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

via Instagram bit.ly/2SNajYx

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

You read that right! For some reason I still possess my first bottle of cologne from college. No, I don't know if it still smells good, but thanks for wondering. Yesterday I saw an image online of a similar ad, and I had to steal.........replicate it myself. The lighting could not have been easier.....though it was not easy. The bottle is laying on a piece of foamcore, and I positioned a snooted speedlight parallel and just above the bottle. The issue was of course how the light hit the bottle at different angles. By raising or lowering the light a few centimeters, the lighting would be drastically different. Once I was happy with the cologne rainbow at the bottom, I went in with 3 different exposures, highlighting (or shadowing) different aspects of the bottle. For example, at a certain angle, the liquid appeared rather swirly and interesting. In another exposure, the name was more appealing than in other exposures. After masking areas of the bottle, I was left with this final composite. Thanks for taking a sniff!

#obsession #cologne #productphotography #calvinklein #canon5dmarkIII #canon580exII #paulcbuffeinstein #paulcbuffinc #snoot #throwthatthingout #canon100macro

✨Models: Various

📷Photo and Retouch: Renaldo Creative renaldocreative.inspir3radio.com/portfolio

📷Camera and Lens: @canonusa

💡Lightstand and Reflector: @neewer

💡LED Light: @neewer

💡Light: @paulcbuffinc

💻Memory: @sandisk @lexarmemory

📍Location: North Carolina

Please don't remove my photo credits. © Renaldo Everett. All Rights Reserved.

Please comment, share, like, tweet, and pin.

✨Models: Various

📷Photo and Retouch: Renaldo Creative renaldocreative.inspir3radio.com/portfolio

📷Camera and Lens: @canonusa

💡Lightstand and Reflector: @neewer

💡LED Light: @neewer

💡Light: @paulcbuffinc

💻Memory: @sandisk @lexarmemory

📍Location: North Carolina

Please don't remove my photo credits. © Renaldo Everett. All Rights Reserved.

Please comment, share, like, tweet, and pin.

Day 259 of 365

"If Only She Would Talk"

What do you do when a friend/neighbor brings over a long-forgotten doll from yesteryear? Needless to say......it goes without saying. I figured I had to light her with a classic "monster lighting" setup, so I snooted a speedlight, and positioned it beneath her at camera-left. This uplighting was the classic Hollywood approach to lighting all of our favorite movie monsters back in the day. I knew I was going to use my Light Blaster, and went with a creepy house as our background. Lastly, I used a strip bank to provide the hair light. It is a three-foot strip, and is positioned above and behind our lovely model. I photographed her in an additional scenario, and will post it in the future. By the battery compartment in her back and the speaker in her stomach, it is evident that she spoke a long time ago. What did she say? I don't know....but I'll put in some fresh batteries and find out......if she she still has a voice. If she calls me by my name....I'm going to have to ask her to leave. That is, after putting on some trousers. Thanks for drifting by!

#doll #creepydoll #toy #monsterlighting #castle #hauntedhouse #lovethehair #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #speedlights #stripbank #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon580exII

Day 108 of 365

"Bees Revisited.....but Dead"

The bees are gone, and life goes on! However, when removing the tape from my composter, I discovered several specimens. Following a moment of silence, I realized they could not be tossed until I had photographed them. Don't judge me. So, with a few push pins and piece of styrofoam, I mounted our little friends for their final portraits. I've included two images for today's post, as I was undecided on which was more interesting. The first image is lit with an enormous (size is relative) diffused umbrella over our subjects, a snooted speedlight as a rim light from behind, and a ring flash on the camera. The ring flash gives us almost all of the light on the front of the bees, revealing the lovely stripes. To bee honest, I'm not sure the large umbrella did anything for the exposure. It was sort of a mystery. As for our second image, I only used the rim light (hair light) for this one. It just created a different mood. Alright, I think I've got the bee portraits out of my system!! Thanks for beeing patient.

#bees #beesinmybonnet #honey #macro #honeybees #beesonpins #nobeesdiedinthemakingoftheseimages #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon580exII #snoot

Day in the life of Lawrence Atienza moments via iPhone Instagram. follow me on Instagram at LAmoments ift.tt/21tBdnK or go to ift.tt/1iJkwdG to see my portrait and wedding work and ift.tt/1fyK4Qt for more commercial/editorial/high fashion images

Day 113 of an Unknown Number

" I Would Only Live on the First Floor"

One finds the most peculiar objects when one goes for a walk.....particularly when one tends to look at the ground while walking. I believe everyone in this area has one of these trees along the sidewalk, but I had never noticed the strange interior of the fruit they drop. I immediately knew this pod was crying out to be photographed. Who am I to ignore the cries of a......pod? Nobody!! So, there is a softbox at camera-left, and the light dissipates nicely as it does not reach the far side of our subject. Because I could not get a small light in close enough to light the layers of the interior, I decided to lightpaint the tiny levels. So, with a taped-off flashlight, I painted up and down during the two-second exposure. If I had it all to do again, I would have painted each level a different color. With that being said, my brain probably would have melted.....or exploded.....or BOTH! Thanks for stopping by!!

