DIY Photography Light Box Tutorial

 

In addition to be such an awesome blogger, I am also a photographer. (Check out some of my work here on my Facebook Photography page.) I'm a lifestyle photographer, meaning I don't shoot in a studio setting. Wherever my clients want to take pictures, that is where I go.  Which is awesome for things like weddings and senior pictures - but what about products, food and jewelry?  For taking those shots, I built my own Photography Light Box using supplies I already had at home.



With a Light Box, you can take photos of products (like this cute cute flash drive!) that look much more professional than a photo you took of something that was sitting on your kitchen counter.  The product is really the center of attention and pops.  It's also very true that a photograph that looks nicer is going to get a second look - even if the content is the exact same.

Supplies Needed: a big cardboard box, tissue paper, poster board, tape, box cutter

Cut your box: When selecting a box, pick one that is big enough to put whatever it is you want to photograph inside of it.  Using your box cutter (or an exacto knife or scissors) cut off the top flaps of the box.  Then cut a big square hole in the top and two sides of the box.  You will want to leave the back and the bottom in tact.  (See photo above... Lucy is admiring my handiwork.)  Leave about an inch or so between the edge of the box and your hole.  I clearly did not do a very good job at making straight lines, but that doesn't really matter.



Attach tissue paper:  Cut your tissue paper to be slightly bigger than the holes you made in the box.  Use you tape and attach the tissue paper to cover each hole.  You can also use vellum poster board for this step.  It is much sturdier.  I've already poked my finger through the tissue paper a few times when transporting it around the house.  On my next version, I will find the vellum - but I only had tissue paper on hand.

Insert poster board: Cut your poster board to the width of the inside of your box.  Slide it into the box.  You can take it in or use Velcro - but I found it sits in there pretty good without any help.  So I didn't attach it.  Plus, I don't always want it inside (you'll see why in a few more steps...).

Light 'em up!: I had these handy dandy studio lights and light stands which conveniently workd with my light box.  You do not need to be nearly as fancy.  Lay a couple desk lamps or bright flash lights next to your box. You can also shine a light into the top of your light box.  I found that putting this on my dining room table, the light from the chandelier above works best.

Snap away: I grabbed these confetti glasses to test my Light Box.  (You can see the tutorial on how to make this Anthropologie knock-off here.)  I shoot using a Nikon DSLR camera, but you can use your point and shoot digital camera to get pretty good results too.  In fact, I took a few photos on my cell phone and they looked decent!

Compare the above pictures.  These are both straight out of the camera images. Same products, same cameras. The left picture has a lot of flash glare on the robots and the background is distracting.  The right picture is ALL ROBOT.  If you are trying to show a specific item in a photograph it's really best to cut out any distracting junk, even if it is your cool retro record player in the background.

Change it up: I used rolls of wrapping paper and a couple chip clips to make an easy background change!  These are rolls of paper from the dollar bins at Target... they were the perfect width for the box I selected.  Yahtzee!

Play with angles: Get up close and personal and take pictures of your product from above and down low.  Take a bunch of pictures and afterwards pick the one that you think looks best.



 

Jazz it up:  Stage your photos by adding a little something to picture.  In the photo above, I used a pretty gift back as a background behind these pancake muffins.  (Check out this recipe if you love pancakes as much as I do!) You can also use things like scrapbook paper, a cutting board or fabric scraps to add a little pizazz to your photos.

 

All in all, this project took me about 15 minutes to put together and has provided me with a TON of awesome photos. (Maybe next time, I will make a box big enough to put my dog in.  I can't stop taking photos of her...) Let me know if you make your own light box - I would love to see the pictures you come up with!