Hey guys,

I just finished putting together a cheap photo box to help improve the quality of my pictures. Professional photo tents can cost quite a bit of money so I decided to do it on the cheap. You can construct one for $15 or less (depending on where you get the supplies).

Here is what you will need:

1 cardboard box (I used a 14"x14"x14" box)
several sheets of White poster board (I bought a pack of 8 14"x20" and one larger one)
white glue
1 or 2 yards of White Muslin (You will have some left over depending on the size of the box)
Masking tape
Ruler
Pen
Box cutter or other blade
3 GE Reveal Bulbs 100W
...............

Some of the supplies you should already have around your house. I did not include the cost of shop lights but you can usually pick up shop lamps for around $5-$15 a piece.

Step 1:

Using the ruler measure 2" from the edge of the box and mark out a square (or rectangle depending on the box width) with your pen. Do this to 5 sides of the box. (I went ahead and taped and glued the box lids shut and marked them just the same as the other sides of the box. You could also close one side and use it as the bottom of the box and then cut the flaps off the top. I chose not to do this though.)

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step1.jpg


Step 2:

Using a box cutter or other blade cut out the squares you marked with the pen. You should end up with holes cut on each side of the box and the top. Make sure to not cut out the bottom of the box.

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step2.jpg

When finished it will look like this:

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step3.jpg

Step 3:

Next you will take your poster board and cut 2" strips the length of each side of the box. If all goes well it should fit snug or just a little over the width you left on each side of the box.

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step4.jpg

You will take these strips and glue them into place on the inside of each side of the box. You will cover all surfaces except for the bottom of the box.

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step5.jpg

Step 4:

Next you will take another piece of posterboard and cut it the widthe of the interior of the box. Carefully insert it in from the top of the box having the poster board sit as far forward as you can get it. It is important to let the poster board curve up to the back top of the box. You do not want any folds or creases as these will show up in pictures. If the posterboard doesn't reach all the way to the top of the box in the back - that is ok as you will be covering all sides with the muslin fabric.

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step6.jpg

Step 6:

The last step is to cut the muslin fabric into squares the length and width of the box. You will cover each side of the box except for the front so you will need 4 pieces. Pull the fabric as taught as you can and tape it down with the masking tape. You could glue the fabric to the box if you like but I just taped it. Repeat this step until all 4 sides are taped down.

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step7.jpg

You are finished. Aside from gluing time this project really only took about an hour to complete. I did it in two steps - basically stopping where I glued the strips into place and continued the next day by taping on the fabric... but it really is a cheap and quick build.

Once you are done your ghetto photo box should look something like this:

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/step8.jpg

I placed 3 100W bulbs into clip shop lamps and placed 2 lamps on the side and one coming from overhead. You can play around with the light settings (I probably will adjust some)...

Here are a few test pictures. I have comparisons showing without the light box as well. There is a fairly noticeable difference:

No light box:

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/ctl_old.jpg

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/kurtz_old_left.jpg

With Light Box:

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/ctl_new.jpg

http://www.curdledmilk.com/img/forums/photo_box/kurtz_new_left.jpg

If you like this how to guid it might be worth adding to a link at the top of the painting forum... Let me know what you thought of the Ghetto Light Box! :)

Cheers,

-Mike

Outstanding. You, my friend, are a giant among men. This needs to be added to the Useful Thread post, for certain.

Thanks for sharing!

Slorak is made of win.

Damn fine work!
I wonder if I could somehow create a folding version...
*ponders*

-t.

Looking at the pics of the minis, it seems to me that the difference is in the brigthness of the white background. The minis appears a lot darker agains the white when photographed in the box...

Looking at the pics of the minis, it seems to me that the difference is in the brigthness of the white background. The minis appears a lot darker agains the white when photographed in the box...

You will also notice that the colours are much 'truer' in the boxed photos, they have not been yellowed out by the lamps, or, at least, not to the same extent.
They also lack the 'artificial' highlights created by the real lights (especially noticable on the metallics on Kurt Helborg), which distract from, and confuse, the actual painted highlights.

-t.

Unfortunately I am about as amateur as can be in the photo taking department... 8X

I need to use every and all tricks to get my pictures to look better LOL. At any rate I agree that even the light box pictures need further adjustments. These were actually just quick pictures I took the other night.

The big difference is the diffusion of the light through the cloth. This is especially handy on metallics as you won't get any crappy glare.

Cheers!

-Mike

Rep for you my friend.....

As for a folding photo light box......ask and it shall appear.........

Maplin > High Quality Photo Studio in a Box (http://www.maplin.co.uk/module.aspx?ModuleNo=222500&doy=8m4)

The one I bought had no lamps though, making it a cheaper. They had a stack of them in my local maplin.

That's a very good job on the light tent. It is a great way of producing a very highlight free soft light that is great for showing off the detail in a well painted mini.
I would suggest that you angle your overhead light slightly more forward of the mini and aimed back at it, so that the light illuminates the front of the model and also lights the background.
Make one of your side lights slightly brighter than the other (add more trace or adjust the distance between the light and the mini), to provide some direction and lift the contrast.
You could also introduce some plane white card at the front to reflect back some of the side light and fill in any areas of shadow. If you bring a piece in from each side, leaving enough gap that the lens doesn't see it. The card will also prevent any light from directly hitting the lens and possible causing flare and reducing contrast.

Only other thing I'd say is use a tripod; set your aperture for as narrow as poss to give you the most depth of field with regard to focus, that will mean a slow shutter speed so a tripod is essential.
Hope this helps.

Some examples taken with a similar set up:

Small terrain piece (http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Ash-1_photos/Terrain/Dragonsteeth-1.jpg)

Medium terrain piece (http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Ash-1_photos/Terrain/Abandoned%20Chimera/NecronsandChimera2.jpg)

Large terrain piece (http://i142.photobucket.com/albums/r89/Ash-1_photos/Terrain/Administratum/ADMINISTRATUMIGdetail4.jpg)

Ash - those are some incredibly helpful tips! It is true that I built the box but that doesn't mean I know how to use it! 8X

I do have a tripod that I use - but I will look into aperature speed next. I wish I had a better set up for the lights. I did manage to angle the top light directly down now - but I will have to find a better system to try and get the light angled slightly back towards the face of the model.

I have left over white card so I will try the reflector idea for the front as well. Very much appreciated.

Cheers!

-Mike

Great post. I've been meaning to build something proper, perhaps this will be my motivation =). Another thing to do is, no matter how carefully built your set up, if you're shooting with a consumer grade digital camera, download GIMP and run your photos through a white balance filter. This helpful fellow: Luca de Alfaro (http://www.dealfaro.com/home/) has some good scripts for making pictures purty.

(of course maybe my painting is still at the level where having a little glare cover some things up isn't all bad.. =) )