Paul C. Buff, Inc. Technical Forum

Hello,

I recently purchased an Einstein and was hoping to use a clamshell lighting setup for headshots. My setup isn't working, but I think I have found my error...

My setup was to put the Einstein on a boom arm with the light facing the ceiling and then I was going to attach my 64 inch PLM with white diffusion fabric so that the light was basically facing down on the subject. I was then going to place a reflector under the subject to bounce light back up.

My problem is that the umbrella is just too heavy for the einstein head. It just won't stay in place. Any little tilt, and the the screw on the einstein is just not tight enough to hold and it starts rotating.

Is there any way to prevent this? I am assuming I need an octabox or some kind of setup where the light can face down instead of facing up so that it doesn't have to fight as much against gravity.

Would a beauty dish work okay? I was hoping for something larger so that I could perhaps get pictures of the occasional couple headshot using clamshell, but maybe that would be a dumb idea anyway...

Sounds like you need a drop down pin.

Copying my post in a similar thread...
That's an issue with using booms and not unique to AB's. You need to get a drop down pin. The pin mounts to the end of the boom... it is hinged and provides a vertical pin to mount your light on. There are several different drop down pins available and you need to get one that works with your boom.

Do a Google image search for "drop down pin" and you'll see how they work.
EDIT: You might as well order a safety cable when you are getting the pin and also make sure to add sandbag the stand.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3518&p=15128&hilit=drop+down+pin#p15128

Edit... @ TS :D

This is an issue with using booms, and not just with Einstein, but with pretty much any light, as they all attach the same way, i.e. metal screw on a round metal post.

A product like this could help. In your case, probably the best thing to do would be to keep the body inline with the axis of the boom (as opposed to hanging off one side or the other). The stand mount would fold toward the front of the light. Even if you could not fold it flat against the light, the angle could be compensated by the angle of the boom.

Since the rotational force is excerted in a direction which does not allow for rotation, the light should stay in place. The stand mount hinge should hold the unit in place, relative to the stand mount.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1 ... _Drop.html

This is not a reccomendation for this actual product on our part, per se, as we have not tested one (this brand or any other). However, this type of device is a commonly advised solution for situations such as this.

(Edit) PE beat my by *that much*.

Thank you both for your responses! I will definitely try out one of those to see if it will help.