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

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

Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.

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 347 of 365

"Image 347"

I have been having so much fun with this piece of plexiglass! Sad.....I know. Anywho, I had no idea in mind (typical), so I searched for anything that might look interesting on said piece of plexiglass. I first tried a wooden sake box, but it was clearly lacking something. Moisture!!! When I saw how sexy water looked on the surface, I knew that would help the image. Because I would never intentionally spill any sake, I decided to go with dirty sous vide water. The battery was almost an afterthought. However, once I propped it up, I centered the image around it. At the last moment, I thought I would drop some different colors of holi powder in the tiny puddles. I then remembered that I still had some tiny ball bearings, and thought I would drop them in the water. Because they are so small, the surface tension pulled them into the puddles........aside from a few strays. As for the lighting, there is a diffused beauty dish, very close at camera-left. The second strobe is aimed at the background paper, and it provides the lovely gradient across the plexiglass. Personally, I love the way the light works over that bottom, camera-left puddle. Thanks for dropping in!!

#puddle #water #plexiglass #productphotography #reflection #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #beautydish #battery #batteries

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

Unit Stills and Promotional Photography for the Crystal Crypt. A sci-fi indie short film directed by Shahab Zargari and based on the Philip K. Dick short story.

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

Day 327 of 365

"Portrait of a Profiled Man"

Sometimes you don't ask your subject to do much more than to look to his right. You don't tell him to smile, you don't ask him to look at camera. You just light the subject and photograph him. That was the case with Benny. I have known Benny longer than I have NOT known Benny. We met early in college, and have been friends for many years. We have been friends for decades. Whoa. There is an Octabank in front of Benny, but his nose is lined up with the near edge of the light. That is what gives us the rim light, and that bit of light that creeps on to his cheek. I find the image more interesting as I stare at it. I find the line on his forehead interesting. I like that little highlight over his nostril. I really like the reflection of the light in his eye. I used a 100mm macro, shot at a 2.8, and just made sure his eye was in focus. Oh, I also like the curl of hair on his forehead. An interesting face stuck on the front of an interesting man.

#portrait #profile #blackandwhite #benny #studioportrait #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octabank #pocketwizard #canon100macro #man #csun

Day 192 of an Unknown Number

"Image 192"

While I had committed to posting one image a day from that day, I had to make an exception. I was anxious to use my DIY V-flat, and thought that Penelope's dress would be a great contrast against the black board. There is a gridded beauty dish at camera-left, just left of camera. I pulled it back a bit, as it was only lighting her face when up close. While I had to raise the power on the strobe as I moved it back, it threw a wider pool of light. She struck a few poses, and we were done with this setup. Thanks for dropping by!!

#pose #vflat #portrait #woman #studio #whiteonblack #female #dress #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #beautydish #grid #diy

Day 271 of 365

"A Shadow of Her Former Self", or, "The Early Bird Catches.....Death", or, "Bird's Eye View"

I stumbled upon today's subject as I was walking my daughter yesterday morning. When I spotted my little friend, I marked the spot and made sure to return to her later. I was not going to put her in my pocket, and didn't have a bag. What to do with a dead parrot.......o.k., it is not a dead parrot, but Monty Python was certainly the first reference that came to mind. I thought of simply shooting the bird against a black background and lighting from above. In fact, I did it, but thought it was a tad bland. Then I pulled out my trusty Light Blaster and shot an image of a sunny field on to the background. Not happy with the sky, I then superimposed an image of a better sky from Australia on to it. As for the bird's lighting, there is a strip bank directly above, and I then used a piece of foamcore beneath. I bent it in order to bounce some of the top light on to her belly, and a little on to the underside of her beak. Thanks for flying by!!

