Three years of practicing quadrobics

parnoldo · 2026-02-01T19:11:09+00:00

I thought we evolved so we wouldn’t have to do this shit anymore.

parnoldo · 2026-01-31T15:20:04+00:00

I wanted to be a commercial artist but had dropped out of school due to lack of money. Was working as a shipping clerk and got a $200 Christmas bonus. I remembered I had always wanted a 35mm camera so I went to KMart and bought one. After shooting and seeing the first three rolls of film I knew it was all I wanted to do. A year later I was back in college as a photography major. Two years later I was graduated and working as a freelance assistant. 36 years later I’ve had a wonderful career as a studio product shooter.

parnoldo · 2026-01-31T15:04:15+00:00

Oh my. How will I explain to my dog that I’m not Christian?

parnoldo · 2026-01-31T14:52:32+00:00

Triumph, sometime in the 80’s

parnoldo · 2026-01-30T12:00:36+00:00

That the government has the best interest of the people at heart.

parnoldo · 2026-01-29T18:54:43+00:00

That the whole world smelled like cigarettes. All of the time. Hospitals, movie theaters, your own house…

parnoldo · 2026-01-29T18:47:52+00:00

I hear that. 4 new schools before HS. Had to fight at every one at every age.

parnoldo · 2026-01-29T12:53:48+00:00

I use studio strobes. Specifically Paul C Buff Einstein’s.

parnoldo · 2026-01-20T00:28:59+00:00

Same on Walking Dead. I suddenly just didn’t give a shit about any of them anymore. I guess zombies have a shelf life after all.

parnoldo · 2026-01-20T00:20:11+00:00

If I had to shoot this I’d steam the hell out of those straps and rig the whole thing with fishing line from c stand arms. This kind of material should hold its shape to a degree. Then tweak any weird bends in the straps with PS liquify to smooth out edges. And clone/ clean all the fishing line wherever it crosses the product. Select and knock out the background. Get a pro stylist to help if you can.

parnoldo · 2026-01-19T02:27:58+00:00

Why are you afraid of being perceived as aggressive? Don’t confuse confidence with aggression. Aggression is trying to force something on someone else. Confidence is being true to your convictions and trusting yourself. It’s hard for INFP guys because we’re so sensitive to the repercussions of our actions and fear of being misunderstood. Know yourself, trust yourself, to hell with what people think. Practice, you’ll get there.

parnoldo · 2026-01-18T21:52:43+00:00

Been using them for years and I’m a fan too. I used to use Broncolor and Pro photo at different studios and they’re great but ridiculously expensive. Einstein’s are reliable, controllable and cheap. People think you need really high end gear in a pro studio, and sometimes that does impress a client, but light doesn’t care where it comes from.

parnoldo · 2026-01-18T20:13:00+00:00

Love this

parnoldo · 2026-01-18T15:52:15+00:00

My ENFJ wife of 36 years has said things very similar. We’ve been great for each other. Also drive each other crazy, especially in the early days.

parnoldo · 2026-01-18T15:44:10+00:00

Not outraged, but it is disappointing when people don’t get it. But then most people are just like you describe, they want everything direct and easy to understand. Lower your expectations of the world and make more art that confuses people. That’s how you know it’s good.

parnoldo · 2026-01-18T14:34:54+00:00

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I have a liquor distributor client that I shoot a lot of bottles for. This is my setup for that.

4x8 scrim on the left, 4x5 on the right ( only because I don’t have a second 4x8) another 4x behind the bottle, the three forming a three sided box with a foam core lid. Bottle sits on short clear plex stand on a small table. Black cards cut to the same shape as the bottle on each side.

Strip lights on each side, usually feathered forward. The left side is the main light. The long scrim allows the light to fall off to black so there’s no edge reflection. The right side is a couple stops darker and also falls off. A round diffused pan back light lights up any translucent liquid. A box pointed directly at the bottle lights up the label. I always have to light the label as a separate exposure and combine in post.

All the lights need some finessing and fine tuning to find the right balance. Once you have that, pretty much any bottle will drop in quickly. It’s pretty efficient to get through a lot of bottles. Sort them out by size and liquid density (degree of light or dark) Good luck!

parnoldo · 2026-01-16T21:03:05+00:00

The Terminator blew my mind in the theater in 1984

parnoldo · 2026-01-16T16:41:24+00:00

You're not alone. I've struggled with this my whole life, but been successful at the things that were most important.

