Tag: Paul C. Buff

Paul C. Buff Studio Lighting Kit for Sale

UPDATE: This has been sold. Wow! That was fast.

A few years ago, I bought an AlienBees Studio Lighting Kit. I had this naive idea that I would learn portrait photography and build a small side business shooting family and individual portraits. As it turns out, I wouldn’t say I like portrait photography or heavy portable strobes, stands and assorted equipment that’s needed for studio portrait photography.

The equipment was used occasionally. I used it to take portraits of my kids for the yearbook or to do photo booth events. But mostly, the equipment was stored in the basement where it went unused for over a year. It recently dawned on me that I should get rid of this equipment.

I am selling the entire setup as a studio kit bundle for $1072 (excluding shipping). This is a $400 discount for the same items purchased new from Paul C. Buff. The items are gently used but fully functional. If you live in the Princeton area and want to schedule a meeting to see equipment, please let me know in the comments below. This stuff is too heavy to be worth shipping.

The CyberSync™ transmitter/receiver pair may be used to trigger all Paul C. Buff, Inc.™ studio flash units as well as most other flash brands employing a standard phone jack (RJ11) or mini phone jack sync input. The connection to the flash units using an “H” style connections is possible with suitable adapter cables.

The 51-inch Parabolic Umbrella Extreme Silver with Buff Speedring and PLM White Front Diffuser Fabric bounces the light from the flash unit, retaining high efficiency with a wide-angle of coverage and results in an extremely even, low profile, front-fed softbox. The soft silver fabric produces a controlled, feathered falloff with very soft shadows, perfectly round catchlights and an added specular punch over white umbrellas and softboxes.

The 13-foot Heavy Duty Light Stand maximum height, 4-section light stand, with a 43-inch maximum footprint. This heavy-duty stand is suitable to hold all Paul C. Buff™ lights, including heavy accessories such as softboxes and octa boxes. The stand weighs a total of 6 pounds and will hold 25+ pounds, collapsing to 42.5 inches for travel.

Item Quantity Price
AlienBees™ B800 Flash Unit
AlienBees™ B800 Flash Unit		 2 $448.00
CyberSync™ Receiver - CSR
CyberSync™ Receiver - CSR		 2 $112.00
Extreme Silver PLM™ Umbrella
51-inch Parabolic Umbrella Extreme Silver PLM™ Umbrellas with Buff Speedring		 2 $80.00
PLM™ White Front Diffusion Fabric 2 $21.00
Light Stand
13-foot Heavy Duty Light Stand		 2 $112.00
Paul C. Buff™ Single Light Carrying Bag 2 $21.00
CyberSync™ Trigger Transmitter 1 $48.00
Sekonic L-358 Flash Master
Sekonic L-358 Flash Master		 1 $231.00
Total $1073.00

Photographing families

Photographing groups of people -- families -- is challenging. Invariably one person will blink or move. Kids can't help but move. The trick is to be patient and catch them at the right moment. But often I'll end up with the kids just right but with the adults are out-of-place usually trying to get the kids to smile.

Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 55 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100

I took these photos during Father's Day. Bhavna's aunt organised a fete to honour the fathers. I thought it might be interesting to take some pictures with the fathers and their kids and grandkids.

Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 48 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100

I used a Paul C. Buff AlienBees™ B800 Flash Unit inside an Extreme Silver PLM™ Umbrella covered with PLM™ White Front Diffusion Fabric. I positioned the light on a 10-foot General Purpose Light Stands about foot away and directly in front of the subjects but for some of the shots, I placed the light off to one side.

Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 48 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100

I used a Sekonic L-358 FlashMaster light meter to set the camera shutter speed based on the aperture I chose for these portraits. This is my first light meter, and I'm still getting the hang of things. The light meter certainly makes adjusting the camera settings and flash unit power much easier. I set my camera in manual mode set the light-meter to the D5100s fastest flash sync speed take a reading from near my subjects and voilà! I know what aperture setting to use on my camera for the shot.

Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 42 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100

I don't have an extensive collection of lenses. For this shoot, I started with my AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G ( the images are in reverse chronological order ) with an aperture of f/8 but later changed to my 18-55mm at f/5.6 for the larger group shots. I sold the 50mm f/1.8 earlier this month. I didn't use it much, and I think a lens with a longer focal lens will be more flattering for portraiture.

The D5100 has an APS-C sensor so the 50mm with the crop factor produces the same view as a 75mm on a 35mm full-frame sensor. I think 75mm is just to short for portraiture. I prefer prime lenses so I plan to buy a AF-S Nikkor 85mm f/1.8G soon. With the APS-C sensor, the 85mm will offer the same view as a 127mm on a 35mm full-frame sensor.

Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 36 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100

I started shooting in the late afternoon just before sunset. I had to adjust the power of the AB800s and adjust my camera settings accordingly. This light-meter made this process quick and painless, but I have a better understanding of the hard work a professional wedding photographer must have to do.

Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 46 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 46 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 42 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 40 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 32 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 18-55 mm f/3.5-5.6@ 28 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8@ 50 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8@ 50 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8@ 50 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100
Nikon D5100 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8@ 50 mm | f/8.0 | ISO100

A light box for food and eBay photography

Some of my friends and readers know that I have a studio lighting kit. I can (and have used) use my lighting kit to shoot my food photography. The strobes are powerful and produce a beautiful soft white light. However, the strobes are set up in my basement1 and need much more adjustment to get things just right. It's much more convenient to plate food and shoot on the kitchen table. The smell of the food helps puts me in the right frame of mind to capture the image that can help bring that out.

And with the thought in mind, I set out to make my lightbox. I started with a small Amazon.com box and used some instructions I found on the web. I followed Sarah's instructions as closely as I could, but a bit of experimentation is required. Every box is different. I used parchment paper for the light filter and taped laserjet printer paper to the inside of the box. A trip to Target for a $10 desk lamp, and I was ready to start taking photos.

Making myown lightbox was easy and inexpensive …. Photography is just playing with light, as they say.

DIY Lightbox | Monday 25 March, 2013 | Nikon D40 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8

So what do the images look like (after some minor edits in Adobe Lightroom)?

This is Trader Joe's Steel Cut Oatmeal with brown sugar and maple syrup. I added crushed walnuts overs grated cinnamon and nutmeg and offered it to Bhavna for breakfast this morning.

Oatmeal | Monday 25 March, 2013 | Nikon D40 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8

This is my Dad's Canon EOS Rebel 2000. It's a 35 mm film camera. My Dad thought I could help him convert it to digital. He was disappointed when I explained it could not be done. I kept the camera, hoping that I could use the lens. EF lenses will work on my Nikon if I buy an inexpensive adapter.

Monday 25 March, 2013 | Nikon D40 | AF-S Nikkor 50 mm f/1.8
  1. My Paul C. Buff studio is 64" Extreme Silver PLM™ with 8mm Umbrella Style Mount and 64" PLM™ White Front Diffusion Fabric. Strobes (two) are AlienBees™ B800 Flash Unit with CyberSync™ Receivers (CSR) triggered by CyberSync™ Trigger Transmitter. ↩