#bird #deadbird #deadbirdflying #bluesky #nature #outdoors #corpse #zombiebird #zombie #flyingdeath #montypython #birdseyeview #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank #stripbox #lightblaster

Day 267 of 365

"Time Inverted"

Once again I had no idea what to photograph for today's posting. Then, like an epiphany, I randomly spotted a miniature hourglass from a board game. I guess it is actually a minuteglass. How will we ever know? So, with my 100 macro on the camera, I placed a strip bank on each side of our subject. and gelled each one. The camera-left strobe has a doubled CTO (full orange gel), and the camera-right strobe has a double violet gel on it. They are complementary colors.....as you cannot see. With a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second (the fastest sync speed for my camera and strobes), I flipped the minuteglass in order to capture the falling particulates. Once getting to my computer, I realized that there was not enough color saturation for my taste. Then I thought (to myself), what if I simply reversed the colors, and took complete control of the color saturation? I agreed...and we did it. Thanks for spending some time with me!!

#hourglass #time #stoptime #strobes #sandsoftime #daysofourlives #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #inverted #negative

Day 355 of 365

"A Flip of the Hair and a Set of the Sun"

Today's portrait was stol......inspired by another photographer. It is basically a lesson in mixing of light sources. In this case, I used a beauty dish with an orange gel, and shot against the descending sun. I shot from low angle, as I wished to avoid trees and automobiles from distracting from my subject. I then proceeded to toss her hair in the air, and hit the shutter release. Once I had the "correct" exposure of the sky (it dictates the look of the image), I then raised or lowered the power of the strobe, creating the desired look. Thanks for stopping in!!

#canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #portrait #girl #strobe #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #beautydish #sunset #clouds #sky #outdoorportrait #hairtoss #mixedlighting

Day 220 of 365

"Mona Lisa on a Thursday"

After a day at The Grove, what ten-year-old does not want to pose for a portrait? She actually volunteered to!!! Let's get to the lighting. Our key light here is a gridded beauty dish at camera-left, and it is tilted up a bit, in order to flag off some of the light from overexposing her white shirt. Next, there is a strobe with a CTO (an orange gel), just behind her left shoulder. It is supposed to mimic a bit of sunset after a long day working in the fields. Her friend (my niece) has a piece of bounce board, and is bouncing a bit of the key light on to the left side of her face. Lastly, my trusty Light Blaster (they really should be sending me free toys by now) is projecting an image of a sky and field against the white background. I first had her facing camera-right, but eventually thought that looking into the light was more pleasing. Thanks for stopping by!!!

#monalisa #painting #fields #bluesky #sky #portrait #studio #lightblaster #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #rimlight #canon580exII

Day 18 of an Unknown Number

"Tangled Vines"

While I am not much of a drinker, I do have a small collection of wine from my childhood. Of course it may all be vinegar at this point (I have some from 1990), but I am holding on to it for now. I decided to dust one bottle off, and shoot a quick portrait. I placed a strip box on each side of the bottle, and adjusted them until the highlights matched. Then, with a snooted speedlight, I lit the label all by itself. Lastly, I took one exposure with only the cork lit on its own. I just liked that little touch. Though not a complex lighting setup, I think it grabs the viewer's eye for a moment. Thanks for stopping in for a taste!!

#wine #alcohol #vineyard #tangledvines #cabernetsauvignon #sthelena #napavalley #californiawine #california #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #pocketwizard #bottle #winebottle #cork #coldspringsvineyard #howellmountain #canon24105

Day 219 of an Unknown Number

"123"

"She's ready for her closeup, Mr. DeMille." One might call today's image an extreme closeup. I used my macro extension tubes for this one, and it just makes things difficult. For starters, because the tubes are mounted between the lens and the camera, auto focus is not possible. Secondly, the depth of focus is so shallow that a minute movement causes the image to be dramatically out of focus. Though I first attempted to shoot my own eye, I immediately realized it would be easier to ask for a volunteer. Our model was patient, and sat for about five minutes as I held my breath, tilting the camera slightly forward or backward. Our depth of field is so shallow that one can see that the contact lens and the side eyelashes are in sharper focus than the iris. Our light source is a 36-inch strip light at camera-left. The reflection is clearly visible. I really like how the reflection of the eyelashes break up the reflection of the light. Fun stuff! Thanks for stopping by!!