#lightpaint #tree #pod #treepod #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #pocketwizard #softbox #flashlight #longexposure #canon100macro

Day 267 of an Unknown Number

"Sucrosaurus"

The real reason the dinosaurs went extinct!! Cavities.......that is how it happened. There was no asteroid. Cavities. I recently acquired some sprinkles (Fancy, to be specific), and was looking for a way to use them. I had recently constructed this dinosaur with my daughter (the T-Rex is a 1:1 replica), and I thought the sprinkles could make for an interesting texture on the T-Rex. There is a diffused beauty dish at camera-left, and it delivers all the front light. The second light is a strobe directly behind our subject, and it is aimed at the white plexiglass behind our little friend. It lights the glass, and makes the background sprinkles pop. While I would not eat the clay.....I may very well eat all the sprinkles off the glass. Thanks for stomping by!!

#dinosaur #trex #sprinkles #fancysprinkles #dessert #candy #foodphotography #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #beautydish #portrait #playdough #googlyeyes #bigbang #extinction

Day 200 of an Unknown Number

"Up in Smoke"

When I was asked to photograph a pot plant a while back, I made sure to keep one of the leaves for a later shoot. I dried it in a 1924 edition of The Romance of Evolution......just because. I wanted to emphasize the shape of the leaf, as it currently adorns countless shirts, hats and tattoos in California. The edge definition worked perfectly, though it looks as though I poorly Photoshopped the leaf on to another layer. I beefed up the power on the single strobe (located behind and beneath our subject) in order to pump some light through the leaf, thereby revealing the color as well. At the last moment I decided the image needed a little something. So, I grabbed my trusty can of smoke, and pffted a waft of smoke behind the leaf. Due to the relatively shallow depth of field, some areas of the smoke are in focus, while others are not. I like that. Thanks for drifting through!!

#cannabis #leaf #weed #foliage #smoke # #marijuana #indica #edgelight #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon5dmarkIII #pocketwizard #canon24105 #rimlight #terpenes #fanleaf #cheechandchong #upinsmoke

Flashback Friday!! Oh, it is also the thirteenth. Happy friggatriskaidekaphobia!!! Here is another of my favorites of clarinet player, Jonathan Greene. This is one of my favorite lighting scenarios, and could not be easier to set up. There is a large softbox in front of Jonathan, but his nose is aligned with the very outer edge of the diffusion. This prevents most of the light from hitting the left side of his face, providing just an edge of light around his visage. Had he moved just two inches closer to camera, the light would not touch his near cheek, leaving just a silhouette of his face. I believe there was a second light behind him, just to prevent the shadow-side of his face from going black. There is just a hint of light on his ear from this second source. Simple, but hopefully it hits the right note. Thanks for checking it out!

#jonathangreene #clarinet #musician #music #portrait #man #canon5dmarkIII #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #rimlight #pocketwizard #canon100macro #musicalinstrument #edgelight

✨Models: Laydiio

📷Photo and Retouch: Renaldo Creative renaldocreative.inspir3radio.com/portfolio

📷Camera and Lens: @canonusa

💡Lightstand and Reflector: @neewer

💡LED Light: @neewer

💡Light: @paulcbuffinc

💻Memory: @sandisk @lexarmemory

📍Location: North Carolina

Please don't remove my photo credits. © Renaldo Everett. All Rights Reserved.

Please comment, share, like, tweet, and pin.

Day 350 of 365

"Image 350"

Today's image came to me in a vision. I wanted to give something back to all you.....my viewer. I put on my best new sweater and a smile. Our key light is a Octa bank at camera-left, and it brings out my inner beauty. There is a fill card at camera-right, filling in those naughty shadows. Our last and second light is a strip bank, high and behind me, delivering that essential hair light. For the subtle image up top, I actually looked into the light......as one looks with hope and optimism into the new year. I performed some light retouching, just to even out my skin, and to boost those pearly whites!! Happy holidays to all!! Thanks for dropping down the chimney.

