The Lowel Ego - Don't let your lousy photo stop your on-line sale
Written: Sep 25 '09
Product Rating:
Pros: Versatile, quick and easy to use, enables professional level images.
Cons: A few nits. Seamless material could be more beefy.
The Bottom Line: If you shoot products professionally, you probably know of the Ego. But even if you post the occasional item on eBay or Craiglist, you should seriously consider the Lowel Ego.
sweeper's Full Review: Lowell E1-92 Ego Two Light Set Professional Lighti...
The ability for amateurs to post pictures of for sale items on the Web has mostly resulted, unfortunately, in amateurish images of for sale items on the Web. On the other hand, sellers who have managed to post attractive and appealing photos have a competitive edge. Why “sell” yourself short and put the sale of your products at a disadvantage? A number of products are available to vastly improve the images of for sale items on-line. One solution involves the Lowel Ego 2-Light Kit.
Why Choose the Lowel Ego 2 Working in a production house, I use a variety of video and still photography lighting products. Lowel is a respected lighting maker and is known for its innovative, effective and affordably priced lighting solutions. We use Lowel lighting as well as others for video shoots. We were searching for a lighting solution for product shots that would produce the high quality images our clients demand, would be easy and quick to use, and be reasonably priced. The Lowel Ego 2 is unique in its features and easily beat out the “tent” based products as well as seemingly similar products which had unacceptable, namely quality and color rendering faults. What I discovered in buying and using the Lowel Ego 2 is it’s probably the perfect solution for those wanting to get super images for their on-line selling endeavors.
What’s wrong with this picture? With the popularity of auction and for sale by owner sites and the ability for sellers of all sorts to post images of products on the Internet and a digital camera in nearly everyone’s possession, one might conclude that increasing competition for buyers would result in a proliferation of great pictures on the Web. Of course, that conclusion would be wrong. Judging from most images on sites such as eBay and Craigslist, it’s obvious that there is something more than just pointing and clicking a camera that yields a decent photo. Often the camera is blamed and the seller assumes there is little he or she can do to produce a better image.
Being a long-time photographer and one who has taken countless product shots, I can say that there is nothing complicated in creating a decent product shot. But you have to know what you’re doing. Firstly I’ll reveal what’s needed in EVERY product shot: good light and an appropriate background. By “good light” I mean controlled light from a source or sources located appropriately. By “appropriate background” I mean one that doesn’t distract from the product. I’m happy to report that the Lowel Ego Kit provides both.
How it’s normally done I’ll explain why most product images we see on Ebay and elsewhere fail. Firstly, most sellers aren’t trained or experienced photographers. They believe naively that all that’s needed to sell a product is an image and prospective buyers will be compelled to buy. Most sellers simply aim a camera, push the shutter button, let the flash go off or not and post whatever comes out. Put yourself in the buyer’s position and you wonder if that dark and murky or over-exposed, washed out picture of the antique wedding cake topper shows the item at its best. Or is the lousy image meant to hide a flaw? Are you asking too much of your prospect’s imagination? Bottom line, is your product’s image helping the sale?
How it should be done It might be OK to show a half-hearted photo of a garden hose or lawn mower in your on-line, for sale post. But is that same lame image quality going to sell a prized Hummel, classic porcelain doll, antique bracelet, or hand-made leather belt with custom silver buckle? Showing precious objects in an unflattering way counters your description, insults your prospective buyers, and obviously hurts your sale. On the other hand, a great image supports your written claims, draws prospects and enhances the chances of a sale. Fortunately, it’s relatively easy to pull off that great image. With the use of the Lowel Ego Kit and a bit of practice, anyone with a digital camera can make remarkably good, even pro-level product shots consistently and quickly.
Where the Lowel Ego comes in For about $200, the Lowel Ego 2-Light Kit includes two light sources and Lowel’s background “sweep.” Each is available separately but buying the kit gets you a discounted price. Both identical light sources include a holder for two, compact fluorescent bulbs. Bulbs are included. Finally, a diffuser attaches to the holder. Assembly is required. Using the nicely written, one-page instructions that include color photos, assembly takes about 5 minutes. The assembled light source stands 16” tall, 17” wide and 7” at its widest thickness.
The sweep provides a seamless background. It is as simple a product as one can imagine consisting of eight 24” by 36” sheets of separately colored construction paper that can be affixed by two clips to a folding stand. Nothing fancy but convenient and useful enough.
Also included are two foldable reflector boards if one were to use but one light source and the board to reflect light back unto the subject from the opposite side as “fill” light.
