Professor Kobre’s Lightscoop Review and a Giveaway

Updated on May 31, 2017

Disclosure: I received a Professor Kobre’s Deluxe Lightscoop for the purpose of this review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are 100% my own. 

The holidays are here! I still can’t figure out how it sneaks up on me every. single. year. Between November and January I take a ton of photos indoors. There is Thanksgiving, Christmas activities and then, two birthdays in our family in January.

Indoor pictures can be tricky. If there is not enough natural light you have to use your flash. And one of the cardinal rules of photography I have learned is to try to never use your flash. The pop up flash on a DSLR camera leaves an unflattering glare, harsh shadows and red-eye. And even for pictures that don’t necessarily require a flash, I have found they often come out grainy in lower light situations. I have a whole slew of pictures from my daughter’s birthday parties (which we typically hold indoors) that turned out pretty bad because of the lighting in our home.

I thought my only option was to buy a new expensive flash for my camera. If you are like me, this may not be in the budget. I am trying to use my photography money for some new lenses and I just cannot justify getting a new flash right now.

Enter the Lightscoop!

I was lucky enough to receive the Lightscoop Deluxe. The cost of this model is only $36.95. The junior version is only $18.95. Very affordable compared to hundreds of dollars for a new flash!

So now I am sure you are wondering how the Lightscoop works. Basically, the Lightscoop redirects light from your flash to the ceiling or a wall. This produces a much more natural looking light on your subject.

I was surprised when the package came at how small the Lightscoop is. It can easily fit in my purse if I am not bringing my larger camera bag with me.

The Lightscoop installs literally in seconds following the instructions.

You then set your camera to manual mode to the specified settings. You might need to play around with them a little, but they worked really well for me right off the bat.

The great thing about the Lightscoop Deluxe is that you can swivel the mirror. This way you can use it for both horizontal and vertical shots. You can also adjust it both back and forth and side to side, if you are getting any shadows.

To try it out, I took some pictures of our little Santa doll we have. You can see the difference between taking the picture with a flash, without a flash and with the Lightscoop. You can see in the Lightscoop photo how the shadows are completely eliminated and the lighting looks much more natural.

This second picture is of my son, one with using my flash and one using the Lightscoop. He face is so washed out in the first picture using the flash. The coloring looks much more natural in the second photo.

Pros:

• Price: very affordable at only $18.95 (Junior) or $39.95 (Deluxe)
• Ease of installation and use
• Adjustable to use for both horizontal and vertical photos
• Can purchase additional colored mirrors

Cons:

• Must be removed to close the pop-up flash

My recommendation: I love the Lightscoop. The minor hassle of having to remove it to close the pop up flash is minimal compared to how much greater my photos look. I do a lot of blogging/crafting in the evenings after the kids go to bed. It can be hard to take great photos at night. My tutorials will have much better pictures now!

Click the link below to learn more about the Lightscoop:

Lightscoop: How does it work?

Now, for the best part. How would you like to win your own Lightscoop? (The people over at Lightscoop were generous enough to allow me to give one away to one of my readers!)

The Giveaway

Enter to win using the PromoSimple widget below. Contest is open to U.S. residents, 18 years or older.

Discount

Use code LAURA2013 to save 15% on your entire Lightscoop order (excludes taxes or shipping) through December 16, 2013.