My first shots with a DIY lightbox.

[rparchen]

So I spent $15 and decided to build a light box and test it out. I've always seen people take some really nice pictures of stuff when they sell them and I would like to do the same. I shot these on auto WB and wasn't too happy with the result, they had a yellow color cast on them. I messed around and found that doing a -100 saturation to the yellow channel helped immensely. Any ways, C&C would be appreciated for my first attempts. Thanks!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Canon%20Lens/28-105/IMG_6194.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Canon%20Lens/28-105/IMG_6198.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Canon%20Lens/28-105/IMG_6197.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Canon%20Lens/28-105/IMG_6195.jpg

[pepperoni]

LOL! Let's see the box.

Pics look good BTW.. :cool:

[rparchen]

Here it is, super ghetto fabulous! It's pretty much based on the one I saw you build, considering that is the depth of my knowledge with one of these things. I was a little bored yesterday and it seemed like fun. The 250W halogen lights were $7 each and a couple bucks for a pack of consctuction paper.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox.jpg

[Cleo199]

I had my husband go out and buy tubing and glue and made him measure and cut, and all we had to do was cut a few holes in a cardboard box....... I better not let him see this. ;) Great job!

[ss4ya]

lol, thats awesome. i need to go down to the stationary cupboard and find some tracing paper.

[rparchen]

I was actually surprised to see how simple one of these things actually are. It's not often something so cheap (in terms of photography) can be so fun, lol. I'm hoping to have some time today and take a few more sample shots. Thanks for the comments!

[Renboy]

please post them!!!

[rparchen]

It turns out anything and everything is a canidate to be photographed in the lightbox. Now if I can only get my cat to sit still long enough :) Here are two that I just did. I think I'm starting to get the hang of it.

I think this is for potpourri since it's must to small to be a working oven:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox/IMG_6318.jpg

Clock:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox/IMG_6323.jpg

[viper91180]

looks good, did you try a custom wb? will make all the difference in the world, at least it did for me

[rparchen]

I thought about doing a custom WB but I already have it setup when I shot my saltwater aquarium. I don't think I can have multiple custom WB's. But the subjects still have a slight yellow tint to them, I may have to set the WB to fix it.

[rparchen]

I still used a normal WB for this shot but set the white point in curves which helped with getting the yellow tint off from the subject. And then I desaturated the entire background. Better?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox/IMG_6335.jpg

[pepperoni]

Better?


That's dynamite right there. :)

[Gr8outdrsmn]

Excellent shots. I am looking forward to completing my box and getting some great shots. Those golf balls look great.

[Colombia]

nice shots. A bit off topic but how do you like the 28-105mm?

[MagicallyDelicious]

wow! they look great!

[rparchen]

nice shots. A bit off topic but how do you like the 28-105mm?

The 28-105 USM II is a great piece of glass, especially considering the price. I was actually taking pictures of this lens since it will be up for sale as soon as I get a 24-105 F/4L. Thanks for the comments everyone!

[montreal]

I still used a normal WB for this shot but set the white point in curves which helped with getting the yellow tint off from the subject. And then I desaturated the entire background. Better?

Why not just use custom WB, since you know in advance that the lighting won't change?

[rparchen]

That's what I did (I haven't processed the new shots yet). I was reluctant to change my custom WB since I already had it setup for taking shots of my aquarium, which I'm always in front of. The custom WB made a world of difference, much less processing to do.

[montreal]

That's what I did (I haven't processed the new shots yet).

Sorry about that. I thought that by "normal WB" you meant "auto WB".

[Colombia]

The 28-105 USM II is a great piece of glass, especially considering the price. I was actually taking pictures of this lens since it will be up for sale as soon as I get a 24-105 F/4L. Thanks for the comments everyone!
Im glad to hear that it is good lens, i have been looking at it for quite some time. You say your selling it eh!?;) Any chance i can buy it from you?

[rparchen]

I just ordered my 24-105L this morning so the 28-105 is for sale. I was going to post it today in the classifieds...we'll discuss it over PM. I'll send you some pics that I took with the lens.

