(and a few others to be added later). Considering that in my main activity I am engaged in subject photography, the topic of photo boxes (or light cubes) could not pass by.

Boxing is boxing, i.e. the device itself is a fabric cube stretched over a metal frame. Photo boxes come in different designs and today we will consider specifically Falcon Eyes PBF-60AB, which has its own characteristics.

What is a photobox for?

A photo box is needed so that a beginner photographer can easily get rid of excess glare and make shadows softer, thus improving the appearance of the subject in the picture.

Photobox construction

The photobox consists of metal frames with a white fabric stretched over them - a diffuser.
The number of white fabric sides can be different, as can the ability to detach them for different needs of the photographer.

In the photo box Falcon Eyes PBF-60AB three sides are white fabric diffusers. The fourth side, or the back, can be of any color. Initially it is black and not detachable, but with the help of additional velvet backgrounds it can turn red, blue or white.
The size of this photo box is 60 x 60 x 60 cm. For most objects - just right.

How the photobox works and what can be filmed in it

The subject is placed inside the photo box, approximately in its center. You can put your subject directly on the table, or you can put it on some kind of stand, which you can later remove in Photoshop.
Any lighting can be used: ordinary incandescent, fluorescent, halogen or LED lamps. You can also use on-camera (non-in-camera) flash units.
The cut-off pattern itself can be changed by moving the lamps along the walls of the photo box and setting them at an angle.

The subject can be rotated in different directions to capture all possible angles from the front, or you can shoot from above.

It is especially easy to get a black background in a photo box. To do this, it is enough to use black fabric or black velvet, if available. The fabric needs to be straightened so that the folds do not shine.

photography on a black background in a photo box

The photobox is especially convenient when shooting semi-glossy and glossy objects. This is affected by the fact that it covers most of the space around the subject.
To show how the highlights are distributed, I photographed a polished ball.

As you can see, photobox eliminates almost all glare. The bright part is on top of the light source. She is not "embossed" in white, she is just very light.
In the photo in the center there is a black spot (angular) - you can see the hole in the photo box, which reflects my photo studio and myself. The light from the flash does not get there and therefore everything looks black. If you shoot glossy objects, you will always see this black spot in the center. The further you are with the camera from the subject, the smaller the spot. It cannot be completely avoided. you are in front of the subject, but you can make it smaller so that you can easily retouch it.

I decided to try out the possibilities of photoboxing with one of the most difficult objects of its kind - a chrome pan.

In order to make the black spot in the center smaller and, accordingly, reduce the time to remove this spot in Photoshop, I lengthened the walls of the photobox with Whatman paper.

Such boundaries of different materials on the body of the pan are already easily "treated" in Photoshop.
If you take the second photo box to lengthen the structure, then the borders will not be visible.

As an experiment, I took pictures from a more fashionable angle.

This tutorial will show you a simple, inexpensive and quick way to make a DIY light box, which will help you get the same results as a product photography softbox that costs a few thousand rubles. The only difference is that this box can be assembled for a penny. Those of you who don't mind spending a little money or don't like recycled items for some reason will spend a little more money on additional materials, but the photo box will still be cheap and cost much less than the "official" lightboxes. ...

Step 1: Materials

The list of materials is presented in the picture.

Keep in mind that you are planning to take photographs, so it is a good idea to first decide on the size of your LightCube for your product photography. Two colors that I would recommend using for the background are white and black, but of course it will be useful to experiment as well. I find that blue and red also make a good background. Use whatever colors you want. Color sets the "mood" of the picture, a black background will be ideal for watches and expensive things, white can be good for a vase of flowers or something "light" and "airy".

Step 2: preparing the box

How to make a photobox with your own hands? The first thing you need to do is prepare the box to attach the translucent screens to (in my case, this is a vinyl shower curtain).

You collect only the bottom of the box, leave the top of the box valves open, secure the bottom with tape. Try to keep the flaps close together to avoid excess light entering.

Now put the box on its side, and assume that the side that is now facing up is your new top of the box. When you take pictures, your box will be oriented that way.

Make sure the open end of the box is facing you and cut off the top and bottom flaps, but keep the left and right.

I used a carpenter's square next, but I'm assuming most people don't have a 90cm square at hand and all you need to do is get a straight edge. Take a marker and draw straight lines parallel to all the edges, creating a square shape on each side of the box on the left, right, top, and bottom. Make sure to leave about 5 cm of space between the lines and the edge of the frame. If you have a large box, I would step back from the edges by 7-10 cm - make indents at your discretion.

Now, using something like a metal ruler and a clerical knife, cut squares from each side of the box along the lines you have drawn. Be sure to keep intact the former bottom of the box, which is now the back wall - do not cut the back of the box that you taped together.

The picture should clear up all your doubts. The grayed out areas represent the portions of the box that need to be cut.

Step 3: Cut out and glue the light scattering material onto the cut out areas

This step involves cutting the material, in my case a vinyl shower curtain, to fill the open spaces on the sides of the box.

