DIY Tutorial Series Creating a Lightbox Part II of III

Morning readers!  This morning marks Part II of the DIY Tutorial Series on the beauty and benefits of creating and using a lightbox for product photography.  Once again my mom came through with a terrific tutorial that is easy to follow and should really help many of us get our beautifully handmade items out of the shadows and into the spotlight!

Enjoy!

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Happy Wednesday,

Thanks again to Jenn for allowing me to be a guest contributor to her wonderful blog.

Last time I gave you instructions for how to make a simple light box which can be used for photographing small products. But, what good is a light box without light? And who wants to spend a fortune for the lights when the box was almost free?

What you’ll need:

- Two (or three) lamps
- Daylight bulbs appropriate for the lamps
- Table, ironing board, or other level surface

What I Use:

- The lightbox you made last week
- One floor lamp with bendable arm
- One flexible-neck clip-on desk lamp
- Compact fluorescent bulbs for each – labeled Daylight or Cool Natural Light (Do not exceed wattage recommendations of the individual lamp)
- Ironing board

How I Do It:

- I place the box on the ironing board.
- I clip the desk lamp onto the ironing board and adjust the neck so that the light source is close to, but not quite touching, the tissue paper on either the left or right (Depending on my mood or the side of the item which will look best lit. If you have two desk lamps, feel free to use them both.).
- I move the arm of the floor lamp so that the light source is above the center of the top of the box. (You may have to raise the light box using books or other flat, level items in order to have enough light entering the top of the light box.)



How Should You Do It?

You’re going to have to think “outside the (light) box” here. The idea is to get as much light aimed inside the box as possible, while keeping the box level and secure.  The beauty of an ironing board is it can be adjusted up or down to fit your needs and reach the light source more effectively!

If you cannot find daylight bulbs, just be sure all of the lamps you use contain the same types of bulbs, then set the white balance on your camera accordingly.

If you must use a table lamp, remove the shade. You might have to put the lamp on a chair and the box on the dining table to get the light source at the right height.

But that's all there is to it, nou’ve now lit up your box and are ready to photograph!



Next time, how to set up your camera to get the best pictures using your new set up.

Peace to all,
Judi from Judi FitzPatrick Studio

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Please visit my mom's shops or blog below in order to see how she uses her lightbox to photograph her smaller products.  Then be sure to get back next week as Part III brings this series to a close with some amazing shots you will NOT want to miss!

Etsy Shop - http://judifitzpatrick.etsy.com/
Zazzle Shop - http://www.zazzle.com/judifitzpatrick*
RedBubble Shop - http://redbubble.com/people/judifitzpatrick
Blog - http://judisjems.blogspot.com/

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To read the entire series...
Part I of III - Creating the Lightbox
Part II of III - Illuminate the Lightbox
Part III of III - Camera Position