New Light Box

So recently I "upgraded" my DIY Lightbox I had built a while ago. It seemed bulky before and made it hard to have good lighting. So now I have changed a few features and I figured I would mention it in this post today.


Here is a picture of this newly created box.

Can be seen on Flickr Page


First there are four walls to this box. There is a full sized foam board as the back which is vertical. Then the base is another piece of foam posterboard although you dont see it in this photo as it is covered with cloth. The base has been cut so that its length is the same as the width of the two side walls. The walls can really be any height but I made them a little shorter than the back so that I can put more lamps from the top shooting downwards. Also in each side is a 12 x 12 inch square which I taped a piece of tissue paper across to help defuse the light.

Then for this set up have a piece of black matte fabric I got on sale which is what gives me a cornerless back ground. If I were to take the fabric off I have a piece of white poster board that has a slight curve as it goes from vertical to horizontal to get rid of the back lower corner.

Lastly as can be seen here I have an extra piece of foam board going over the top. I had that there so that I could bounce the flash onto the photo.

As you can see I can light from the sides or from the top down. This was as I was finishing so the lamps are a little askew so that they could be seen easier.

I believe this whole project cost under $30 including the cloth. This makes a nice stable area for me to take pictures of different objects with different backgrounds.

Also usually I would keep some sort of diffuser infront of each one or be bouncing it off one of the walls of the box.

Here are two examples of photos i have taken in this box last night. I still need to play more with the lighting but I think this is a good cheap start for anyone.


Pistil on Flickr Page


Lily on Flickr Page

If you have any suggestions of comments please share.