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About Halumin
Halumin was invented by photographer Jeremy Mason McGraw, its Inventor and Founder, to fix a problem he ran into on shoot after shoot: lighting small subjects beautifully without hauling in a truckload of gear. The answer became Open Cylindrical™ lighting, a new category of photography lighting that wraps soft, controllable light around food, products, artifacts and coins.
Today Halumin makes two lighting devices: the Halumin H18 for products and food, and Halumin-C for coins and small collectibles. Both are sold at the Halumin Store. Halumin was founded in 2020, the same year Jeremy built the very first prototype, and is headquartered in Bentonville, Arkansas.
The Inventor and Founder
Jeremy Mason McGraw, Halumin’s Inventor and Founder, is a photographer and artist who brings theater, magic and painting into his storytelling. Before photography took over, he worked as an illusionist, a theme park lighting designer, a set designer and a producer, and he spent years in his 20s seeing the world as a cruise ship crew member.
He is also the CEO and Creative Director of Global Image Creation, his hotel, travel and food photography agency based in New Bern, North Carolina. He has spent more than two decades photographing luxury hotels, restaurants and destinations. In 2017, he led a small team in Olbia, Italy, to travel with and test Profoto’s then-new A1 light.
Halumin grew out of that work. More than fifteen years ago, while shooting in high-end hotels and restaurants, including Michelin-star kitchens where time is always short, Jeremy kept wrestling with slow, bulky lighting. He kept thinking: there’s got to be a better way.
In 2020 he built the first Halumin out of cardboard and tape and shared it on TikTok, where photographers started buzzing about it. A wood prototype came next. Then came a fabric version, which he made after buying a sewing machine and teaching himself to sew from YouTube videos. He filed for a patent in December 2020. On December 31, 2024, the U.S. Patent Office granted Patent No. 12,181,778 for Halumin’s Open Cylindrical™ design. Read the whole story in Completing the Loop: From Dream to Patented Photography Lighting, or get to know Jeremy in Who Is Jeremy Mason McGraw Anyway?
What Halumin Makes
Halumin H18. The H18 is a patented open cylindrical lighting device (U.S. Patent No. 12,181,778). Shop the H18. The H18 has an 18-inch opening and fits objects up to about 12 inches, from food and products to museum artifacts. It comes with four detachable speedlight mounting legs, and it works with speedlights, LEDs or studio strobes. New owners can start with the H18 getting started guide.
H18 Freestyle Set. The Freestyle Set adds Accessory Connector Legs (ACL) that extend to 30 inches, for shooting on location.
Halumin-C. Halumin-C is a patent-pending lighting device for coins and small collectibles like watches, medals and die-cast cars. Four sliders control the axial light, the tone light and two halos, so you can repeat a look from one coin to the next. Halumin-C is available to pre-order at the pre-order price of $429 and ships in Q1 2027. If you can’t wait, the I Need It Now Edition ships in 2-4 weeks. See it in action in How to Photograph Coins with an iPhone, How to Photograph Toned Coins and How to Photograph Coins in Slabs.
Who Uses It
Halumin’s first customers ranged from food bloggers to e-commerce pros to museum photographers, and educators have since joined them. Restaurants use the H18 for food photography and video. Museum photographers use it to document collections and artifacts. Numismatists, watch collectors and die-cast fans use Halumin-C. Browse the gallery to see what people are making.
As Seen In
- PetaPixel reviewed the H18 and gave a resounding yes to the question of whether you should buy one. Read our take on PetaPixel’s review.
- Fstoppers published Halumin’s first full-length independent review, by photographer Gary McIntyre. See the five takeaways.
- Northwest Arkansas Business Journal and the Eureka Springs Independent have also covered Halumin. See all of it on our news coverage page.
Get in Touch
Shop the H18, the Freestyle Set and Halumin-C at the Halumin Store. Have a question? Use the chat window at the bottom of the page, or reply to your order confirmation email. You can also browse the FAQs. Want to try before you buy? You can rent Halumin from photo gear rental companies.