Take a ruler and measure the dimensions of the squares on the sides of the box to get an idea of ​​how big they are. The key point here is that you have to go over the edge of the window with the diffuser material. Thus, if your open rectangular space is 45 cm by 45 cm, then the piece of scattering material should be 55-57 cm.

The appearance of the box is not important, so you can messily stick the material onto the tape. You can still make the job neat by gluing the material from the inside of the box. The 5cm or more of space left around the edges is where you will attach the diffuser material, whether you do it from the inside or outside of the box. As you can see, I just taped my stuff on the outside with duct tape.

The bottom of the box does not need to be covered with light scattering material, leave the hole as it is. The background material will cover it.

Note: try to glue the material, so to speak, taut, so that you do not have sagging, which can create shadows and distortion of light. Wrinkles don't matter much, as you can see, my shower curtain is covered in wrinkles and I haven't noticed any nasty effects in my photos.

Step 4: buy background material and lights

Your box is now almost complete. All we need now are lights and backgrounds. You can use your own work as a background if you are one of those types of creative people who can make things play with new colors.

I find the poster boards (look for poster board) do their job very well. Make sure the intersection of the bottom and back of the box is under the curved part of your background. This is very important in order to create a wrinkle-free photo and create the illusion of an endless background behind your subject.

The smoother the background curve, the smaller the shadow gradient will be. You will need to experiment, but you will find that everything works out well even on the first try.

You can also use the lamps you already own or buy new ones.

Step 5: setting up the light

Now that the photo lightbox is ready, you can take some photos. The only thing you can do now is learn more about lighting and still life composition. The placement of light sources, along with various other factors, can drastically change the effects or mood of your photos. There are many articles and tutorials out there that cover still life and studio photography in detail, and a Google search will provide a wealth of professional information.

Factory-made shadowless photo box is a necessary thing, but quite expensive. For us, far from professional photographers, a homemade light cube is quite suitable, which can be made from literally anything. Some of the most inexpensive and simple options are thick cardboard boxes, plastic photo frames, foam ceiling tiles, PVC corners, and a regular Whatman paper.

I decided to make myself a light cube from an ordinary mesh basket for toys, which I once bought on Aliexpress at a ridiculous price. Over time, the need for such a "container" disappeared, and for what else to adapt it, I simply did not think until the idea of ​​making a photobox with my own hands was born. For a foldable version, this basket is the ideal base. The work, however, is more painstaking, but the product is neat, lightweight, compact. And it practically does not take up space - even roll it behind the back of the sofa, or slide it on the "roof" of the cabinet!

Manufacturing cost and components

The total cost of a homemade light cube did not exceed $ 7: the basket cost $ 1.5, 2 mini-lamps on clothespins - $ 3.0, and a pair of 15 W LED bulbs with an initial power of 100 W - $ 2.5 ... Well, the old coarse calico sheet, which you do not mind cutting, will surely be found in any chest of drawers. Of the tools, only threads with a needle, a sewing ripper, a soft measuring tape ("centimeter"), large pins and sharp tailor's scissors are useful. Now spit in the palm of your hand and let's get to work!

Making a photo box

We carefully disassemble our structure - just unpick the seams connecting all 4 edges of the basket. Then we remove the meshes and get light metal frames. As you can see, these frameworks unexpectedly take a round shape after being freed from the fabric. A surprise, of course, but quite acceptable - we will work not with ovals, but with rings.

We cover one ring with a flexible "centimeter" and determine the length of the future inlay. In my case, 146 cm came out along the perimeter, to which I added 4 cm for the edge hem. In total, you should get 4 inlays of one and a half meters long, and we make the width a little more than the standard one - about 3-3.5 cm.

Now it is necessary to cut out the "cores" of these rings - 4 fabric circles, which will act as diffusers. We just measure the diameter of the rings and look for some kind of basin or other thing with suitable dimensions at home. I had such a thing as a boil-off lid with a diameter of 47 cm. I carefully outlined it, and when cutting it I added 3 cm each (that is, I increased the diameter to 50 cm, so that it was enough for sewing the inlay). Important: do not try to draw a circle on the fabric with a compass - you shouldn’t ruin the material.

When all the details are ready, we begin to process each of the rings with an inlay one by one. You grab the edges bent on both sides with pins - there is no point in basing with threads, because we will need to insert the cores into the inlay.

This is what we will do now: we take out 2-3 pins, insert the edge of the core with a margin of a couple of centimeters and mark it "through" with white threads. So we continue in a circle until we have processed all 4 frame rings.

The finished circles turned out to be very neat, right? For example, here's how it turned out for me: I fastened all 4 circles with ordinary stationery clamps (binders). For clarity, I turned the structure upside down.

