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crazed-fangirl β Lightbox Tutorial
Published: 2009-07-28 04:46:59 +0000 UTC; Views: 5945; Favourites: 119; Downloads: 159
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Hope you guys like this! ^_^ I love my new light box!And yes, it's huge, so you might have to hit the Download Button.
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Comments: 36
o.0 This is wonderful. I've been fighting with lights for pretty much every photo I've posted on here. I'm definitely going to try this. Thank you!
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Glad it helps! ^_^
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O.o canΒ΄t believe I havenΒ΄t replied to this when it came in.
very nice project, and stunning results. IΒ΄ll be building my own lightbox soon. (holland also knows a 90% cloudiness forecast)
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I actually love this weather, but it really is crap for photos. :/
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hmm, IΒ΄m more fan of the climate than the weather, but endeed not the perfect setting for photoΒ΄s
besides, I think having a set up that produces a standard in photo-quality, is a good thing to invest in.
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With a light box and you light.. do you still use a flash with your camera?
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Nope, the flash just blows everything out. I actually don't even have a tripod, I've just got a really steady hand. And the camera I use is a little Canon Powershot, nothing fancy.
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I nearly cut my thumb in two making this.
I'm so proud of myself. <.<;;;
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Well, you finished it at least, right? ^_^
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Sorta. I didn't have enough PVC pipe on hand so it's a bit smaller than it should be.
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If you're just taking pitues of small items on small displays though, that's fine. Mine needs to be big enough to fit Roland in it (sitting), and, well - He's 1/3 scale.
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This is great! Thanks so much for posting it! 
We have horrible lighting in the apartment so this will be priceless for me!
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love this tutorial. I've been meaning to make one for a while (and I will when I have the time)
I recently got an apt in Philly, and I have a similar problem with the lighting, especially since the buildings are blocking the light from the few windows I have.
Thank you for posting it!
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Defiantly going to be looking into making me one of these, Getting real tired of bad pictures heh. Maybe make two of them. One Big and One little one for the smaller stuff I make. But I love the idea, don't know why I haven't been doing something like this since I started.
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You really shouldn't need a smaller one if you've got good enough lights, and it'll save on your space. Mine is 20x20x15 and it can hold my tall necklace busts and even Roland when he's sitting.
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good point, the real reason I need a smaller one is where I am living at currently I don't have a lot of space till I can buy my house after next month.
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I would wait until after the move. It'll be one more bulky yet potentially delicate and easy-to-rip thing that you'll need to move if you make it now.
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I actually love the weather (the sun and I do not get along) but it really is terrible for decent product photos. There's a two-hour window on sunny days where the lighting is decent, but that's it.
And with the Little One I now have even less of a guarantee that I can get decent pictures, so a controlled environment is desperately needed.
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Nice tutorial!
I made one exactly like this about year or two ago, and I love it!
Well, I didn't use the duct tape, but I really like that idea, since I was having a hard time figuring out how to attach the cloth.
They sell colored duct tape at Wally-World, and I think I'll go see if they have white.
A few of my own observations, from when I made it:
It's a good idea to get some PVC glue, and glue it all together. Over time the fittings and pipes tend to get a little loose, and it gets wobbley.
That is, unless you want to be able to break it down, to be portable, or adjustable. Which is how I wanted mine, but I'll have to glue it, soon.
Home Depot sells a tool (maybe it's the shears that you mentioned), made for cutting PVC pipe. It's very easy easy to use, like pliers with a blade, and there's no mess. Under $10 for a cheap one.
(DO USE GOGGLES WITH THE TOOL! PVC does get brittle, and I've had sharp pieces go flying off, occasionally.)
I bought some extra PVC pipe and fittings, and I've been finding small crafty uses for them from time to time. When you have it available, you'd be surprised at how handy it can be to have around.
I made some small displays for hanging bracelets on, and some marshmello shooters for the nephews. I also plan to make PVC flutes sometime. In fact, years before I make the box, I made a few didgeridoos, from PVC pipe, too.
I've tried different cloths, from a cheap set of bed sheets, a shower curtain, even some silk. Try different types yourself, as they all diffuse the light differently.
But whatever cloth you use, you do want to invest in some bright lights. Normal 125w bulbs just aren't bright enough for the really good shots, unless you use several of them. I use a combination of two or three fluorescent and incandescent bulbs.
My first box was a one foot cube, but that was too small, even for my tiny jewelry, since you need space to move items and the camera around inside.
A good size for jewelry is about 16 or 18 inch cube. It looks like yours is about that size.
Thank you for the wonderful tutorial. I had requests to make one, showing how mine was made, now I can just link them to yours!
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Whoo! ^_^
The shower curtain was the big thing for me. I had to stay in the car to feed the little one, so Brian went into the store and was taking them out of their packages to see which ones diffused light well enough! ^_^
Mostly I just want a soft "glow" so that my things aren't covered in hotspots. Now that I'm working more with silver it's getting really annoying. My lightbox is 20x20x15, not including the extra added on my the fittings, so it's good-sized.
I used to use PVC for a clothes drying rack. I would stick the poles through the arms of shirts and legs of pants, and they would dry in under an hour on your average summer day. Added bonus - They couldn't go anywhere!
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Kool!
I gotta stop surfing deviantART at 3am. My comments usually wind up becoming small novels by the time I'm done with them...
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I do that even when I'm NOT tired, so don't feel too bad. ^_^
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That looks a lot less scary than I expected. Kudos!
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No problem. ^_^ I used to use natural light, but waiting to use that very specific two-hour window on days that were sunny so I could get pictures that I had to alter got old fast.
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If you try it, I hope it works out. ^_^
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First, need to find the materials and the most important factor of all: time.
Heheh.
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I hear you on the Time part. >_< Which is precisely why I built this thing!
I have learned to take pictures really really fast during the Little One's naps.
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