Just Takin' Pictures

Hubby pays attention. He really buys great gifts, even when I don't throw out elaborate hints. He even buys me things I didn't know I wanted, like this ...

Which turns into this ...

And allows me to do this ...

This is so cool! It's a portable lighting studio to help me take beautiful pictures of things for my blog, for when I start my etsy store, for eBay, maybe even for posterity! It has the blue background that also reverses to a gray background and it came with the telescoping lights and a camera tripod. It all folds up into a handy carrying case and the lights/tripod fit into the pockets on the front.

Come on, is that cool or what? We played with it the day after Christmas. Fortunately, I had been trying out my camera's flash settings just a few days before so I knew how to turn off the flash. The Granddaughter bought Youngest Daughter's Boyfriend a peppermint striped plate and mug, some biscotti and peppermint tea for Christmas so I used them to try out the lighting variations.

Here's the vignette with my flash on so nice bold color, but no shadows, no depth ...

The next three photos were taken with the spotlights in different positions -- toward the front, center, then back ...

I just love the way the change in light direction adds depth and creates different shadows! Here's one more example -- the changes are subtle, but they're there. Look at the way the light hits the taper candles ...

I have a feeling this is going to be a lot of fun and plan to be snapping lots of photos and cramming anything in there that I can -- so run, puppies, hide!