DIY Homemade Lightbox in 7 Steps {Tutorial}

 

Okay, so, I needed a quick, easy and of course cheap way to photograph my plates.

My deal is I have no white walls in my condo...not one. To makes my plates pop, I really wanted a white background. So I came across this link for a tutorial on how to create an inexpensive lightbox (here.)

The instructions were easy! Plus, I already had all the stuff on-hand.

I changed things a little, but here is my version on how to make a homemade lightbox, in only 7 steps...ready?

What you will need:

One medium to large cardboard box
(depends on how big your items are that you want to photograph.)

Tape

A box cutter

Black Marker/Sharpie

3 pieces of white tissue paper

A large piece of white cardstock

1.) Tape the bottom of your box. This needs to be secure because it will be the back of your lightbox.

2.) Using the box cutter, cut off all four cardboard flaps that line your box.

3.) Using the marker, draw big rectangles on only three sides of your box.

4.) Using the box cutter, cut out the rectangles. Your box should now have three windows, two on the sides and one on the top. 

5.) Take the tissue paper, and tape to the outside of the three windows. Make sure you smooth the paper out and that there are no holes. It's okay if it's a little wrinkled.

6.) Take the large piece of white cardstock, measure and cut so that it will fit as your box's background and floor. This will give a nice white space inside of your lightbox. Secure with tape.

7.) Take two lamps and shine them on either side of your new lightbox! You can play around with the light and the bulbs. **Note: The brighter/clearer the bulbs, the brighter/clear the photo.

Now your ready to set-up and shoot!! See how easy that was?! Mind-blowing...

Here's what my setup looked like in my nice cozy lightbox. I wanted it to look like a mantle or shelf.

Ta-da!! After taking photos, I uploaded/cropped/edited it to the look I wanted. See how nice?

That was fun! Hope you enjoyed it...and if you try this out, let me know :)