Hey guys! When I first got into blogging I was so amazing by other bloggers pictures & how crisp & clean they looked. I looked & looked online for light boxes but they can get pretty pricey so I decided to make one myself. Plus I figured I'd share how I did so if you want to make one, you can!
The products you need can all be purchased at the dollar store, depending where you live.
The products needed are:
5 white or black foam board sheets
1 white or black bristol board
White Tissue Paper
Glue Gun
Glue Gun Glue Sticks
Exacto Knife
I bought two bristol boards just because I like having another on hand just incase something such as the lipstick I'm photographing gets on the one in use, I can always pull out dirty one & slide in the extra & continue.
So the dimensions are:
3 boards were cut in the following dimensions 22.5 in or 57 cm in width & 21 in or 51 cm in length. These will be the top, back & bottom of the light box.
2 foam boards were cut into 21 in or 51 cm in width & 21 in or 51 cm in length which will be both of the sides.
While cutting the foam board I let the glue gun heat up, that way by the time I was done cutting I could glue them together right away. I first started by gluing the longer foam boards which were the bottom, back & top of the light box. After they were all glued, I glued the sides on.
Once the glue was dry I cut a hole into the top. Once the hole is cut tape the tissue paper over the hole. Make sure the tissue paper is long enough to cover the hole with one sheet. If you use two you'll be able to see where they overlap on any reflective surfaces. The tissue paper will allow the brightness of the lights to flow through however they will deflect some of the glare from the lights.
Sadly the tissue paper I already had wasn't long enough so I don't have a picture of that part however I will be going out tomorrow & picking some up.
Once the tissue paper is cover the hole put the bristol board into the light box & tape just the top that way it stays in place but you can't see the tape in the pictures. I used doubled sided tape. I prefer not to over do it with tape just because I find the bristol board gets marked up easily, but of course this depends on what your taking pictures of. So I prefer it be easier to switch out with a nice clean one.
Also do not fold the bristol board into the corner, just let it flow down, this will give the background an endless look.
After set up your lights & photograph whatever the heck you'd like. Due to the fact that I didn't have the proper length tissue paper I didn't bother setting up my lights yet so the photograph above is actually just with the flash of my camera. The lights I use are from Michaels craft store. They're the Ottlite & I use them in my regular desk lamps. & they can be like 30 dollars per bulb so I wait till Michaels comes out with a 40 or 50 percent off coupon then I go & buy them & I do multiple transactions.
So for all the supplies to make the light box (not including the lights) it was $11.50 before taxes. (=
I hope this helped you!!