Do you have a dream kitchen?

I'm a food blogger and I take photos of everything that comes out of my kitchen. If you've ever taken photographs of food, you will know how difficult it could be to make it look appetizing or at the very least make it look real. Most people recommend that in natural light is the best way to photograph food. I agree. Some of my best photos happen when I either take the dish outside or take it by my only north facing kitchen window with great lighting.

That's great for weekends when I do most of my cooking early in the day, but I work full time during the day and usually by the time I get home and cook something for dinner, it's dark out and there goes my natural lighting. All I'm left with is the sucky fluorescent light in my kitchen and between that harsh blue light and shadows, it's almost hopeless to take food photos at night.

Now let me dream a bit...

Let me dream that kitchen in the photo is mine... where there is no garrishly bright and buzzing fluorescent bulb in sight.

What we have instead are strategically placed LED strip lighting that provide ample light but still makes everything soft and pretty and not overexposed and bluish. I am biding my time to hit up my husband for a kitchen re-do and one of the main features that will take priority will definitely be the lighting situation.

It is usually very expensive to hire an electrician or contractor to install elegant LED strip lights correctly but luckily, these LED lighting manufacturers have made it easy for Do-It-Yourselfers like us to install these systems.

You can buy a whole LED lighting kit with all the required parts already included and easy to follow instructions. All you need now is a handy husband and you'll be all set! LOL! I'm kidding. If you can read and follow instructions, they're pretty easy to install. I know because I've assisted my husband on a bathroom project, and most of it is pretty intuitive especially if you've done it before. But even if you haven't, just read the instructions carefully.

The best part? They are also not that expensive! You'd think you'd be spending hundreds of dollars on a lighing project for a kitchen, but based on what I've seen so far, I think it can be done quite cheaply! (keep in mind the FREE labor in the handy husband) :D