[Larry Ricks]

What a very simple way to get diffused light.

[willy b]

this is sooooooo tempting me to get of my ass and make a light box

[keith baker]

Excellent job.
Some use 500w lights, yours are 250w.
Was this a consideration when buying your lights or is that just the way they came.
The effect is great and of course there would be less heat generated with 250w

[rparchen]

I went with the 250W ones because that's what Home Depot had available and they were only $7 each, I figured they would work well enough. The lights do generate a good amount of heat but not enough to catch the paper on fire or anything...hopefully :) I need to play around with the lightbox some more tomorrow, setting a custom WB made a big difference in the quality of shots.

[xzombiex]

Wow, VERY good!

[matt1987]

I shot these on auto WB and wasn't too happy with the result, they had a yellow color cast on them.

shoot RAW. set white balance point during processing. easiest way to do it

[montreal]

shoot RAW. set white balance point during processing. easiest way to do it

If you mean "shoot RAW with auto-WB", I disagree. It's always better to use the WB setting you think is right for the situation. Then if it's not good you can correct it at post-processing but at least you won't have to apply a different amount of correction for every single picture. Auto-WB can be pretty much all over the place sometimes (for a given scene).

[jamesdean007]

Great job!

[tomd]

I can't wait to make a light box and start shooting dumb things around the house. Is this home made light box something new? It seems like in the past 2 weeks there have been several threads about it. Maybe it is the fact that with minimal time and an investment of $20, you can take professional looking pictures!

[rparchen]

If you mean "shoot RAW with auto-WB", I disagree. It's always better to use the WB setting you think is right for the situation. Then if it's not good you can correct it at post-processing but at least you won't have to apply a different amount of correction for every single picture. Auto-WB can be pretty much all over the place sometimes (for a given scene).

I completely agree with you. I set a manual WB and shoot in RAW so every shot has the same WB and PP is quicker. I just started to use Lightroom so I'll post a few more samples here in a little bit, I just gotta find interesting little thigs to photograph.

[rparchen]

Here is another quick one. I think this one is better than the previous ones. The hardest thing is to get the background a nice bright white without a gray cast. I shot this with a custom WB which made the PP easier. Let me know what you think.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox/IMG_6461.jpg

[montreal]

The reflection is nice. Is it on a piece of glass?

[pepperoni]

Nice job!
:cool:

[rparchen]

It's a piece of acrylic that I had laying around. It would be nice to get a small piece of glass though, it would be easier to clean and wouldn't scratch like acrylic does. I noticed the white paper for the background is starting to get a little dirty from everything being place on it. But here is a new shot in comparison to one that I did a few days ago. I figure it would be easier to repost so people don't have to flip back to page one to see it.

Shot on AWB, DxO RAW conversion, PP w/CS2
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox/IMG_6318.jpg

Shot on manual WB, raw conversion in Lightroom, PP in CS2. I like how there is no color cast on the subject and the background is a bright white (unlike the first one).
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox/IMG_6472.jpg

[tomd]

I have a 350D (built-in flash). Will I get acceptable light box results without purchasing an "external" flash?

[rparchen]

I am not using a flash for these lightbox shots, but "acceptable" results all depend on what you consider acceptable :) I'm happy with the results though.

[rparchen]

This is a simple shot but I liked the DOF. I used my SIgma 18-50 at F/2.8. Are these newest ones looking better than the first?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/LightBox/IMG_6497.jpg

[rparchen]

I am happy to post these next pictures as I am the proud ower of a 30D. Woohoo! I find it much easier to just set the WB using the Kelvin scale and start shooing. That way I can leave the custom WB setup for my aquarium. I took these shots so I could post them on the craigslist ad.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/XT1.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/XT2.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v67/rparchen/Photography/XT3.jpg

[montreal]

Ehehe... nice shots of your 350D! And it's like an ad at the same time ;-)

[Vortex99]

Great shots, light box works great!

[fuel123]

those are going to be the best product shots on craigs list good luck selling it.