Light boxes are ideal for photographing small objects.
Lighting is one of the most important elements in photography, but the best natural light and complementary backgrounds are not always readily available. When photographing food or objects, you'll achieve the best results with a light box. While these boxes are available to purchase, they're also fairly simple to build at home using common materials.
Instructions
1. Remove the flaps on the top of the box. Leave the bottom of the box intact.
2. Measure and draw a rectangle or square, depending on your box dimensions, with a 2-inch border on each side of the cardboard box using your ruler and marker. Cut out these shapes with the box cutter, leaving your box with a "window" on each of its four sides, each window having a 2-inch "frame" of cardboard around it.
3. Cut enough 2-inch strips of white poster board to cover the inside of the "frames" of the windows you've cut into the box, and glue the strips on the inside frames of the box. When you are done, the inside of the box should be completely white around the windows.
4. Cut the remaining piece of white poster board so that the width matches the width of the box and the length is somewhat longer than that of the box.
5. Place the poster board inside the box, taping it to the top and allowing it to curve gently downward from the top back of the box and ending at the bottom front side. Press gently on the poster board to create the curve, but do not crease or fold the poster board. Trim any excess.
6. Cut the white fabric into four pieces, each slightly wider and longer than the sides of the box. Tape one piece over the top of the box and the remaining three pieces over the back of the box and both sides. Leave the front window open.
7. Set the box outside or near a window on a bright day, or place your light over it if photographing indoors. Place the item you wish to photograph in the box, and snap the picture through the front window of the box.
Tags: poster board, front window, inside frames, longer than, white poster, white poster board
