I’ve been wanting to get these lights ever since I read about them on the Steamy Kitchen website. I don’t have much natural light in my unit. I’ve been shooting outside to get the best pics, but it’s getting too cold to go outside. I finally bit the bullet and bought Lowel EGO lights from Vistek. When I went to Paris for my honeymoon we rented a lens from Vistek and they were super about not charging us an extra day because our flight was delayed and couldn’t make it back in time. Great customer service. I used them again to get the lights and some other things. When I found out they price matched, I saw the items I had just bought were much cheaper at a competitor. So when I inquired about the price match I was treated in a very unprofessional manner. In the end, it took the power of Twitter and some very helpful individuals to rectify the situation. I believe Vistek is the only place in Toronto that sells these lights. B&H has them for much cheaper, but once you factor in shipping, tax, and customs they are about the same price as Vistek. So B&H is probably the better deal if you have other big items you need to buy. I only have one light as they don’t sell the kit with 2 lights that B&H has (another con for Vistek).
Putting the lights together was a bit tricky. The plastic flaps that you’re supposed to fold down are very rigid and I was worried about cracking them if I was too forceful. I talked to Jaden from Steamy Kitchen about it and she had no problems at all. So maybe it was just my kit.
I also bought the sweep which comes with construction paper in a variety of colours. I don’t think I’ll be getting much use out of the papers, but the sweep makes for a good background and as an extra reflector. Much needed for me with my only ego light and dismal indoor lighting.
Here are some test shots.
The most delicious caramels I got from France that I haven’t posted about.
One of the rare times I will use the paper that comes with the sweep.
I still need to fiddle around with the lighting set up as sometimes my photos look blown out from the lighting. I’m wondering if I need a lens that has more zoom so that it’s not too close to the lights.
These lights are great for me because I’m also a night owl. Procrastination may have something to do with that, but for some reason I work better at night. This means a lot of the time my baking starts late at night (around 10pm or so). Many of my pictures need to be taken the next day, but with these lights I can finally start taking some night shots. I can also start taking more dinner photos too if I knew how to make them look more appetizing.
Here are some other food photography sites that I found helpful:
Pioneer Woman Photography a lot of good basics material. I just learned how to change the aperture from this site.
Make a macro photo studio for $10
Food portfolio. Tons of info here on food photography.
VeganYumYum Food photography for bloggers.
Jaden’s review of Lowel EGO lights
And while we’re on the subject of photography I am addicted to Photoshop actions. I will usually run my images using the Pioneer Woman’s action set.
Look at the difference it makes:
The colours pop out much more. I like using the boost and quick edge burn for my food photos.
You can download the action sets here.
If you’re looking for a free photo editing program that’s super easy Picasa is awesome. R uses it a ton even though he’s a PhotoShop wizard because it’s so much easier.
These lights are a great investment for a hobbyist. It’s pretty inexpensive and gives great results. Because my lighting is so dark I think 2 would work much better and will probably purchase another one in the future.