What it’s used for The product is intended for illuminating objects up to the size of a breadbox. It’s ideal for lighting statuary, crafts, personal electronic devices, models, small appliances and other similarly sized items. A secondary use is to, when mounted on a stand with ¼”X20 screws such as a tripod or light stand, provide diffuse lighting for head and shoulder portraits.
Product features and their significance Constant light – allows me to see the effect of my lighting without the guesswork when using a strobe or flash gun. Fairly powerful – Each light draws a total of 54 watts but produces the brightness of about 200 watts (my guess) of incandescent equivalent. This means a greater amount of versatility in light position. I can also cut the output in half by simply unscrewing one of the two CFLs. Accurate color – The included compact fluorescent lamps, CFLs, have a high Color Rendering Index, CRI, rating of 93. This means that colors are rendered with high fidelity. Competing products use household CFLs which, while cheaper, create poor, sometimes ghastly photos. The light is daylight balanced at 5500K. Versatility – the “tent” style diffuser systems can only accommodate products that can fit inside. Some don’t allow the use of backgrounds and they can diffuse too much which overly “flattens” the image. The lights can be stood up on a table top or mounted on a tripod. Low power requirement – With each light consuming 54 watts (2 X 27 watts) that means that I am not pushing the capacity of circuits and risk throwing circuit breakers. Also, low power means that heat isn’t an issue as is the case when using incandescent lighting. Ease and quickness of use – Certainly I can use the studio lighting at my disposal to shoot products. But that means setting up light stands, assembling soft boxes, fitting them to heads and tearing it all down when I’m done. Instead with the Lowel Ego, I just set them on the table, turn them on and I’m ready to shoot. In business, and in our own personal lives, time is money.
In use Using the product is as straightforward as it is to assemble. Typically, one sets up the sweep selecting an appropriate color for the background. The user can then set the object being photographed on the sweep. Next, one sets up one or both light sources at an appropriate position and distance in relation to the object and camera.
In many cases I set the lights on the tabletop with the subject. The lights can be canted slightly upward or downward by turning a cam that acts as the light’s rear leg. In other cases, where I need more elevation for the light, I mount the lights on a tripod.
Typically, I face the first light as a “key” light against the most interesting side of the item and use the second light at a farther distance away as the fill light to open up shadows. Because the lights are constant, I can see the effect of position and distance on the subject in real time.
With the use of flags or sheets of black foil on the lights, I can shape the light source so that its reflection in the object enhances the image. For instance, in a shot of a glass bottle, I might want to mask the diffusers so that they cast vertical strips of light. The reflections in the bottle emphasize the vertical nature of the bottle. I’m careful in how the lights and shadow show in all highly reflective products.
Out of habit when I’m doing stills I will do a manual white balance adjustment prior to shooting. However, I’ve found the output of the lamps to be accurate and full spectrum enough that even in auto white balance, shots come out accurately. So, for amateurs shooters with their auto white balance cameras, great shots are guaranteed for all.
In all cases, of course, I don’t use a flash as that negates the careful preparation of the shot.
Value The Lowel Ego 2 is a fair value at a relatively stable price of around $200. Discounts are hard to find and that shows its high popularity over the last two years. You would be hard pressed to find a product of similar capability for less.
What I like about the Lowel Ego The Ego is simply a product that does what it’s intended to do without a lot of fanfare. And that’s a good thing. It’s straight-forward in use and produces excellent results with little effort.
What I don’t like the about the Lowel Ego The colored sweeps are simple enough to use but they are, after all, just construction paper and thusly easy to tear or wrinkle. I’d prefer a heavier gauge paper, ideally plasticized but with a matte finish. The supplied rubber nibs for the feet are easily pulled off. Use of a more tenacious adhesive would prevent this. Also, and it’s hardly a “fault”, but it is so fast to set up the Ego lights that you’ll be ready to shoot before the lamps are fully stabilized. All fluorescent lights require some time before they attain their greatest brightness. That’s why one of the first things I do is turn on the lamps so that they are fully bright when I start to shoot.
Conclusion If you’re shooting product regularly, you’ll no doubt seriously consider the Lowel. But even if you post the occasional item for sale on eBay or Craigslist, the Lowel Ego will provide compelling images of your item and you’ll be assured that it isn’t the photo that is keeping the potential buyer from buying.
@@ Lowel, the Academy Award winning world leader in location lighting for film & video, introduces additions to their Lowel Ego system, including the ...More at Adorama
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