The package arrived quickly, and the first thing that impressed me was the care with which everything was packed! Very nice. And… not being one who enjoys assembling things and is often scared off by technical equipment and tools… even I could set it up! You can, too. (OK, the only things to assemble are the light stands and lights, but like I said… I don’t enjoy putting stuff together. This was cake! )

Yes, it is super simple to set up and use, and the TTS site has some great photography FAQs and tips. I don’t have anything to add in a technical sense, so I will just send you over there for glass bead photography tips.

For my set up, I pulled some clear glass rods to use as bead stands, setting the bases of the rods in wax to hold them up. If you have read the TTS tutorials, you will see that I am not following things exactly… the anvil is my cheap version of a tripod. We have a tripod around here somewhere, but in my haste to get this up and running, I just used my jewelry anvil, and there it stayed. You will need something to steady your hand, though. This set up produces such clear views that a teeny bit of motion will make your image blurry.

I did follow the tutorial about getting crisp, shiny reflections for my beads, and cut out two “window frames” out of black construction paper, and that really made a huge difference! Easy, too.

The kit also came with a clear acrylic riser, a black acrylic riser, a lighted pad (for taking shots of glass jewelry, to have light from behind the beads), and some additional items that I have not yet fully utilized. Since I do mostly focal beads, my current set up described above works for most of my photographic needs, but it is nice to have expandable options!

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Standard disclaimer – I am not affliated with TTS, they don’t even know I am writing this yet! I just wanted to share my experiences, since photography is an often-talked about subject for glass and jewelry artists. And… since I am not selling this kit nor profiting from sales of the TTS in any way, you can take it for what it is worth!