Another DIY light box, with build and test pics

I'll give that a try. Brighter lights would probably help too, but I was building on the cheap and using what I already had.

Thanks for the suggestions.

Here are a couple more. I bumped the exposure up 1 1/3

Looks good to me, are you supposed to take a drink of the rum everytime you mess up the exposure?

If I did that there wouldn't have been much left to photograph...lol

ssracer wrote in post #6992001
.... Brighter lights would probably help too, but I was building on the cheap and using what I already had.

Brighter lights are not necessary if you shoot on a tripod. I have taken a lot with only 3, 22 watt compact fluorescent bulbs. Sure I ended up with a long exposure but with the camera on a tripod, it is a non-issue. You are looking for a QUALITY of light not QUANTITY.

Mark1 wrote in post #6994251
Brighter lights are not necessary if you shoot on a tripod. I have taken a lot with only 3, 22 watt compact fluorescent bulbs. Sure I ended up with a long exposure but with the camera on a tripod, it is a non-issue. You are looking for a QUALITY of light not QUANTITY.

In keeping with that sentiment.....

Check you colors. Your photos are showing some substantial white balance shifts. I suspect that you are shooting in AWB. For product photography, I have found shooting a custom white balance setting into the camera to be invaluable. It allows you to work with some room ambient, and gives you a consistent color, every time. Takes about 10 seconds, but will save you tons of time later.

BTW: I shoot RAW and do this anyway. No point creating work for myself later.

Actually all of these shots were done with the WB on daylight, but I noticed the slight differences as well. I shoot just about everything in raw+jpeg anymore.

Those last exposures look better, but drop back the 1/3 stop. You will have to adjust your black point, then you have it I think.

ssracer wrote in post #6994298
Actually all of these shots were done with the WB on daylight, but I noticed the slight differences as well. I shoot just about everything in raw+jpeg anymore.

Hmm. Good for you. Still suggest the card, though. Just make sure its white!

What kind of paper is everyone using for background? I imagine it comes in many colors.

The paper in mine is just 12x12 white scrapbook paper, 2 pieces taped together. It comes in every color you can imagine.

Well, this has certainly been a fun thread to look through. I finally got around to building a box of my own. I'm blown away by how easy these shots are to take once you've got a decent setup.

I'm using two 500w worklights, 18" easel paper for the backdrop and sketch paper for the "windows." I'm considering making the windows a bit larger to let in more light.

i got a quick question about Custom WB. How do you go about setting it?

I took a picture of my studio with not product just the white background and went to CWB setting. Now how do i select the WB i want to use as the Custom?


thanks in advance

Ya'll are some talented constructors. I read about 160 of the pages over the last few weeks, so if this has been said forgive me.

The cheaper the better on these and sometimes a box isn't even needed, just need to diffuse the sidelights and shoot on white paper.

While there is satisfaction in being resourceful and doing the job yourself, one can buy a lightbox for about $25.

I say this because after building a setup and getting decent results, I was telling a friend at work about it and he said he recently bought one for $25, I had no idea how inexpensive some of the lighting equipment is, if you stay away from strobes.

I remember about a year ago I saw a kit at walmart. It was like a do-it-yourself ebay picture kit. It was a small light box and two lights for like $30. Actually went looking for it before I built mine but they did not have it anymore. But, I only spent about $15 on mine