The Making of a DIY Lightbox

A lightbox is important for those product shots you want to sell on etsy, ebay, etc. You can easily get a crisp, white background after tweaking the levels of your photos. For a DIY lightbox, here's what you'll need:

You might already have at home:
A big box (any size that fits your needs)
White paper or recycled foam packaging
White poster
Scissors
Box cutter
Tape
Ruler

What you’ll probably need to buy:
Two 65-80 watt daylight bulbs
Two clamp lights

Follow these simple steps.

1. I didn't even bother measuring the dimension of my recycled Amazon box. It looked roomy enough for what I was aiming for. On each sides and the top portion, line a smaller rectangle 1 inch away from the edge.
 2. Using the box cutter, follow the line.
 3. After cutting the 3 sides off, this is what it looks like. Now you are ready to begin to tape your diffuser.

Here is my little helper stretching out the foam, while I put tape on each side. 

Three sides are now covered with diffuser. 
4. Set up your lights. Ensure that you have the right size of bulbs and wattage for your clamp lights. The easiest way to do this is by asking the sales associate at your hardware store.

5. Measure the white poster, which would serve as background. Cut out excess and then tape to secure. Tip: I like using a white poster instead of a white t-shirt/cloth since the poster doesn't have creases.

6. Start shooting! Enjoy.

On a side note, it took me awhile after a few shots to figure out the proper lighting. Sometimes, I would elevate one lamp to focus on the top portion of the subject. Or position myself to one side for a close-up shot in a certain angle. 

Here are some results of my DIY lightbox project.



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