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WHITE/BLACK REFLECTION UMBRELLAS:
44"
The White/Black umbrella is made
of the new P-Satin clothes-PU bonding with high denier Satin.
Their Black cover can achieve almost 100% light reflection rate
and provide soft almost shadowless light, which is suitable for
indirect and diffusive lighting. A wonderful method of softening
the light. You're getting TWO of these huge umbrellas with this
package.
Technique:
Photographers use these umbrellas
to diffuse and soften light; in portraits, for example, this
soft lighting very effectively hides many of the lines and wrinkles
on the faces of our victims (umm, our "subjects" :),
making them look younger and more vital. It's also great for
photographing highly reflective surfaces, such as jewelry, glass,
and chrome (it avoids the bright reflections that mess up our
pictures). But don't let our clients know our little secrets,
just accept their appreciation (along with your quickly-escalating
fees), and let them believe it was your phenomenal photographic
skill that made them (or their products) look so damn good!
Look, you're spending a lot of time and money acquiring the
equipment, and learning the skills of the photographic arts;
you're becoming a skilled professional; your work is valuable
as well as beautiful. Don't price yourself out of the market,
certainly, but don't sell yourself cheap, either.
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Point of Information:
BTW (which means "by
the way" for any "newbies" paying us a visit),
a "Reflection" umbrella is one that reflects the strobe's
light back onto the subject, and thereby softens and diffuses
the light. This technique is often used in portraits and for
photographing reflective surfaces, and performs many beneficial
services for all us hard-working, underpaid, and under-appreciated
photographic artists. Keep it a secret from others, though, and
let them think we get our beautiful images through some sort
of esoteric magic, passed down through the centuries, from master
to disciple. It helps increase our value ;-) - and please don't
send me any e-mail explaining that photography hasn't been around
for centuries, I know that. Duh (actually, photography in one
form or another has been around for about a century and a half).
Back to the top
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Silver /
Gold Reflection Umbrella 32"
The Gold & Silver umbrellas are
made of high 300 denier black cover with PU coating. Inner surfaces
are bonded with Silver and Gold aluminum metallic foil. The Gold
side produces a lovely, warm reflected light that creates those
warm, soft, healthy skin tones that are so desirable for portraiture,
especially to help make our overworked and sunlight-deprived
clients look a bit more tanned and healthy (and in many other
areas of photography, too).
As with all well-designed, and
properly thought-out photographic packages, the accessories included
with this great professional kit are those which the photographer
needs most, so s/he can create the most effective and striking
images for the majority of situations in which we find ourselves
in today's world.
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H70- 150mm 6" Umbrella Reflectors
Used alone for about
60º coverage, or with barn doors to control lighting spread,
or with an umbrella to create soft and diffuse lighting. This
custom reflector is designed with a special "slot"
in it to allow for the use of an umbrella, without the need for
a special umbrella holder accessory! A unique Britek innovation!
This is usually the reflector that comes with the Britek SM-1250
Strobes, since they have an integral umbrella holder built in
to the strobe's light stand connector. You get Five of these
reflectors with your package. |
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H70MM Snoot
The Snoot provides a 30º
concentrated light source for spot lighting or dramatic accents.
Often used to "spotlight" a product, or a specific
area of a photograph; often used for hairlights in people pictures.
One of the photographer's "must have" accessories (for
the SM-1250s).
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Medium Honeycomb
This unit attaches to
the end of the Snoot, above, and restricts the light beam to
15º as well as softening the light. Often used for hairlights
and accent lights, as well as many other uses. Another one of
the photographer's "must have" accessories (for the
SM-1250s). |
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Barndoors
This unit attaches to
the strobe's reflector. Barndoors are used by photographers to
restrict and control light; wide, narrow, and anything in-between,
can be easily achieved by moving the "doors" open or
closed over your strobe (for the SM-1250s). You're getting two
of these. |
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Here's a great little accessory
that all photographers always need more of: a panning light head with integral umbrella holder!
You get 3 of these tilt & swivel bulb holders with this great
7 Strobe Kit (these are designed to hold your AS-32B and AS-66
strobes). It's hard to wax philosophic about a photographic accessory,
but anyone who's ever worked with lights knows that these little
tools are absolutely indispensable. For example, even a super-duper,
antique, $100,000.00 table lamp isn't going to do anyone much
good without a light bulb that works (you can't admire much when
you're sitting in the dark, y'know). And these babies work, and
keep on working. You'll need one of these for every standard
e-27 Edison base strobe or continuous light you'll ever work
with (the E-27 is the standard household light socket size, so
you can use "regular" lights with it too, if need be).
Plus, this little baby has an integral (built-in) umbrella holder,
which saves you from having to buy an additional umbrella adapter,
whenever we want to "bounce" the light off of (or through)
an umbrella. You're getting 2 of these.
Specifications:
Single standard E-27 bulb socket
On / Off switch
10 foot power cord
3/8" Stud for attaching to light stands
Integral Umbrella Holder
Technique: Which picture of this accessory was
made when the light holder was very close to the background?
C'mon, if you read the "technique" section in the BB-50
Strobe's description (above) you should be able to answer this
one!
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Custom Light stand and Umbrella Carrying Case
This custom high quality
carrying bag is designed to hold all three of your light stands,
AND both of your new Umbrellas! Don't tell anyone, but I somehow
manage to pack in a few extra goodies whenever I really have
to. UPGRADE: New larger light stand carrying case replaces
current case at no extra charge!
