When your business relies their revenue on the products you sell, it is extremely important to showcase your items as presentable and attractive to your customer. With the booming eCommerce industry, shopping for groceries or essentials can now be done through our smartphones. We may live in the digital era, but nothing can compare to holding and feeling the product your customer wants to purchase. How can we compensate for that? You just need clean and crisp product photography of your items.
Good product photography can set you apart from your competitors. By taking professional product photography of your items, it tells the story you want to tell. You’re setting the bar for what your customers expect to see. Product photography also helps to alleviate any concerns they may have about the items failing to meet their expectations.
One of the items you’ll need is a photography light box. This will be used as a mini studio for your small product images. For larger companies, they can easily afford and resource their photo light box and other materials. This can be hard if you just started out and making ends meet. What you need to do is make your DIY light box.
Get ready, as we will discuss the following tips and tricks you need to know in making your DIY light box:
- What is a light box?
- Why use a DIY light box?
- How to make a light box?
- Examples of good product images.
- How to create a homemade lightbox for product photography?
What is a light box?
A light box is an excellent lighting device for a variety of photography applications. It doesn't matter whether you're photographing products, still life, or macros. Light boxes have a customizable area where light can be kept consistent. When you need a balanced, all-over exposure, this is the way to go. What’s best about it is, with regular house items, we can create a homemade lightbox for product photography.
A DIY light box (also known as a light tent or white box) is a transparent device that diffuses light from different resources. Against a clear, solid backdrop, this makes for even, nearly shadow-free lighting. Imagine a small picture studio made out of a DIY light box.
These small studios are made up of boxes of various sizes, each with white background material on one side and a continuous light source on the other. Light box photography is a method for capturing higher-quality products, food, and still life photographs. Because of the Lightbox's nature, the platform's lighting source provides full coverage of the item. As a result, the photographer will be able to capture every single detail and aspect of the product. With a few basic tools, you can make your own DIY light box.
Why use a DIY light box?
- Ambient light is diffused into a more attractive light:
Small business owners and less serious photographers who don't want to bother with fancy lighting and just want some pictures that display what an item looks like would benefit greatly from a picture light box. Since simple white backdrop product shots are so easy to do with them, light tents are used in a lot of photos for eBay and other e-commerce listings.
- Cuts down on expenses:
You can hire a professional photographer or maybe buy your own light box to save you time and effort in building a DIY light box. You can think of like when you eat dinner at home instead of dining out, it’s less expensive to build your DIY light box. If you already have the materials to make one, it will cost you nothing.
- Looks natural:
For those who don't have the time or access to natural light, a photo light box is ideal.
- Availability:
When you order a photo light box, you must wait several days, if not a week, before using it. When you choose to make a DIY light box, it eliminates the need to wait for a company to process your order and mail the photo light box to you, as well as the need to get in your car and drive to the shop. You can collect the necessary materials and build one at your dining table that day you think you need one.
How to make a light box?
If you don't want to spend money on a photography light box, you can make one at home for (almost) nothing! The best part is that you don't need a pricey camera to do it. Even if you're only using the camera on your smartphone, a DIY light box will help you enhance your product images.
Make your own DIY lightbox and begin taking professional product photos at home without the expense of hiring a professional product photographer. It will only take you 10 minutes to build this DIY light box.
Step 1: The perfect box
A large cardboard box is needed to make a lightbox. The larger your box, the wider the range of items in various sizes you'll be able to photograph. Look around your house if you have unused boxes. You could also ask employees at nearby stores for any unused boxes, or purchase the most appropriate one from a storage facility.
Using long-lasting materials if you want to learn how to create a light box for photography that will last a long time. Wooden or opaque plastic boxes would work well. However, bear in mind that you'll need a more durable tool, such as a saw, to cut the panels on the sides of such boxes.
Step 2: Measure windows
To open the flaps in front of you, place the box on one of the sides. Using a ruler, mark a point about 2 inches from any corner on the side of the DIY light box. Draw one line near the box's edges and link the points with a pencil. A rectangle-shaped region near the edges should appear. Remember to repeat the process on the opposite side.
This is the area outside your frame, which will be covered with cloth or parchment paper. If the box is very wide, I recommend reducing the size of a window so that you can cover it with paper or cloth.
You can draw a window on the upper part of a light box for photography when you need the subject of a shot to be lit from above.
Step 3: Cut out your DIY light box
Using scissors or a cutter, cut along each drawn line of the box. You should be able to remove a piece of cardboard from the center and see a window once you've done it. Repeat on the other side. Place a ruler near the lines and cut across them if you want to make sure they're aligned.
Step 4: Cut out covers of the windows
On the upper part of the DIY light box, place the white poster board or a large layer of white paper. Remove the board's excessive edges with the cutter or scissors to fit precisely into the case. The board should be approximately twice the size of the upper side and have the same width as the box. I recommend using a white poster board. It will not wrinkle inside the box due to its even surface.
Remember that the poster board or piece of paper you choose would have to have a matte finish. A glossy material will otherwise mirror the light, rendering your DIY light box useless.
Step 5: Cover the Windows
Start with the upper edge of the box and securely tape it to one of the windows. Then, when making the material hang down over the frame, switch to the opposite sides. Repeat on all windows
Step 6: Attach poster board for a white background
The next move is to secure the upper edge of the poster board with a large piece of packing or duct tape. Fasten the tape to the inside portion of the light box photography closer to the upper part of the backside while keeping an eye on it. Using another piece of tape, secure the opposite edge of the board to the box's rim. Make sure the poster board isn't wrinkled or folded. By angling the board around the back bottom corner, you can make it slightly angled.
Remember to leave a large enough area to take photos without the cardboard showing when applying products to the DIY light box.
Achievement Unlock: DIY Light box
You can now take pictures of your products by placing them inside your DIY light box. Place the light box near a bright window or in a naturally well-lit location. If you don't have enough natural light, put a desk lamp above the light box.
How to use a DIY light box to take product photos?
- Take pictures of your product from various angles, so that your customers know exactly what they're getting.
- Get up close and personal. When using light box and a close-up shot is the best way to highlight the details of your product without distracting backgrounds.
- Natural light is still favored over artificial light. Unless you want to add dramatic shadows to your light box, you should simply tilt a lamp to shine on the left or right side.
- Ensure your camera's flash is turned off.
Examples of good product images:
- The Peacock
- Mantra
- Pair4Ideas
- TheProjectNomad
- Nicecream
Now you're done building your DIY light box and product photography, you’ll need a platform to sell your product.
1. Launch your website, Choose Strikingly!
Strikingly comes with a mobile-friendly layout and a variety of stylish and category-appropriate templates. It's ideal for beginners because you can easily create a website without even any tech expertise.
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2. Choose a template and never run out of options
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3. Add your products
Go to [STORE] > [PRODUCTS] > [ADD NEW PRODUCTS]
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Add your pictures from your product photography using your DIY Light Box. Don’t forget to click "Save"!
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4. Support is here!
Check out our Strikingly Help Center for your frequently asked questions.
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What matters most
A light box is an excellent tool for photographing a variety of items, from gadgets to jewelry. They're simple to set up and give you the ability to capture high-quality images of your products. At the end of the day, what matters most is the finished product of the image and not the equipment you used. Enjoy the hassle-free website builder and advertise your stunning product photos with Strikingly. Chat with us to learn more!