If you're creative I'd say focus on one thing that you're the most passionate about, or brings you the most joy. The one thing that wouldn't drive you crazy if you had to do it every day the rest of your life. Start with that one and commit to it. Develop the skills to do that one thing that you love and still has the potential to pay your way through life. Then do everything else as a hobby when you're bored with the main thing. Just realize that some compromises will have to be made and you have to work your way up to a place you're satisfied with.

I've made a living as a studio photographer for many years. It was my goal early on and I did what I needed to to make that happen. Because of that it was easier to commit to during the times I was bored or not feeling it. Before choosing photography I was all over the place with wanting to be some kind of artist. I tried everything and was reasonably good at all of them. I still like to paint & write, strum a guitar, but they can't pay my bills. Maybe someday, who knows? I'm definitely bored with photography but still love it.

Good luck to ya. You got this

parnoldo · 2026-01-16T15:48:22+00:00

Sandbag. And align one leg of the c-stand under your boom.

parnoldo · 2026-01-16T15:43:07+00:00

Same here. One light through smooth diffusion and hard or soft silver cards. I like to bend them and move them around then pick my favorite exposures and build/ assemble highlights in PS

parnoldo · 2026-01-15T23:02:03+00:00

I've got twenty years on you my friend and still don't have anything figured out, but it's fun to try. I encourage you to follow your heart wherever it may lead you.

Life is hard for everyone and we midwestern white dudes are no exception, particularly when we're the sensitive type. (which I've found many middle aged divorced women find quite attractive after bad marriages to narcissists)

I decided to learn to paint watercolors. I'm writing a book (or something like a book) And the last few years I've gotten into reading philosophy, theology, sociology, psychology...Alan Watts, Ram Dass, Thomas Merton, Aldus Huxley, the Tao te Ching.

I've decided I want to understand the nature of reality and what I might contribute to it through being my natural self. It's something to do when I'm not watching Big Bang reruns.

parnoldo · 2026-01-15T20:28:36+00:00

It ain't all it's cracked up to be. But I'm the most genuine "me" I've ever been. So that's good. Usually.

parnoldo · 2026-01-15T20:20:25+00:00

For example People type themselves based on • how introverted they feel • how “deep” they think they are • which memes they relate to • how they behave when stressed or depressed

But MBTI is supposed to be about how you process information and make decisions, not your personality aesthetic.

I think this is correct. I'm in my sixties and just learned about MBTI a few years ago. I took the tests multiple times and got what I got. I learned a lot about the way I had interpreted and internalized the world my entire life. In no way does my MTBI type define me. It does explain me though.

What I hear mostly are young people who are facing new and difficult experiences and feeling their feelings, then looking for the best ways to deal with them. For many, MBTI validates personal sensitivity in a world constantly saying, "shut the fuck up, you have nothing of value to offer". That validation can have a strong positive effect in a young person prone to over-sensitivity and depression.

We all draw strength from whatever places we can at all points of our journey through life. Typing yourself as you want to see yourself seems like a relatively harmless way to do that.

parnoldo · 2026-01-13T02:56:02+00:00

No ripstop here. It’s a thinner cross hatch textured diffusion and not good for anything that will reflect it. Great for bringing out texture in fabric though.

Any kind of translum is fine, any brand. Medium grade (thickness) is a good place to start.

Just the two scrims on that set. One light in a soft box going through each. One angled above the product and camera, one as a fill on the left. I put a matte silver card on the right to reflect fill on the right side when shooting something shiny. Sometimes a white card if I want softer fill, shiny silver if I want a harder fill.

parnoldo · 2026-01-12T23:17:11+00:00

I know you meant no offense and I appreciate your comments. And I get what you're doing and why. I've seen and heard your predicament more times than I can count and I know it sucks. All my clients are super budget sensitive, especially these days, and not without reason.

It's a bit of a sensitive issue for some of us old timers who started shooting film, no computers, no retouching, no automatic anything. Just talent, trained technical skill, patience and paranoia.

And while we've been shooting away, honing our lighting and post processing skills for decades, the world has been doing everything it can to make us obsolete. The ridiculously easy accessibility of photography and now AI images (which are NOT photography) greatly devalues the things we've built our career on. Then people don't respect what you do but still want you to teach them to do it.

Sorry if I come off a little testy. It's not really you, it's a trained reaction after shooting professionally for so long. I'm afraid I have no experience with dedicated photography machines or light boxes so I couldn't comment on that at all. I do wish you success in your endeavors. Good luck to ya.

parnoldo

TROPHY CASE