StudioFX800W Photography Lighting Kit, 10 x 10 Feet Cotton Black Muslin Backdrop Background and Photo Portrait 33-Inch Umbrella, White

You have to remember you get what you pay for when it comes to this kind of thing, with that said it's a great bargain and will work great for portrait photography. Yes the muslins are a bit thin and come with a few wrinkles but that was an easy fix; I took an iron to it while it was hanging and put a peice of cardboard behind it to act as the ironing board, did it in 15 minutes, looks great now.The light stands are actually better then I thought they would be, the umbrellas run a bit thin but do their job quite well, the bulbs are very bright. I've even had great success with turning the white umbrella around and using it like a giant softbox, the effect has yielded fantastic results. These bulbs are bright! It also helps to experiment with how close the umbrella is to the bulb itself, moving it closer and then away you will see obvious differences in the lighting.The stand is a bit flimsy as others mentioned but I have not had issues with it yet. I imagine if you have any worries just put some weights/sandbags around the base and you will be fine.Overall I'm very pleased and for this price how can you not be? I've taken some incredible photos with this thing that have blown some minds. Learn how to use the lighting properly and take care assembling the kit and you can't go wrong here. Love it.

I should start by saying I’m an avid photographer with a decent camera and few good lenses. I focus primarily on portraits, fly on the wall candids, run and shoot, and some scenic and nature. It’s a little more than a hobby (I’m in the creative industry) but not quite what I do for a living. This system has saved our family thousands of dollars on seasonal family photographs, holiday cards, birthday cards, baptism and communion photos, sports photos, part and event photography…the list goes on and on on how much use we’ve gotten from this set up. I’ve also built light light boxes and have done good table top product work. I’ve shot dancers, models, kids, families and more. I think it’s great for indoor use. Super easy to set up and breakdown. The backdrops are a great size . The lights are just enough to pull off some cool lighting technique. I mean, at the price point - it’s hands down one of the best purchases I’ve ever made. It’s not heavy duty pro gear and can be swept away fairly easy with heavier winds unless you weight down with sand bags or other. I’ve had it for nearly 10 years and its still going strong. I was motivated to make this buy after having spent too much money on bad photos from JCPenney and Picture People. Highly recommend!

Most of my photography will be microstock. However, the occasional person here or there wants portraits done (the reason I got this was a senior in our church is homeless and his family couldn't afford senior pictures with so many other financial issues going on). I really needed the backdrop support and a few backdrops, light stands to put my flashes on and one additional umbrella or reflector - I am using multiple flashes instead. However, I decided it could be fun to work with some still lights, too, and/or I might find it more simple, so I picked this set-up. Most of this review is addressing some of the complaints by reviewers who gave this a lower score.Okay - wrinkled muslins - I was expecting much worse than they were. If you have the option to set up your backdrop a day before, either throw them into the dryer with a damp towel and pull out while nice and steamy, then clip to the backdrop support, etc., to cool flat or do the clip tight and spray and let dry trick. They really aren't that big of a mess and a cloth backdrop will give you those kinds of issues if it has been folded, etc.The stands are light, that's for sure. I will be picking up some sand bags to make them a little more stable. That being said, they're "heavy" enough to hold up the backdrop and easy to assemble. The light stands, as well, are definitely light duty. I had already picked up another light stand by Ravelli that most people consider fairly light duty and these were lighter and less sturdy looking. That being said, I really believe that if I treat them reasonably they will hold up for a year or more for my purposes.The "convenient bag" is only for the backdrop. You will not fit anything but the backdrop into it. I ended up buying another photography gear bag for the light stands, bulbs and umbrellas. Will take a tote bag of some sort for carrying the backdrops.This is not the highest quality stuff. Go ahead and look at the prices of the high quality stuff and then look at the price of this. Please realize you'll get what you pay for. That being said, I expect this backdrop set-up to last me for a year if I treat it reasonably (I'm not planning on doing chin-ups on the light stand at any point in time for sure). If you're either setting it up and leaving it up or not going to be putting it up more than a few times a month, I would expect to get a year or two out of these without a problem. If you're just starting out on a budget, it should serve you well until you know if you're sticking with it and/or have had some income coming in to pay to upgrade.The one bulb I got developed a flickering/current discharge issue at the second use, ultimately giving me a mild shock. The bulb even re-lit after the cord was unplugged, the power switch set to off while I was unscrewing it (it was at that point it shocked me). It was kind of a strange surprise. I'll have to be replacing that bulb (which is okay, I think I'm going to order two 105 watt ones), and expect that is just a rare incident. One thing about those, though - if you have never seen an 80 watt CFL bulb (not 80 watt equivalent, 80 watt!), be prepared for a shock - I think it's about 8 inches long! ;-)Hope this helps - let me know if you have specific questions and I'll do my best to respond. :)

I bought this when I was in a tight spot to purchase a backdrop set for a last minute photo-booth gig. It held up and does the job just fine, beginners and enthusiasts will not be disappointed. However for me, the stands are a bit flimsy, the lighting is only adequate (nothing too powerful), the muslin is see through, and the bar sags at full length. The setup WORKS, if you make it work, but in my line of work, I don't have time to always be constantly be thinking about the integrity of the setup.If you have good technique, this set up is fine, properly overexpose or underexpose your background (white or black muslin) and adjust your fills accordingly. The lights will also help beginners with lower quality lenses that have poor low-light focusing abilities. Having said that however, you will still need strobes or flashes to produce high quality images -the lights are not enough.