Lowel Lights – My Lighting Technique (Review)
I’m trying something new here on Wishes and Dishes where I will take a product I love and tell you about it. It’s as simple as that! There are just some things, kitchen-related or not, that I want to share with you sometimes and what better way to do it than right here? Hope you don’t mind 🙂
I was looking at old posts on my blog yesterday (it’s a year and a half old now!) and thinking how much my photography has improved. Sometimes I cringe when I look at the pictures from my early posts (see pictures below). My how far Wishes and Dishes has come! A little over a year ago, I received 2 of these lights from my husband for my birthday. We were living in a small apartment at the time with absolutely zero natural light coming in. The place had 2 windows and they were both on the same side of the apartment….the kitchen being on the opposite side of those windows. I could turn all the lights on in the apartment and still come out with dark photos. It was very frustrating, so I asked Mr. Wishes to try to find a light that mimics natural sunlight (not even knowing anything like that existed…but if it exists, he will be the one to find it).
He ended up surprising me with 2 of these Lowel Ego lights. My blog has never been the same since! Each Lowel Ego light fixture came with 2 30-Watt screw-in compact daylight fluorescent bulbs. Also included was a folded white bounce card/reflector for easily reflected fill. This bounce card makes a big impact on how bright the photos come out for me. I use this for almost all of my picture-taking. They really provide professional results with nice even lighting (no hot spots or glare and I put one light on each side of the object). By tilting the Ego lights the light output will point towards the reflector card and be bounced as fill light to the object. You can also tilt them downward to put more direct light on the object you are photographing.
Bounce card / reflector
Setup couldn’t be easier with the Lowel lights: whenever I need them, I just plug them in, place them on the table on either side of the object or food I am photographing, and turn them on. The result is tons of light output that’s ideal for taking digital tabletop shots. The pictures come out great and look like they are taken in daylight! Also, the lights seem to use little electricity and stay nice and cool which I was really happy about.
If you are looking for a simple lighting solution for your food photography (or other photography like portraits!) that can easily be used on a table top, then this will meet your needs perfectly. Here is the official website where you can buy them: http://www.lowel.com/ego/.
I did a fun little before and after so you can see the difference in photographs I took before I started using my lights and after!
BEFORE
Picture taken without Lowel Ego lights
Picture taken without Lowel Ego lights
AFTER
After I started using Lowel Ego lights. What a difference!
After I started using Lowel Ego lights
Disclaimer: This is my own personal opinion that I am sharing for others and I am not compensated in any way to write a review about this product.
I would love to hear which products you love and recommend! You’re so cute ash
Haha thanks Heather!
loved hearing your thoughts on these! i definitely will keep these in mind!
Thanks, Jenn!
Love this idea! Keep it comin! 🙂
Thanks, Marie!
I’ve heard other bloggers sing the praises of these lights too, food bloggers in particular. They’re on my “someday” wish list. 🙂
They have made all the difference for me! Thanks, Claire!
Thank you for sharing!! I have been looking for something like this all over that was not incredibly expensive!
These would be perfect then!
I have been debating getting Lowel lights! You made up my mind. the difference is INCREDIBLE!
Thanks, Sally! They definitely made all the difference in my photos.
Your old pictures still make me hungry,Ashley! But , yes, the lights are nice!
Thanks, Tonette! The lights made my pictures so much brighter
Wow, the effect of these lights is amazing! I’ve heard of them before, and now I am bookmarking this page for future reference!
They really are awesome!
These are on my wish list! I’ve been using a hardware store hack with clip on lights and daylight bulbs (and an old sheer curtain as a scrim), but they’re a pain to set up and I’m getting annoyed with them, even though they’ve saved me a lot of money. Nice to hear a review of them!
Thanks, Carrie! They are great!
I’ve heard really good things about these lights. In fact when people ask what lights to buy, I usually recommend these or some of the LED lights that are becoming affordable. I haven’t tried either – I use studio flash – but so many people I know and trust have praised both sorts of lights, and you can see by their pictures that they’re getting good results. Great idea to review things like this – thanks.
Loved reading the review about these lowel lights. They really do fantastic work thanks to your picture comparisons. The food looks great too! 🙂
Thanks, Ruby. They make a HUGE difference, huh?
The lights really do make a difference in the way your photos look. This was a great find. I hope you had a wonderful weekend. Blessings…Mary
Thanks, Mary! They do make all the difference, that’s for sure!
Ashley, I’m in the same position you used to be – itty bitty NYC apartment with no natural light. I just purchased 1 Lowel EGO light, and it’s going well but I’m thinking maybe I should splurge for a second – do you think it makes a big difference?
Also, in the after pictures above, can you explain your positioning of the lights and reflecting board?
Thanks so much girrrl! xx
Hey girl! I definitely think two is worth it if you are taking pictures at night or in a place with low or no lighting. I should have taken a picture of the positioning of the lights, but basically I use them like the picture on the website. I put one light on each side of the object…usually a little bit in front of the object and angle the lights toward the object a little so it looks like light is shining in on them. I put the board behind the object so that the background doesn’t look dark and it also reflects the light to make the object even brighter. I always used 2 lights when I was still in the apartment (we have a house now with natural light coming in). Let me know if you have any more questions! You can look on ebay, sometimes people are selling them used 🙂