A lightbox is used to diffuse bright light and to give your pictures that little extra 'oomph'. It works best with small objects, but you could theoretically build the lightbox as big as you want. It's essentially a poor-mans photo studio. I'll give you some pictures to compare the results at the end of the tutorial.
The reason I chose this as the first tutorial is because I realised I needed to build a new lightbox to take better-quality pictures in (the last one got misplaced as trash when I moved apartments). I apologise for the lackluster quality of photos, I've got to work with what I have, and at the moment it's just my cell's camera which is sub-par at best.
What do I need?
- a cardboard box
- a pen or pencil
- a cutting instrument
- tape
- white or colored paper
- white toilet paper, tissue paper or wax paper.
1.
Find a cardboard box of any size. You'll need to be able to fit the things you want to shoot with the lightbox inside of it. For my purposes, I chose this box:
2.
Turn the box around and decide which face you want to take your photos from. This is your front. I decided to face the box like in the previous photo to accommodate larger objects inside the box.
Start marking the front, top, and sides of the box with a pen or pencil. Draw straight lines around the edges of each face, leaving around 1-2cm (or around half an inch) of space on each side.
Like so. These will be your guidelines for what to cut out.
3.
Cut along the lines. I usually cut and tape up one face of the box before moving to the next one to make the structure as sturdy as possible.
Always make sure you're using the right tools for the right job! Here I decided to use an X-acto blade as it's very sharp and a bit more maneuverable than a pair of scissors or a kitchen knife. For this project, anything you can cut straight with will get the job done.
4.
Taping up. When you've cut one side along the lines, tape everything down to place. Here I'm starting with the top of the box, taping up the longer sides first. I'm using duct tape for extra strength, but any tape you have will do.
I'm mainly doing this because I find the box sturdier and easier to use without any sharp cardboard edges showing.
When I'm done with the longer sides, I cut out four little slices from the leftover scraps of cardboard.
These are used to further strengthen the lightbox. You'll want to place these in each of the top four corners, like this:
After this is done, I move on to the sides and front of the box, carefully cutting and then taping up each side as I go.
You should end up with something like this:
5.
Now that the main structure is done, you'll need to add a background. I taped two white pieces of paper (size A4) together to illustrate how to add your background of choice. For inspiration, think about common photo backgrounds. Some look like rocks, others look like a jumble of muted colours, others are just plain gray or even black. The idea is that your background should not be there to attract attention.
Notice that I taped the background on a curve. This is intentional, as it creates the illusion of depth, as opposed to a background where you can clearly see a corner or "the floor".
6.
Diffusing light. Without this final step, your lightbox is just a taped up 3d frame. I added toilet paper as the diffuser, but that's just the cheapest option. You could use wax paper for slightly better results. The important thing is to try out which kind of diffusers work best for you.
The way lightboxes work best is if you have a strong light placed on the top and sides of the it (all the sides with the diffusers in place). I only have one desktop lamp at the moment so I can't show this to you in its full glory, but even with one light it works better than having nothing at all!
And there you have it! Your very own DIY close-to-zero-budget lightbox! Now what does it do?
Some pictures, taken with a really poor cell camera
The first two photos were taken inside the lightbox, the last two without it. Without the lightbox, you'll most likely run into problems with overexposure and flat colours. Here's a few more pics taken with the lightbox:
That's the end of this tutorial. If you have any questions, feel free to ask them. Now get out there and start creating!
Thanks for your time,
~Vel
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