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Sunday, 21 September 2014

Blogging Essentials worth Investing in - Lighting!

When I was asked by the amazing people at Joebloggers "What are the things worth investing in" as part of a Legal and General campaign, I took some time to think about it. It was quite a gloomy day and I had been attempting to take some blog photos for hours, the light being horrid, I downed my camera and quickly had a strop, grunted and sighed alot - then the answer came to me - Lighting!

So having made my decision I did a bit of research, read a few blogs that gave hints and tips and decided that a portable Camera Photo Studio Box Light Lighting Cube Tent Kit with Tripod would be brilliant and the kit I had seen came with four backdrops at a cost of £35.  Now to some people, this might not seem like a lot, but I have little room to spread myself about, I live in a one bed flat, affectionately referred to as 'the shoebox' and there are three cats who also live here and like to be actively involved in everthing, so this for me is the perfect solution.


When my package arrived, I was far too excited, the box was huge and I momentarily forgot what it was, then came a squeal of delight.  Inside my box I had the following:
  • Studio box size: 50x50x50cm
  • Double warm white LED spot light
  • Light cable length: 150m (each)
  • Backdrop color: Black, Blue, White, Red
  • Tripod and stand





Now to be, this is the best bit of kit, besides my Canon EOS1000D camera that I own and it most definitely makes taking pictures a lot easier, especially when it is dark outside!

Described as being a complete photo studio kit, I was delighted to find that it folds away into a neat carry case which takes up absolutely no room at all and I can put it neatly away in my wardrobe or under the bed out of the way. Setting the whole thing up was also incredibly easy too, much more so than I thought it would be and everything is fully adjustable, the tripod which fits my camera perfectly, allows for me to take a really nice close up without getting my hands, camera strap and anything else in the way. Once set up, it is made of both aluminium and steel and is really sturdy, the height is fully adjustable as well going from 25cm to 45cm, though I am yet to change it from the original settings.

The box itself is made is 100% pure white nylon fabric with a stainless steel frame photographic light tent and given it's size, everything that I need to photograph, including any of the cats, fits in there nicely. If I decide to change the background to either blue, red, or black, I can easily do so and each one fits snugly using a velcro fastening.

The final important item within the box are the two LED Lights/Lamps which also fold away and again you can adjust the light angle using a simple click of a button.


I am chuffed to bits with this piece of kit and whilst I am still getting to grips with how it works properly, I hope some of you will begin to notice the changes to my photographs.

If this sounds like something you fancy trying out, you can find it HERE.


Do you use lighting to take photos? is there something you would recommend?