A DIY Lightbox Under $20

My first paid product job was shot in a cardboard box lined with tracing paper. I still keep one, because for anything smaller than a shoebox it gives soft, wraparound light that an expensive softbox struggles to match. It costs less than twenty dollars and takes half an hour.

What a lightbox does

A lightbox, or light tent, surrounds a small object with diffusing walls. Lamps shine through those walls, so the light reaching the product comes from large, soft surfaces on several sides. Shadows soften, reflections become clean white panels, and a curved white sweep inside removes the horizon line.

Shopping list

Building it

1. Cut the windows. On the left, right and top faces, cut out a rectangle leaving a 4 cm frame all round. Leave the back and base solid. Remove the front flaps completely.
2. Add the diffusers. Tape tracing paper over each window on the outside, pulled flat. One layer is usually enough; two give softer but dimmer light.
3. Fit the sweep. Cut the poster board to the inside width. Tape its top edge high on the back wall and let it curve down and forward along the floor. Do not crease it. The curve is what hides the join.
4. Make fill cards. Cut foam board to stand inside the front corners and bounce light back into the shadows.

The curve is the whole secret. No crease, no horizon.

Lighting it

• Place one lamp at each side window, 10 to 20 cm from the paper, aimed at the product.
• For more shape, pull one lamp back so one side is a stop darker. Even light from both sides is flat; a little difference gives form.
• Use the top window for a third lamp or leave it open to the room for a touch of fill.
• Use identical bulbs. Mixing a warm and a cool bulb gives a colour cast no white balance can fix.
• Turn off the room lights and close the curtains.

Camera settings

• Tripod, or a stack of books and the self-timer.
• Base ISO, f/8 to f/11 for depth of field. The shutter will be slow; that is what the tripod is for.
• Exposure compensation +1 to +1.5. The camera wants to make all that white grey.
• Custom white balance on a grey card inside the box.
• On a phone: tap to focus on the product, raise the exposure slider until the sweep is white, and lock.

Getting the background truly white

In a simple box the sweep will photograph at about 235 to 250, not 255. That is normal: the product and the background share the same light. Two options:

1. Add a lamp aimed only at the back of the sweep, or cut a fourth window in the back wall and light through it. This lifts the background over the product.
2. Lift it in post with a levels adjustment and a mask, as in removing shadows from white backgrounds.

For marketplace main images you will need one or the other; see Amazon product photo requirements.

Shiny objects

Glossy and metal products reflect everything, including the open front of the box and you. Cut a sheet of white card to cover the front with a hole just large enough for the lens. The product now sees white in every direction. To put shape back into flat-looking metal, tape a strip of black card inside the box so it reflects as a dark line. More in jewellery photography on white.

The screen version

For very small items, a tablet does part of this job with no building at all. Lay it flat with a white screen open as a glowing base, and stand two pieces of foam board either side. I cover that set-up in shooting flat-lays against a screen.

Common faults

One safety note

Use LED bulbs. Old tungsten or halogen bulbs get hot enough to scorch paper and card at close range. Never leave any lamp against the paper unattended.

The short version

Box, three windows, tracing paper, a curved white card, two matching daylight lamps, a tripod and +1 exposure. That is a product studio. When the frames are in, drop the cut-out on a clean base from the generator.

Keep the box. Mine folds flat behind a bookshelf and comes out for every small job that does not justify setting up stands.

FAQ