#macro #canon5dmarkIII #extensiontubes #closeup #sunsetboulevard #eye #eyeball #iris #contactlenses #lens #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #canon100macro #pocketwizard #depthoffield

Day 115 of 365

"Kicking Dirt in My Own Face"

Todays' image really came to me in a vision.....though I was not sure if it would work. I guess it worked. So, there is a strip bank (a long, rectangular light modifier) at camera-left, wrapping around just enough to light the left eye. There is a snooted speedlight behind me, bringing up just a little exposure on the black seamless background (you can see it over the camera-right shoulder). In my hands is a piece of foamcore, and it is covered in dirt. With the camera remote in my hand, I tossed the dirt up, and triggered the camera. I like the bit of dust at the bottom, and the fact that some of the dirt is still in focus. This is one of the two I selected. Thanks for stopping in!!

#dirt #dirtface #portrait #manportrait #soil #dust #yousillytwit #canon5dmarkIII #stripbank #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #mudmask #pocketwizard

Day 272 of 365

"Portrait 272"

Sometimes photographers have to steal. Sometimes it is a concept, sometimes it is a crayon. Today's subject is a stolen crayon. Thank you, Mikey and Christina. If you are missing a crayon, I may know where it is. The inspiration for today's image was the technique of focus stacking. What you are looking at is a layering of about ten different images. Each one is focused on a specific part of the frame. When stacked upon one another, the image appears to be in focus, from top to bottom (or front to back). The reason for this technique? Well, when using a macro lens, there is a very small area in focus at a time when in so close to one's subject. The final image worked for the most part, though there are small areas where the image is still out of focus. If I were to have doubled the number of images, the photograph would have been considerably sharper. As for the lighting, there are three strobes working here. Our key light is a strip bank at camera-left, lighting our hero crayon. I filled in the shadows on the camera-right side with a piece of foamcore. There is a second strobe with a pink gel working the white background. Lastly, there is a finely snooted speedlight making the ball of light behind the crayon, in the center of the pink well. Thanks for focusing on this for a moment!!

#focusstacking #crayon #crayola #was #draw #drawing #macro #productphotography #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #canon580exII #canon100macro

Day 359 of 365

"In the Studio....Outside"

Why bring the studio outside, you ask? Why not?!!! The sun is located behind the fence at camera-left, and the son is located at the camera-left edge of the canvas. The SUN played no part in the lighting of this portrait. There is a large Octa bank at camera-left, and one of our subjects is looking directly into it. One of our subjects agreed to be in the portrait on the condition that we only take one exposure. This did not happen, and here are the results. This image has not been retouched. Thanks for swinging by!!

#familyportrait #outdoorportrait #canvas #family #canon5dmarkIII #mynewtripod #canon24105 #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octabox

"Hamlet in Your Face!"

I could lie and say that I shot this today, and post it as my image-of-the-day....but that would be uncool. However, I really liked it, so here it is. Our young model is positioned against my go-to painted canvas background, and is lit by a large softbox at camera-left. Simple.....but so impactful.........

#hamlet #shakespeare #stratforduponavon #will #skull #halloween #girl #portrait #studio #drama #stage #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon5dmarkIII

Day 64 of an Undetermined Number

"Image 64"

I thought I should occasionally post some of my current work...so here is some current work. This is Bronwen. She is an actress. She was in need of some new headshots. We shot a few different looks, but I like this set up for a punchy, bright portrait. There are five strobes working here, three of which can be seen in Bronwen's eyes. I created a triangle highlight in her eyes with three strip banks. They are surrounding the camera lens, and have been adjusted so that they don't intrude on the pupils. There are two additional strobes lighting the white seamless behind her. I like the horizontal orientation because film and television screens have a similar aspect ratio. Thanks for popping in!!

