Amazing Blog Addition: Portable Photo Studio & Lighting Kit!

So, my boyfriend is pretty awesome. I've mentioned it a few times on the blog, but in case you haven't heard, he's kinda great :) One of his fortes is giving excellent, unexpected gifts, and he really outdid himself this Christmas. He knows how much my blog means to me, so he was thoughtful enough to get me a gift that would undoubtedly give this website a boost: a portable photo studio and lighting kit!

I opened it up for the first time a couple evenings ago and was quick to use it to take photos for an upcoming lipstick post (coming soon!). Here's a quick snap of the mini studio all lit up before I arranged my shoot:

This is one of the photos that resulted from my first experiment with the kit- perhaps my favourite lipstick shot I've ever taken! Promising! Nothing sexier than a portrait of a Chanel lipstick, really.

The kit itself came housed in this relatively compact box and, as you can see from the top right-hand corner, it is contained in a handy carrying case. The front of the box shows the general setup of the studio; I most likely won't be photographing model cars, but as I mentioned, lipsticks can be just as sexy as a Maserati ;)

The kit comes with a "photo tent" (essentially a mini studio) with two light bulbs and light reflectors to create daylight-like fluorescent lighting within the studio. It also comes with a tripod (which I didn't photograph) and four different coloured backdrops, and offers the ideal setting for clear photos without glare or shadows. I really feel like a professional having one of these in my home!

It took a while to figure out the setup the first time around, but now that I have the hang of it, it should be a breeze next time! Here are a few shots of it set up in my apartment. Ironically, the photos of the portable studio did not turn out great, much unlike the photos taken inside the studio. But hopefully you can still get a good idea of what it looks like and how it works!

One of the light bulbs positioned in front of the reflector to maximize and concentrate the light: 

A slightly more side angle- I didn't even have to fully remove it from its carrying case to use it, so it was a snap to put away!

View from the top, all lit up. Looks really neat!

Overall, I couldn't be happier with this kit and can't wait to become more skilled at using it! I really think it will improve the quality of the photos on the blog (along with the new camera I got for Christmas, yay!) and will allow me to take bright, clear pictures without any sunlight. Without the kit, there were really only a few hours per day when I could take quality photos in my apartment; once the sun shifted everything would get shadowy and hazy. It is so refreshing that I can take photos at any time now!

You'll see the portable studio and lighting kit at work in my next post, which will feature all of the deep, vampy lipsticks in my collection. I'd love your feedback on whether you like the photos I've taken in the studio and how they compare to past photos.

Thanks for reading!