I’ve been wanting a light box for awhile now. It just kept getting pushed down the to-do list. Well, today I made one. It may not be pretty but it’s very effective.
I started out by watching this video. I liked that they had the light source come from the top instead of the sides like other tutorials. I did switch things up a bit though. They used a piece of poster board (as most tutorials do). Due to the size of the poster board it didn’t go all the way to the top of the box. I also didn’t have a piece of poster board on hand and that would have required a trip to the store. I did have some decor bond and some white fabric. I fused the fabric to the decor bond and cut it down to size. It ended up to be about the same flexibility and non-see-thru-ness of poster board. This was a big plus since I was planning on photographing taller items and wanted the background to go all the way up. An unexpected bonus was that I preferred the subtle texture of the background due to fabric instead of poster board.
I had almost all the other supplies on hand. Shocker…I still have boxes laying around after moving! I did have some led clamp lights from my vending days but wasn’t sure if they would work. While they are a bit clunky (and I may switch over to a more compact light source later) they work for now.
I then played with what to put over the opening at the top to diffuse the light. I tried a medium weight interfacing and a lightweight one. I preferred the lightweight. The lightweight was the only thing I didn’t have on hand. I spent 86 cents…breakout the loan paperwork!
I also tried a light inside the box but it really yellowed things out and created too many shadows.
Light boxes are great for photographing items without distracting backgrounds, excessive shadows and letting the items take center stage. If you’re thinking of a light box I highly recommend getting it done. It took me about an hour and a half, start to finish. Easy peasy! Who knows, after I play with it a bit I may gussy up the outside…maybe some purple paint…a little something snappy…
Amazing what a difference it makes!!! Who knew that becoming a quilter would lead to learning photography!!! Thanks for showing the differences between the options you tried!