Hi there! Have you ever wanted your own small studio for product photography? Creating a DIY I lightbox is easy and will give you the soft light you are looking for photographing products or smaller items.

Recently a friend asked if I would photograph his watch collection. I thought it would be great to create my own lightbox and see what kind of images I could come up with. Above, You can see some of the results I was able to achieve.

In this tutorial, I'll show you how I created my own lightbox in less than an hour and how you can easily create one too. I will also share the images I was able to produce using this simple light box.

Here is an image of the original lightbox setup I used to photograph the Steinhart watch. I decided to create a new, larger box using the steps that follow below.

Step 1

Find a box! Think about what you will try to photograph inside your light box. Do you need a large box or a small box? The orginal box I used to photograph the watch measured 16" wide x 12" high x16" deep. That size worked out well for a watch, but it would have been better if I had a larger box. This time I decided to use a box that was 21" wide x 18" high x 24" deep. Think about what will fit your needs and find something that works. The box I used came from Amazon.

Step 2

Gather some tools and supplies. Here are the things I used, all of which I had laying around the house. You don't need the exact same items, just things that will allow you to accomplish the same tasks. If you are using sharp objects or tools like I did, make sure you use them properly and safely! Safety is most important!

Straight Edge (Level)
Tape (Packaging Tape)
Tape measure or ruler
Scissors, Exacto blade, Carpenters knife or something similar for cutting the box and paper
Pen or Pencil
Tracing Paper or something similar that will soften light - for example waxed paper, a thin fabric, etc.
Posterboard - white and black so that you have options. I like the posterboard that has a slight shine on one side.
Binder clips (not shown here, but you will see a photo of them later).

Step 3

Decide what orientation you would like the box to be - vertical or horizontal. If you have a square box, it doesn't matter. The actual bottom of the box will become the back wall of your lightbox. Write 'Top' and 'Side' on your box so you know how the box will sit when it is finished.

Label the top and sides of your light box.

If you are using the top flaps of the box, tape them together securly

Step 4

We are going to cut out the top and sides of the box so that we can create a 'window' into the lightbox. These windows will then be covered with a material to diffuse the light. I decided to keep the top flaps of the box, so I started by taping them together with packaging tape. You may need a few pieces of tape to ensure the box is sturdy.

Once you have the sides taped together, measure and mark the box so we know where to cut the box. The measurements may vary based on the size of your box. The larger your box, the larger your 'window frames' need to be. You want the box to be sturdy and not fold over or fall down after you're finished.

Measure 2" in along the opening of the box

Due to the size of my box, I decided to measure in 1 1/2" in on each side and 2" along the front opening of the box. I made the front opening frame a little thicker because I thought it might need some additional support. After marking the various dimensions, use a marker to create a square on each side of the box. This is the line you will cut along as shown in the images below. The middle will be removed and the 'frame' around the edge will remain.

The 'Frame' on each edge remains and the middle is removed.

Safety first!  Becareful when it's time to cut. — Safety first! Becareful when it's time to cut.

Step 5

Now we are getting somewhere! It's starting to take shape and look like a Lightbox. You should have the top and sides cut out and be left with 'windows' looking into your lightbox.

Step 6

The next thing that needs to be done is to cover the inside of the 'frames' with white. This can be accomplished in several different ways. The best way would be to paint your box white on the inside. Due to time and not having white paint laying around my house, I decided to use white poster board paper to cover the areas of the box that needed to be covered. The picture below shows where the box needs to be covered up.

Cover the inside of the 'frame' with white.  Paint it white if you have the paint laying around. — Cover the inside of the 'frame' with white. Paint it white if you have the paint laying around.

Notice the darker band across the face of the watch

You might be thinking - Why does the inside of the box need to be covered in white? When I made my first lightbox, I found that I could see reflections of the box frame on reflective objects I was photographing. This was because the box was not reflecting the light in the same way that the 'window' panels were. Therefore, it caused dark reflections. If you look on the face of the watch in the picture, you can see there is a darker band across the middle of it. This is actually the 'frame' of the lightbox. Since it didn't reflect as much light, it caused a darker spot in the reflection.

Step 7

After adding white paper or painting the inside of the lightbox, the next step is to add the diffusion material to cover the openings in the box. For this I used a 12" roll of white trace paper. You can find trace paper at any art supply store. I started by taping one side to the box and wrapping the trace paper around the box, adding tape at the corners of the box.

Step 8

Next we need to create a way to hold the seamless background in place. I used white and black poster board as my seamless background. To hold the poster board in place I used 2 small binder clips that you can pickup at an office supply store.

On the top of the box, you need to create a small opening for the binder clip to go into. Measure over a few inches from the edge of the box and make the hole. The exact location doesn't really matter, just remember you will have one clip on each side. The images below show the hole for the binder clip and how the clip should fit.

Create a small opening that the binder clip can fit into.

Clip should attach to back and inside of the box.

View of clips inside the light box.  The poster board will be clipped here. — View of clips inside the light box. The poster board will be clipped here.

Step 9

After the clips are installed, measure and cut the poster board to fit the inside with of the box. The length should be slightly more than the height plus the depth of the box. The poster board should attached to the box using the binder clips, then hang down and bend but not crease into laying flat along the bottom of the box. This will allow for the 'seamless' background look. The poster board I had was little short, so I needed to get a larger piece. You want it to be one piece so there are no seams that need to be removed in post production.

Step 9

The lightbox is complete! The next important thing is to determine how you want to light your box. There are lots of different options - off camera flashes, strobes, desktop lights, lamps, workshop lights, etc. I decided to use 3 desk lights and in each light I used a 19w, 5000K florescent lightbulb. You should put one light on each side and one above the box. This should give you nice, even, soft light to work with. You can always move the lights forward and back to help get the look you want.

Step 10

Take some pictures! The lightbox is complete, now you just need to find some items to photograph. I would also recommend using a tripod for your camera so you don't have to worry about shutter speeds. Use your lowest ISO setting and an aperture that works for the image you are trying to capture. It takes some practice, but this simple setup will help you capture some great images! Below are a few images I captured in the lightbox, just to try it out.

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