Drawer II · Prop & gear guides
Prop & gear guides
Small, considered kits, packed by budget and mood. Every item has to earn its place in the box: if it doesn't make the photograph better, it isn't here.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
Kit ISample
The thirty-dollar windowsill kit
Everything you need to turn a windowsill into a studio, most of it from a craft store and a thrift shop. With a phone, it makes every recipe in the Phone and window drawer.
- Rough budget
- Under $50A guide to what it costs to put together, not a price.
- Mood
- Soft afternoon
- Who it's for
- You're starting out, you shoot on a phone, and you'd rather spend on books than on a setup.
In the box (5)
Two sheets of white foam board, 20 by 30 inchesLink coming soon
One bounces light into the shadows, the other becomes a clean background. The biggest improvement for the least money.
A sheer white curtain panelLink coming soon
Clip it over any window and harsh sun becomes soft, even light. It's a diffuser you can wash.
A small phone tripod with a Bluetooth remoteLink coming soon
Holds the frame still while you move props, and the remote means no shake when you take the picture.
Four small A-clampsLink coming soon
They hold the curtain, stand the board up and pin a throw in place. You'll use them in every shoot.
A secondhand cream knit or linen throwLink coming soon
Texture under the book, in quiet colors. Thrift shops are full of them; wash before use.
Kit IISample
The candlelit kit
Warm, low and quiet: the kit for romance, fantasy and anything set before electric light. It's mostly about controlling small flames and keeping the frame steady when the light is low.
- Rough budget
- About $50 to $100A guide to what it costs to put together, not a price.
- Mood
- Candlelit
- Who it's for
- You write or read in the candlelit genres, and your phone or camera already copes in low light.
In the box (5)
Unscented ivory pillar candles in three heightsLink coming soon
Varied heights make a group; matching heights make a row. Unscented candles smoke less.
A brass tray or a plain saucerLink coming soon
Catches the wax and adds one warm, reflective surface to the scene.
Two or three good LED pillar candlesLink coming soon
For long shoots, or homes with children and cats. A little way back from the lens they're hard to tell from the real thing.
A sturdy tripodLink coming soon
Low light means slow shutter speeds. A tripod is what makes 1/30 s sharp.
A black foam boardLink coming soon
Shades the lens from window flare and deepens the shadows around the flames.
Kit IIISample
The botanical kit
Living and dried greenery, and the few small things that make plants behave on camera. Most of it lasts for years; the pothos will probably outlive us all.
- Rough budget
- About $40 to $75A guide to what it costs to put together, not a price.
- Mood
- Botanical
- Who it's for
- Your books have gardens, forests or kitchens in them, or you simply like a frame with something green in it.
In the box (5)
A pothos or ivy cutting in a glass bottleLink coming soon
Trails wherever you put it, roots in water, and costs next to nothing if a friend has a plant.
Dried fern fronds and eucalyptusLink coming soon
They hold their shape for months and never wilt halfway through a shoot.
Two small terracotta potsLink coming soon
A warm, matte texture that sits well beside cloth bindings and paper.
A small brass plant misterLink coming soon
A prop and a tool at once: a light mist puts sparkle on the leaves.
A circular polarizing filter (for a camera)Link coming soon
Cuts the glare off glossy leaves and gloss covers. Buy it in your lens's filter size.
Kit IVSample
Stepping up to one light
One good light, one way to soften it and one way to shape it. With this kit, window light becomes something you can make at any hour, and noir becomes possible at all.
- Rough budget
- About $150 to $300A guide to what it costs to put together, not a price.
- Mood
- Moody noir, or window light after dark
- Who it's for
- You've outgrown the windowsill, you mostly shoot after dark, or your genre wants hard, controlled shadows.
In the box (6)
A dimmable bi-color LED light with a Bowens mount, CRI 95 or aboveLink coming soon
High CRI keeps paper, wood and cloth true to color. Bi-color matches daylight or lamplight. The Bowens mount takes almost any modifier.
A softbox, 24 by 36 inches (60 by 90 cm) or largerLink coming soon
Size is softness. This is your window after dark.
A honeycomb grid for the softbox, or a snootLink coming soon
Narrows the beam for noir: light on the book, darkness everywhere else.
A light stand and a sandbagLink coming soon
Gets the light high, where it looks natural, and keeps it there.
Two black foam boardsLink coming soon
Negative fill and flags. They cost little and do as much as the light.
A 5-in-1 folding reflectorLink coming soon
White, silver, gold, black and a diffuser in one disc that folds flat for a small room.
How we pack a kit
Four rules, in the order we follow them.
Light before props
Every kit starts with something that shapes light. A beautiful prop in poor light is still a poor photograph.
White and black first
Two foam boards, one white and one black, will do more for your photographs than a new lens.
Thrift the textiles
Knits, linens and old wool throws are better secondhand: softer, already in quiet colors, and they have stories.
Buy the light last
Buy a light once you've learned to see window light. Then you'll know what you're trying to make with it.