# Light Box



## Madman1978 (Feb 21, 2021)

Hello all 

I am looking for a suggestion for a decent little box.  I hate the one I currently have.  the corners on this one are open and at times get in the photos 

Any Suggestions?


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## Nedge (Feb 21, 2021)

Hello,
I made my light box out of a stackable plastic storage cube, cut the top and sides where I glued in translucent plastic to allow light through. I left the top piece removal to allow more light if needed, this also allows you to drape different coloured material through the top and out the front for backgrounds. What camera do you use to take your photos?
Ed


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## jttheclockman (Feb 22, 2021)

I have taken photos with a tent, without a tent, with a graduated colored background, with a white background and now basically with a white fabric and find it to be just fine because it will absorb the light and reflect it all around. Found it was too much trouble to set up a tent and all the lights both top and sides and even front. This works right for me. An example.


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## Old Hilly (Feb 22, 2021)

When I was involved in firearm sales we sat the guns on a green cloth similar to the stuff on pool tables and for a background we used white foam rubber sheet. The foam rubber sheet is non-reflective and the green cloth complimented any of the firearms and disguised the blocks of wood they were sitting on. The foam lets light in from behind so it evens out the shadows. Fill-in flash or LED spotlights should light things up nicely.


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## jttheclockman (Feb 22, 2021)

Speaking of green, here is a photo when I was using blue as the cloth behind the shot and again no tent. Now you get into colors they absorb light more so so you need more light. But you get the point. Many of those tents come with various colored felt pads that you can use. I am not a fan of tents any more. At one time I got into taking photos outdoors but that got to be a pain because you need to get the sun just right. I had a blue board that I would set up and did many of my scrollsawn items with that. I never could get the mirror thing going right but would like to try that again at some time. I wish I knew a pro photographer that could show me how to take real good photos. That is the key to nice photos. Knowing light angles and using props properly.


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## Sylvanite (Feb 22, 2021)

Michael,

The light tent that I use (and am pretty happy with) doesn't seem to be for sale anymore, but if I wanted a replacement I'd either:

get some white photo diffusion cloth and make my own, or
buy an inexpensive pop-up photo cube (made of white photo diffusion cloth).
If I were in your shoes, I might simply cover the open corners of your tent with some of the same cloth so they don't appear in reflections anymore.

Light tents with internal LED lamps seem to be in vogue right now, but I would avoid them like the plague.  The whole purpose of a light tent is to provide a "large" (often erroneously called "diffuse") light source that will yield soft shadows and reduce specular highlights.  Internal lights completely defeat that purpose.  Pen photos taken in these tents are easily identifiable because they have tiny white dots all over any glossy surface (such as the pen finish) - each dot being a specular highlight from one of the multiple LED lights.  Frankly, I am baffled as to why anybody would want one of these tents.  Even if the internal light source were diffused, you still wouldn't be able to control its (their) placement.

When photographing with a light tent, I want to be able to position my lights (and flags/gobos) so that I can control the direction and amount of any shadows as well as the amount, location, and shape of any specular highlights (such as a "shine line" to show off a gloss finish).  That is primarily done by moving lights around outside the tent.  The lights illuminate the tent walls - the tent walls illuminate the object I'm photographing.

I hope that helps, 
Eric


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## MPVic (Feb 22, 2021)

jttheclockman said:


> Speaking of green, here is a photo when I was using blue as the cloth behind the shot and again no tent. Now you get into colors they absorb light more so so you need more light. But you get the point. Many of those tents come with various colored felt pads that you can use. I am not a fan of tents any more. At one time I got into taking photos outdoors but that got to be a pain because you need to get the sun just right. I had a blue board that I would set up and did many of my scrollsawn items with that. I never could get the mirror thing going right but would like to try that again at some time. I wish I knew a pro photographer that could show me how to take real good photos. That is the key to nice photos. Knowing light angles and using props properly. View attachment 299354


John:
What are you using for a camera?  All I have is my iPhone & it lacks depth of field.