#holidaycheer #holidaycard #merryholidays #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #stripbank #sweater #holidaysweater #santa #yourmombelievesinsanta

Day 108 of 365

"Bees Revisited.....but Dead"

The bees are gone, and life goes on! However, when removing the tape from my composter, I discovered several specimens. Following a moment of silence, I realized they could not be tossed until I had photographed them. Don't judge me. So, with a few push pins and piece of styrofoam, I mounted our little friends for their final portraits. I've included two images for today's post, as I was undecided on which was more interesting. The first image is lit with an enormous (size is relative) diffused umbrella over our subjects, a snooted speedlight as a rim light from behind, and a ring flash on the camera. The ring flash gives us almost all of the light on the front of the bees, revealing the lovely stripes. To bee honest, I'm not sure the large umbrella did anything for the exposure. It was sort of a mystery. As for our second image, I only used the rim light (hair light) for this one. It just created a different mood. Alright, I think I've got the bee portraits out of my system!! Thanks for beeing patient.

#bees #beesinmybonnet #honey #macro #honeybees #beesonpins #nobeesdiedinthemakingoftheseimages #canon5dmarkIII #canon100macro #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon580exII #snoot

Day 300 of an Unknown Number

"Image 300"

I took this image a hundred years ago, so pardon my fuzziness on the details of the lighting. With that said, I'm pretty sure there was a five-foot Octabox at camera-left. You can see the reflection on the jar, and in our eyes. I believe there was also a strip bank at camera-right, delivering the rim light. We shot against a grey seamless, and while the key light was feathered ahead of the table, it pours just a bit of light on the paper. Oh, don't forget to ask me about my head-shrinking techniques. Don't forget to scrape away the soft tissue before filling the skin with hot stones!! Have a horrific Halloween!!!

#halloween #portrait #daguerreotype #headinajar #head #tophat #canon5dmarkIII #pocketwizard #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon24105 #stripbank #octabox #sayhellotomylittlefriend #headshrinking #shrunkenhead

Day 305 of 365

"Portrait 305"

Sometimes we have to allow a subject to grow before it is interesting. In today's scenario, our subject is a sweet potato. I was not sure how to go about lighting said dicotyledonous, so I played around with the light for a bit. I lit it from the side, but the light falloff left the other side in darkness. Not very interesting. I finally decided to light from above....and slightly behind our little bindweed. I obviously wanted to focus on the growth, but did not want to neglect the mole-like root itself. He is lit by a small softbox from directly above, hence the rather abrupt light falloff. To remedy the darkness in the lower half, I used a piece of foamcore to bounce some of the light on to the bottom half of the root. Simple lighting for a simple subject. Hey, did you know that one cup of sweet potato delivers 377% of your recommended daily allowance of Vitamin A? Thanks for spending some time with my Convolvulaceae!!

#sweetpotato #vegetable #potato #foodphotography #growth #yam #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #softbox #pocketwizard #inversesquarelaw #mole

Here is another of my favorites from my recent shoot with McKenzie Westmore. We shot with a large silver umbrella, and strip lights on the sides. A simple set up, but she makes it look cool. #faceoff #westmore #mckenziewestmore #Paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #syfy #pocketwizard #canon5dmarkiii

Day 310 of 365

"Portraits 310"

Today's portrait is once again brought to you by my macro extension tube. I don't know about you, but I am having fun! There is one medium-sized soft box at camera- left, lighting our little beans. Well, size is relative. As I've mentioned before, the depth of field is so shallow, as can be seen in this image. Because the extension tube disables the auto-focus feature, I focus by moving the camera back and forward, until the desired area is in focus. A little tedious, but with every movement, the image changes drastically. Is it just me, or does someone do a very poor job at sewing the beans together? You can totally see the seams! Thanks for having a coffee with me!

#Coffee #CoffeeBean #MacroPhotography #Closeup #FoodPhotography #DrinkPhotography #Drink #Canon5DMarkIII #Paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #Canon100Macro #MacroExtensionTube #PocketWizard

Day 193 of an Unknown Number

"Plastic Silhouette"

I've had this roll of polypropylene for a few months, and I keep looking for interesting ways to use it. I played around with multiple exposures, but ended up using this single exposure of myself. There is a bare strobe behind me, and I am about a foot behind the translum backdrop. The distance of the light to the subject, and the subject to the plastic vary the look greatly. I thought it might be odd to use a second strobe on the front side of the plastic...so that is what I did. It has a sort of superhero (or nerd) look to it. I think I will play around with gelled strobes in the future. Thanks for stopping by!!

#portrait #translum #polypropylene #studio #paulcbuffinc #paulcbuffeinstein #canon5dmarkIII #canon24105 #pocketwizard #man #studioportrait #imageoftheday #dailypost