#Headshot #StudioPortrait #Portrait #Woman #Actress #Canon5DMarkIII #Canon241O5 #PocketWizard #PaulCBuffinc #PaulCBuffEinstein #Eyes #DailyPost #PhotoOfTheDay

Day 298 of 365

"Mouth of the Beast"

I was going to shoot today's subject in a vastly different method, but when I looked into its mouth, I knew I had to change tactics. The teeth were gnarly, and I thought I could possibly light the inside of the mouth as well. Much more interesting than my original idea!! So, there is a softbox just left of camera, and I light-painted the interior with a second exposure. I loved how the flashlight brought out the glowing purple interior. Again, I used my Fotodiox extension tube to allow me to get even closer to my subject. It allows for these extreme closeups, and a very shallow depth of field. Thanks for stopping by!!

#whatisthat #teeth #britishteeth #macrophotography #dental #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #pocketwizard #rose #flower #macro #fotodioxextensiontube

Day 225 of 365

"Portrait 225"

Her name is Tracy. She is my sister. She moved here from Germany. Now.....the lighting. Our key light is a gridded beauty dish at camera-left. It supplies most of the light on our lovely subject, and creates the highlights in the eyes. Next, there is a large strip light, high and behind our model. It makes the hair sing a bit. Were she a blonde, the hair would be glowing. Lastly, there is a ring flash on the camera. It just helps to fill in some of the shadows created by the key, and tosses a little light under the chin. Thanks for dropping by!!

#portrait #woman #studio #hair #hairlight #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #orbisringflash #beautydish #lipstick #canon24105 #pocketwizard

Day 201 of an Unknown Number

"Image 201"

Following my recent shoot with Penelope, I decided I would have to post at least a second image from our shoot. After all, we shot about eight different looks that day, and this was one of my favorites. With my hanging roll of polypropylene in place, I asked Penelope to start striking poses. There were several I considered posting, but something about this one caught my attention. It reminded me of something Josephine Baker might have done nearly a hundred years ago. Penelope was lit from behind with one focused strobe. The only challenge was to play with her distance from the roll of diffusion. The closer she was to it, the sharper the image. This is clearly evident by the appearance of her left hand. As always, it was fascinating to play with light. Thanks for dropping by!!

#silhouette #polypropylene #diffusion #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon24104 #pocketwizard #model #body #josephinebaker #kiss

Day 62 of an Unknown Number

"Flos Ignotum"

I spotted this flower on our freezing family stroll this afternoon. It is a rather small flower, but I thought it might be interesting under a macro lens. I lit it from directly above with a snooted speedlight. I placed a piece of foamcore underneath, just to fill in the shadows. Thinking I might go bright with this flower (I tend to go dark), I pulled down the white seamless paper. I planned to aim a second strobe at the paper, and blow out the background. My aim was clearly off, and it created a gradient. Upon noticing that dumb luck had a better idea than myself, I finessed the gradient, and came away with this image. Using the macro lens and extension tubes, the depth of field becomes very shallow. I focused on the center of the flower, rendering the near and far edges, as well as the stem, out of focus. Thanks for passing through!!

#flower #yellowflower #macro #macrophotography #flora #gradient #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #extensiontube #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon580exII #yellow #studio

Day 344 of 365

"Still Life 344"

Today's image came to me when I realized that the trout I purchased the other day should be eaten very soon. I knew it could not be consumed until it had been exposed....to the lens....lens.....lens. I initially had it set on the black Plexiglass with my homemade brown canvas in the background. It was the traditional way to shoot it, and I actually did first photograph it in this manner. At the last moment, I decided to move the camera higher and shoot down on our little friend. While I'm not sure I made the correct decision, I definitely made A decision. Thinking of the great Dutch painters, I put a large Octa bank at camera-left, mimicking a window. I placed the edible props around our subject, and came away with this image. One fish, one light, one smelly piece of Plexiglass. Thanks for not turning up your nose!!

#food #trout #fish #foodphotography #stilllife #dutchpainters #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #octabox #softbox #pocketwizards #freshfish #plexiglass #garlic #citrus #lemon