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## Madman1978 (Feb 22, 2021)

Nedge said:


> Hello,
> I made my light box out of a stackable plastic storage cube, cut the top and sides where I glued in translucent plastic to allow light through. I left the top piece removal to allow more light if needed, this also allows you to drape different coloured material through the top and out the front for backgrounds. What camera do you use to take your photos?
> Ed


I have been using my Galaxy But going to try my Sony A6500 today.


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## jttheclockman (Feb 22, 2021)

MPVic said:


> John:
> What are you using for a camera?  All I have is my iPhone & it lacks depth of field.


Mark, I have been using this camera for many years and all my photos shown here from the day I started were taken with this camera. It is an old model that is outdated but still works for me. It is a Pentax Optio MX4. It has all the features of larger cameras but is small and fits in the palm of your hand. I use many of the default settings and automatic settings because I just never did comprehend those Fstops and depth of field things. I do have an older Minolta SLR camera that is a dinosaur with the old film rolls and that I use to play with those settings with that and back then I had a feel for it. Have not used that in ages. Took many of photos for my scrollsawing business back in the day with that thing. Wish I could transfer many of those photos to digital so that I could use on different forums.

Have to say if there is anyone to listen to here about photos is Eric. He is the best I have seen here and he has some articles in the library about photograghing your work that can be very helpful if you put the effort into it.

My camera:
https://www.amazon.com/Pentax-Optio-Digital-Camera-Optical/dp/B0002TXNHQ


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## MPVic (Feb 22, 2021)

jttheclockman said:


> Mark, I have been using this camera for many years and all my photos shown here from the day I started were taken with this camera. It is an old model that is outdated but still works for me. It is a Pentax Optio MX4. It has all the features of larger cameras but is small and fits in the palm of your hand. I use many of the default settings and automatic settings because I just never did comprehend those Fstops and depth of field things. I do have an older Minolta SLR camera that is a dinosaur with the old film rolls and that I use to play with those settings with that and back then I had a feel for it. Have not used that in ages. Took many of photos for my scrollsawing business back in the day with that thing. Wish I could transfer many of those photos to digital so that I could use on different forums.
> 
> Have to say if there is anyone to listen to here about photos is Eric. He is the best I have seen here and he has some articles in the library about photograghing your work that can be very helpful if you put the effort into it.
> 
> ...


Thanks John - that's a beautiful piece of equipment.  By the way, what is 'film'????  Just kidding, that reminds me of the many hours I spent in my homemade darkroom.


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## WriteON (Feb 22, 2021)

jttheclockman said:


> Mark, I have been using this camera for many years and all my photos shown here from the day I started were taken with this camera. It is an old model that is outdated but still works for me. It is a Pentax Optio MX4. It has all the features of larger cameras but is small and fits in the palm of your hand. I use many of the default settings and automatic settings because I just never did comprehend those Fstops and depth of field things. I do have an older Minolta SLR camera that is a dinosaur with the old film rolls and that I use to play with those settings with that and back then I had a feel for it. Have not used that in ages. Took many of photos for my scrollsawing business back in the day with that thing. Wish I could transfer many of those photos to digital so that I could use on different forums.
> 
> Have to say if there is anyone to listen to here about photos is Eric. He is the best I have seen here and he has some articles in the library about photograghing your work that can be very helpful if you put the effort into it.
> 
> ...


Call that a camera? Definitely not a Brownie or Argus. Sorry just kidding...strange looking piece for a camera


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## jttheclockman (Feb 23, 2021)

WriteON said:


> Call that a camera? Definitely not a Brownie or Argus. Sorry just kidding...strange looking piece for a camera


 Yea but it has taken alot of photos.


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## WriteON (Feb 24, 2021)

jttheclockman said:


> Yea but it has taken alot of photos.


It's what's inside that counts. I can't get past an iPhone ...that's how bad I am. Point and press button.


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## Sylvanite (Feb 24, 2021)

WriteON said:


> It's what's inside that counts.


What's behind the camera is more important than what's inside it.


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## aldjmc (Feb 28, 2021)

This is what I use. 





						Strobist: How To: DIY $10 Macro Photo Studio
					






					strobist.blogspot.com


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