Fast Light Box Tutorial

If you want to get that evenly distributed diffused lighting and cannot afford a light tent or soft box, or you just want something cheap, then you need to make a light box. This is the simplest and fastest way to make a very efficient light box. This apparatus will help you in your isolated photography to make a very beautiful white background and diffuse light to create than evenly distributed soft light that most photographers want. Note that this is very small and uses little resources. This is unlike the big hard heavy ones that cost a lot and take up a lot of space. This is compact, small and yes, ugly, and it is more suited for amateur work. If you are a pro, I suggest getting a better one, a real soft box perhaps.

You will need the following:

one box (the size depends on how big you want your light box to be)

two lamps (at least two: very bright)

some bond paper

cutter

tape

First, take your box and remove the upper covering. Then, create a huge hole on either side of the box. These openings will be covered with bond paper and will be the entry point of light from your lamps. The bond paper will diffuse the light to prevent "hard" light from appearing on your photographs. After making those holes, create an even larger one - this will be your window. It will be where your camera will "see through" to take shots of your subjects. Overall, you should have three big holes. After that, cover the top and side holes with bond paper. Then cover the interior with bond paper evenly so that post processing your images to remove the slits resulting from the presence of the bond paper or the edges of the box. Or you could just use a larger type of paper or the opposite side of a gift wrapper. Use your tape to secure the parts into place to prevent them fall falling apart. Use one of the lamps for the overhead light and the other one for the side.

Also remember to use the right settings on your camera as it also affects how the image will look like after a shot. Remember to use the right exposure compensation, ISO setting and white balance.

This is the simplest light box. You could of course create a bigger better one but it will take more time, energy and resources and money. Take this solution as a "band aid." The bigger your setup is, the better.