People smarter and more experienced at this than I say that natural light is the absolute best to work with. A space that is bright, but not in direct sun provides a perfect amount of diffused light. Sounds simple, but as I tried to take photos at the exact perfect time of day to get the best shots and frequently failed (life's busy, right?), I knew I needed a way to get great lighting any time of day. I'm a night person, after all.
Luckily, there are about a million on-line tutorials on making a simple, easy photography light box at home, and I think I may have watched/read them all. After my research, I set about combining some of the best tips and methods I saw and now officially bring to you step-by-step instructions on making a simple, effective light box at home with (hopefully) things you already have. It only took me 45 minutes to make mine, and it does the trick nicely!
Step-by-step Guide To Making a photography Light Box:
1. Find a box. Choose a size that will work with the size of the items you plan to photograph. You want a good amount of space on all sides.
2. Cut off the flaps on all sides. I used a box cutter...
3. Use a plastic school ruler to trace a line around the perimeter of the box about 1" from the edge. A ruler is the perfect width, so just line it up with the edge of the side and trace away!
4. Once you have the perimeter traced, cut out the hole in the box. There is no need to be exact in your lines or cuts, so don't stress this step at all. Repeat on 3 sides of the box, making sure the side you leave in tact is the one you want to use as the "floor" of your light box. And be gentle. Baby hands. The box will easily flatten under pressure.
5. Once you have all 3 sides cut out, tape white tissue paper or thin white linen (like a cut up sheet) to the outside so that each hole is completely covered.
6. I decided to make the "roof" of my box openable, so I could drape fabric, etc over it to use as a back drop. To do this, simply cut along two of the box edges, making sure to leave either the left or right hand corner attached to use as a hinge.
7. And thats it! I know, super easy! You're not quite done yet though... Now you need to dig up some light sources. I just happen to have a desk lamp with one of those bendy necks, which is perfect for this. I also grabbed a flood light that you can clip on things from our basement and it worked like a charm as well! You can create different effects by playing with the angles the light shines into the box. I had two lights on each side and just one coming in from the top as seen below. You may also find that you need to add additional layers of paper or linen to diffuse the light to the desired effect.
You can use that awesome opening roof to drape some fabric over the back and get a cool backdrop and floor. I used a cream colored top sheet in the below pics. I found that the single layer of tissue paper that I used was too thin, so I used the sheet to cover the holes and clipped it in place. Problem solved!
I used a simple small glass bottle to test out different backgrounds and lighting sources, but the options are endless. I'm going to be raiding the fabric clearance bin at the craft store to find some fun colors and also plan to get some poster board as well. Paper makes an excellent, clean background but remember not to crease or fold the paper that is behind the object if you want a seamless background.
And that, my friends, is a wrap! I literally just made this tonight but can't wait to get crazy with it! These are simple shots using my phone to demonstrate, so imagine how far a good camera and some cool props and backgrounds would go. Check out my Etsy store for awesome new items and pictures using this cool new toy!
