How to Make a DIY Light Box for Just a Few Dollars

How to Make a DIY Light Box for Just a Few Dollars

For the maker hoping to promote their creations on-line, few issues are as invaluable as a lightweight field. Gone are the shadowy images of labor, surrounded by distracting items of bric-a-brac and detritus.

By utilizing a easy mild field, the product takes heart stage. With only a few supplies and a few cautious slicing, you may add worth and professionalism to your product pictures.

Industrial mild containers can be found for buy, however they provide just about the identical high quality as a easy DIY substitute that may be made out of supplies you seemingly have already got in your house.


Required Supplies


Supplies for Light Box Build: Box, Tape, Lamps, T Square, Knife, and Fabric

For this construct, we’ll use the next:

  • One 20” x 20” x 24” cardboard field (although you should use whichever measurement most closely fits your wants).
  • White poster board, or related backdrop.
  • White cloth to diffuse our mild.
  • A T-square or just like measure our cut-outs.
  • A razor knife to chop our cardboard field.
  • Scissors to chop our cloth.
  • Sturdy tape to help the sides and safe the backdrop/diffusion partitions.
  • A pencil or marker to mark our cuts.
  • Three desk lamps; any mild supply will do, however having adjustable necks like these provides you an additional component of flexibility for taking part in with shadows.

With our supplies assembled and our pencils sharpened, let’s get began!

MAKEUSEOF VIDEO OF THE DAY

Step 1: Making ready the Field

For our mild field, we’re going to be slicing three rectangular holes into the left, proper, and high sides of our cardboard field. Since cardboard isn’t precisely probably the most structurally sound materials on the earth, it’s a good suggestion to bolster the corners and edges with our sturdy tape:


Taping Corners of Cardboard box

As soon as now we have these taped up, we will go forward and mark our cuts. The dimensions of the holes themselves isn’t vastly necessary, however we want to ensure we depart sufficient of an edge to maintain the field intact.

By utilizing a framing sq. like this, we will simply mark and reduce straight traces which can be completely parallel to the field’s edge.


Measuring windows on ligthbox

That stated, an enormous T-square like this isn’t required—you possibly can obtain a lot the identical consequence by merely putting a ruler in opposition to the sides of the field and drawing your traces that approach. The chief factor to recollect is that we want sufficient cardboard on every edge to be structurally sound: 1.5” to 2” needs to be a lot.


As soon as now we have our marks on the field, it’s time to make our cuts.

Associated: What Is Mild Field Images and How Does it Work?

Step 2: Chopping the Home windows

Everytime you use a razor knife, it’s at all times necessary to recollect a couple of security guidelines:

  • At all times reduce away from your self: for those who really feel you want a greater angle, rotate your workpiece (or just transfer!).
  • Use a pointy blade: a uninteresting blade can result in forcing the knife, which may trigger slips and accidents.
  • Sluggish and regular wins the race (and avoids bodily hurt).

Maintain your straight edge in opposition to the mark you need to reduce, and, aiming away from you, slowly run your blade alongside the straight edge.

Repeat as many instances as essential to get a pleasant clear edge, however don’t fear if it isn’t excellent. The purpose is solely to have a gap to shine mild by (plus, it’s about to be coated up anyway!).



Box with Holes

As soon as the holes are reduce, double-check how sturdy your field is. If it appears to be crumpling wherever, tape up the affected areas, or add a reinforcing strut of cardboard from the scraps you simply reduce out.

Step 3: Putting in the Diffusion Screens

For this mild field, we’ll be utilizing some cheap white cloth as a diffusion display screen. These diffusion screens let the sunshine shine in however reduce down on the harshness. This might be the distinction between having a lamp pointed in your face versus being softly lit.

Measure the size of the holes you narrow within the high, left, and proper sides of the field. Add an additional two inches to the highest and sides of the rectangle you measured. This can give us a rectangle of the identical proportions, however with an additional inch on both sides.

Switch this new measurement onto your white cloth—one straightforward approach to do that is to chop a chunk of cardboard to those dimensions, after which hint that onto your cloth, like this:


Measuring Fabric

Traced Fabric

As soon as your form has been traced onto your cloth, reduce it out with scissors. Once more, there is no such thing as a should be excellent right here. We actually solely want sufficient cloth to cowl the holes we reduce. When working with cardboard like this, assume perform over magnificence!

With these shapes reduce out, drape and tape them over your field holes so that you’ve one thing like this:


Box With Fabric

We wish the material taut—pinning it in place when you tape could be a massive assist right here!

Associated: What’s Clipping in Images?

Step 4: Putting the Backdrop

Lastly, we should set up a backdrop for our object to be photographed in opposition to; usually talking, a cardboard background doesn’t scream “skilled.” We wish a easy, unobtrusive, strong colour as our backdrop.

For this, we will likely be utilizing a sheet of white poster board, although any colour can be utilized, relying on the temper you are attempting to set. Lower your backdrop to suit the width of your mild field, and tape it in place. Chances are you’ll want to make use of two items, as proven right here:



Finished Box

Now, we will take some photos. Arrange your 3 lamps, with one pointing into every of your home windows, and get snapping!


Box With Lights

Goat1

Goat 2

Associated: What’s Rembrandt Lighting?

Why Purchase When You Can DIY?

Product pictures is all about, you guessed it, the product. By constructing and utilizing a lightweight field, you may instantly shift the main target to your product and higher spotlight its options.

Whereas conventional mild containers can be found for buy, with somewhat little bit of time and an entire lot of cardboard, you may very simply construct one that’s simply pretty much as good for a fraction of the associated fee. All you want now is a good product to promote, and also you’re able to take your interest to the following stage!


Cosmetic Products on White Background
Product Images for Rookies: 5 Useful Ideas

You’ll be able to shoot professional-looking merchandise from the consolation of your own home. Listed here are some suggestions that can assist you get began.

Learn Subsequent


About The Creator

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *