The extent of my lighting experience is a desk lamp
with a bright LED inside of it. It works fine enough for inanimate stuff, and decently at higher ISO's for spur of the moment kid shots.
The bulb itself wasn't bought with photography in mind (I wanted something durable and long-lasting for my computer desk), but when I sat there looking at it one day stumped for an idea for a single-in shot, I drafted it into use and was pleasantly surprised by the results.
Yea, the bulb cost $15, but it runs cool, is supposed to last a long, long time, and I could easily see it being able to be used in a makeshift portrait situation if need be. I had to look it up online, the bulb itself runs at a white balance of 5000k which is about perfect for what it was used for for me.
I'm thinking if I ever decide to dabble with portraiture I may just grab a few more of these things and jury rig a setup for a lot less than going out and buying a kit would be. Considering the bulb is also dimmable, it would allow a lot of playroom for adjustments on the fly with the right setup.
These are the shots I have online that used the thing - as I said, it was never my intent to use the light for photography (I mean... seriously. Its a desk lamp.), but it works.