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Custom Strobe and Accessories Carrying
Case
This custom-made high
quality carrying case is designed to hold all four of your strobe
lights, AND all your extra accessories, with room for more! It's
heavily padded for the safety of your new toys, and has several
removable panels and separators, which allow you to customize
the interior to suit your ever-changing needs. Finally,
a bag that fits!! UPGRADE: New larger strobe carrying
case replaces current case at no extra charge! |
You're also getting a great new 6' 8" X 9'
Raw Muslin Background / Backdrop
to start you off! This is a great starter background for those
of us who are just begining to realize the importance of backdrops
to good photography (see a sample of how backgrounds can affect
your pictures, below).
Raw muslin is a lovely cream color (sort of like this background
color), and has been used in its raw state as a favorite of photographers
for decades. Be aware that this is a brand new, top quality,
100% pure cotton muslin (unlike the cheap recycled and cotton
blend so-called "muslins" that others have been selling
online recently). Also, you can easily dye and/or paint raw muslin
to create beautiful custom backgrounds that sell for up to $450.00!
What IS a "Muslin" you may ask? Muslin is a type of
cotton material that is light weight, easily hung, draped, stretched,
folded, or rolled. It's easy to paint and dye, and relatively
inexpensive. You'll likely acquire several different color muslins
as your photographic needs advance. But if your budget won't
stretch to buy additional backgrounds, you can add to your background
creativity by using a bed sheet (iron it first, so all the wrinkles
are gone), or a wall, or buy some cheap material at a local fabric
store (avoid patterns and designs, they just detract from your
subject). Set your victim (um, your "subject," that
is:) at least 4-6 feet in front of your background (whatever
it may be), and place your background strobe behind your subject
(hidden from the camera's view, of course). Please note that
this muslin does not come hemmed or with a loop sewn across the
top (however, it's a simple matter to make a loop - to insert
a background cross bar through - with a few safety pins (real
photographers improvise:), or you can sew one yourself, if you're
handy; but if you don't have a background support set, a loop
won't be any use to you anyway). When you get more backgrounds/backdrops,
you might consider acquiring a Background Support Set to hold
them; but for now, just tape, thumbtack, or hang your muslin
behind your victim (er, your "subject," that is:) in
any convenient manner; nobody will know what you don't have in
the final prints anyway. No need to spend a fortune to get great
pictures, just be imaginative and creative with the equipment
you have.
Read
some more about backgrounds.... |
Technique:
The most important "secret"
of good photography is the
thought the photographer puts into a picture before s/he
even considers what type of film to use! The point here is that
we have to train ourselves to think before we shoot! What
color is our subject? How can we make that color (or shade) stand
out? Look at the example here, and see how the simple choice of using
a background that matches our subject's eye color can improve
our pictures. In the lovely picture to your left, notice how
the blue-violet shadows to the right of the model's head accentuate
her blue eyes. Notice, too how half the face is in a light shadow,
adding depth and texture. We have to ask ourselves: What do we
want to emphasize in our picture? How will we direct our viewers'
eye to our subject? If it's an outdoors photograph, how will
we separate our main subject from any other distracting elements
in our photograph? At which angle should we shoot? Is it important
to establish place in this photograph (i.e., is it important
for the viewer to know where our subject is? Or do we want to
hide the location)? If we're shooting people, what is our victim's
least appealing feature (i.e., a large nose, a bald head, pot
belly, lotsa wrinkles, etc.:)? How can we hide or de-emphasize
it? What's our subject's most appealing feature (i.e., eyes,
profile, smile, boobs - oops! sorry, I couldn't resist:) ? How
can we emphasize the attractive aspects of our subjects? These
are the questions photographers have to ask, before we
shoot. THINK before you shoot! MAKE a photograph - don't "take"
a snapshot! Learn to "design" your picture before you
pick up your camera! Take a piece of paper and a pencil, and
sketch out what you want in the picture you're considering; this
will be a great help in the beginning, and after a few weeks
or months of doing this, you'll start to do it all in your head,
and won't need the pencil and paper any more. I promise you that
a good photograph doesn't require the genius of an Einstein -
it just takes a little thought and preparation (creativity and
practice doesn't hurt either)! You don't have to study photography
for 20 years, just train yourself to think before you
shoot! Don't try to plan out 100 subjects all at once; think
about one or two, and then use 10 rolls of film on just a few
ideas. Shoot from different angles; shoot from different heights;
shoot with different lighting angles; shoot with color film;
shoot with black and white film; think, then shoot! Pretty soon,
you'll wake up one day and realize that you've changed; you'll
look at the world differently; you'll "see" things
most people never even notice; one day, you'll realize that you've
become something special; something different, but different
in a most amazing and wonderful way; you will have become - a
photographer!
© 2001 |
| You'll
also be receiving a Sync Cord (also called a "PC" Cord),
and a power cord for each and every one of your new HS-500 Pro
Studio Strobes and SM-1250 Pro Strobes. And don't forget that
all the SM-1250s as well as the AS-66 Mini-Strobes' Tilt/Swivel
Bulb Holders have integral (built-in) umbrella holders, too!
Everything you'll need is included, so when your new photographic
equipment arrives, all you'll have to do is plug 'em in, and
rock & roll (fire away)! Unlike some other lighting equipment
which requires additional power supplies, light heads, and connector
cables, this great A.C. kit comes 100% complete - no additional
attachments or accessories are needed to use this equipment!
I really HATE IT when I buy a new toy, and then when it arrives,
I discover I can't use it because something else (usually at
additional cost, too) is required before it will work! So I never
to anything like that to my (beloved) customers. Don'tcha wish
everybody was as considerate as that to their customers? So do
I. =:-) |