my 100mm macro lens, I adjusted the focus, changed the height and angle of my lens, and experimented. This was my favorite. Thanks for rolling by!! To all you turkeys out there.......enjoy your Wednesday.

#ballbearings #plexiglass #canon5dmarkIII #macroextensiontube #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #tweezers #macro #macrophotography #abstract #pocketwizard #stripbank

Day 284 of 365

"Portrait 284"

When I'm not working in the dark, I'm basking in the sun's rays. Actually.....I hate the heat....and the sun. That's not true. Anywho, when I find an interesting bottle in the house, I feel compelled to photograph it. I don't know why those swirls are in there, but I HAD to photograph them. I was not sure how to approach an outdoor-based beauty product, but I figured sand would make sense. Quickly....to my cheap, leaking sandbag!!! Not only did the sand offer some context, but it also held the product in place. I thought about projecting a beach image on the background, but decided to go with a cleaner look. White and poppy!! Avoiding the family of angles which would otherwise cause a direct reflection into the camera's lens, I held a softbox almost directly over our subject. It provided enough light to light both the bottle and the sand. I knew I would be using a few layers, so the exposure on the sand was not essential. I then performed a little lightpainting. With a focused flashlight, I swept up and down along the label from above. Had I done it from the side of the bottle, the flashlight's reflection would be viewed. Lastly, I decided for no reason to lightpaint the sand with a purple gel over the flashlight. I figured that because the skin tones and purple are basically complementary colors.......it might makes sense......? Thanks for dropping in!!

#sun #bronzer #sunburn #sunblock #productphotography #bottle #sand #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #swirls #lightpainting #beach #beautyproduct

Day 79 of an Unknown Number

"Image 79"

Everyday I see this dried trail of coffee along my mug. It has always reminded me of a still life painting from the Renaissance. I finally decided to paint it...with light. Our key light is a strip bank at camera-left. Because the light is relatively close to our subject, the light falls off quickly, leaving the camera-right side in shadow. Therefore, I used a bounce board to get a bit of light into the shadows. I thought that adding some steam to the image might add a little something, so I backlit the steam with a snooted speedlight. Because the light was so low, the back of the mug blocked some of the light, resulting in this severed cloud appearance. Though not intended, I liked it. For the record, that occurred in-camera, was not altered in post. Thanks for stopping by for a cup!!

#coffee #mug #cupofjoe #steam #mist #drink #beverage #foodphotography #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #speedlight #canon580exII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #cloud #pocketwizard #villeroyandboch