Now we return the box to its "natural position" and prepare it for shooting. Set against the side walls by the lamp. If you are going to take pictures on a table, the lamps can be fixed with clothespins along the edge of the tabletop, but since my table is too narrow, I have to do it on the floor. And so that the lamps did not wobble because of the clothespins, I attached scraps from the plastic window sill to them - it keeps perfectly, by the way!

The first picture came out so-so, because it is "white on white".

But here it is already better: everything is clearly visible, right down to the inscriptions on the bottles.

The elephant in double packing (cellophane + organza bag) also turned out to be quite "readable".
Note: I covered the bottom of my light box with a piece of the same sheet, but in order not to fiddle with each time before shooting, ironing this cut, you can replace it with a 50-cm strip of Whatman paper, and hang the "holes" in the corners of the structure with pieces of fabric from the outside.
And another moment. For my purposes - photographing handicraft objects and dishes for photorecipes, this light is enough. But if you plan to shoot something small (detailed), then 15 W LED bulbs will not be enough, you will have to buy a couple of more powerful bulbs. Successful filming!

Passion for photography is quite an expensive pleasure. has always been in demand, for example, in photo banks, and is also relevant for those who are fond of handmade and want to show their work in all its glory. For high-quality product photography, you need a lightbox, which is easy to do with your own hands.

The lightbox mixes and diffuses the directional light generated by the lighting fixtures, creating a shadow-free drawing of the subject and focusing the viewer's attention directly on the subject. Its purpose is quite clear, and the do-it-yourself manufacturing process is quite simple and takes no more than half an hour.

To make a lightbox, we need:

• cardboard box
• Whatman sheet (size depends on the size of the box)
• Scotch
• glue (pencil or PVA)
• ruler
• paper knife and scissors
• flipchart paper
• 2 clothespins
• 2 energy saving white light bulbs

Making a lightbox with our own hands

We take a cardboard box. The size depends on the items you will be photographing in the lightbox.

Cut off the excess with scissors and a clerical knife.

We get such a construction.

Trim whatman paper if it's too big for the box.

After making sure that the power buttons do not hold the Whatman paper well, we decided to use glue and tape, despite the fact that the structure cannot be disassembled.

We attach the Whatman paper to any glue, or with scotch tape.

The design is already starting to look like a lightbox.

Cutting off the flipchart paper. It is thin enough to let light through.

Advice: You can use any light scattering material such as a tablecloth.

We cover the slots in the box with it.

You can use ordinary clothespin lamps by purchasing energy-saving white light bulbs for them.

Household halogen spotlights can also be used. But if the lightbox is small, table lamps with a flexible stem will suffice.

Keep in mind that halogen floodlights heat up quickly and can burn your hands or burn your apartment. Therefore, do not leave them on for a long time.

Now you can start shooting the subject. The result of our efforts:

Lightbox in translation from English is a light box. It is widely used as an element of outdoor advertising and signage. In many cities, light boxes are installed in such quantity that you can refuse street lights.

The advantages of such a carrier are obvious: high reliability, low cost in production. Nevertheless, the price of the finished product starts from several hundred dollars.

Making a lightbox with your own hands using LEDs will significantly save your budget.

LED light box design

Some manufacturers, under the guise of new technologies, use economically unjustified solutions in production, for example, PVC reflectors, light modules based on a large number of LED clusters. This significantly increases the cost of the design without significantly affecting performance.

Let's take a look at a simple and affordable lightbox design.

To make a lightbox ourselves, we need:

• A sheet of thin (8-10 mm) acrylic glass with a minimum refractive index;
• frame materials;
• fasteners (connecting corners, self-tapping screws);
• high brightness LED strip;
• PVC sheet for back and side walls;
• tools (drill, screwdriver, saw).

Frame construction

The frame must provide good structural rigidity. For small construction sizes, even a regular board or furniture board can be used as a superbudget option.

When making more massive lightboxes, it is better to use a steel or aluminum profile. The main thing is to ensure the resistance of the structure to atmospheric influences if the box is outside the room.

Front Panel

For the manufacture of the front panel, transparent materials are used - silicate glass, acrylic glass, transparent PVC sheet. PVC has the lowest refractive index, but also the highest price.

The most practical option is acrylic glass. It is more expensive than silicate, but much more resistant to shock and stress. However, when creating a small box with an area of ​​up to 0.5 square meters, it is possible to use ordinary window glass with a thickness of 3-4 mm.

Light box body

All lightbox cases are made of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) sheet. In terms of price / reliability ratio, this material is out of competition.

The main requirement for the material is sufficient mechanical strength, opacity, resistance to weathering and protection of the inner contents of the box.

Light emitting element design

LED modules or LED strip are used to illuminate the light box. With the advent of compact ribbons of increased brightness, the use of LED modules is not economically viable.

For the purpose of uniform illumination, the LED strip is mounted in one or two rows along the inner perimeter of the box. The inside of the box itself must be covered with materials with a high reflective coefficient. You can consider using ordinary white glossy paint or white self-adhesive film for this purpose.

Light box manufacturing procedure: