If you are like me and don't have the cash to buy a couple of Kino Flos but still want to get a similar effect for your portrait photography, you should consider making your own lighting kit for under 300$.
The following YouTube clip by Joe Edelman inspired me to do it. Please give his video a thumbs-up.
In the picture below you can see what my setup looked like once I finished putting everything together.
And the following picture shows all the things you have to get from your friendly neighbourhood hardware store:
At this point I want to give my friend Andy credit for helping me out with the electrical side of this project and teaching me new skills in wiring up a fixture like this. Without him I couldn't have done it (because I am just a pixel pusher with a big mouth).
After everything was put together and working I had the pleasure and opportunity to take some stunning pictures of talented fashion designer, actress and entrepreneur (47th Parallel North) Daniela Reiser.