I’d like to think that I’m not a horrible photographer. I’ve enjoyed the wonderful capabilities of my Nikon D70 since Frog was just over a year old. That’s nearly a decade, and the camera has served me well. I don’t think that MM and I would be together now if we didn’t both have D70s. They are what caused us to click.
I’ve been trying to improve my photography of food and crafts. It’s not quite the same type of photography as capturing a smiling kiddo or flowers blooming outside. Scenic vista and cherubic children have been the primary subjects until I started this little blog. It’s a new style of photography, and we live in a home with not a lot of natural light. The family room is covered with knotty pine paneling, which darkens the room. We have a yard surrounded by old oak, magnolia and hickory trees that provide lush shade, which can hinder good close-up shots.
I was browsing through pins on Pinterest last week, and saw this terrific article on making your own indoor lightbox. I found the post on One Creative Mommy. I think this is going to be the solution to my dark indoor food photos! MM was a trooper and spent several days experimenting and getting the lightbox perfected. We followed the tutorial pretty much as it was laid out, using a large cardbord box, white poster board, white duct tape, white spray paint and muslin. Someone in the comments of the post mentioned that you could use tissue paper instead of muslin, and we did try this suggestion out. Unfortunately, it didn’t work well for us– tissue paper wasn’t translucent enough and it ripped. Once the box was constructed, MM even ordered special photography lights with specialty-sized, full spectrum bulbs!
This project took us several days, and then we had to wait for the photography lights to arrive in the mail. However, I think all of the work will be worth it. You’ll just have to let me know what you think over the coming weeks. I’m curious to see if my close-ups have improved!
Sharing this at:
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I’m so glad this worked for you!! Your lights are way better than mine, so I’m sure it will make a huge difference in your photography. I love to see a project someone has made from my site. Great job!!!
This was such a fabulous tutorial! MM, my husband, had been wanting one of these lightboxes, but hadn’t seen instructions on how to make one. We’ve been playing with it all weekend.
I just noticed your comment about the tissue paper. The commenter on my post said you could use tracing paper. Although tracing paper and tissue paper seem like they might be the same thing, they are actually totally different. Tissue paper would rip. Tracing paper is thinner than paper, but much thicker than tissue paper. I think I’d still use the muslin anyway, though. There’s a lot less chance of it ripping!
Thanks again!
Thanks for the info, as I didn’t know there was a difference. We tried the tissue paper because it was more readily available on Sunday when Hobby Lobby is closed! We should have waited.
I made one of these last month after getting my DSLR and the post has been sitting in my blog queue. My box is too small, I’m sad to admit. Yours looks perfect! I need to get some nice bulbs. Were those expensive?
Dianna
Mellow Man ordered 2 of them from a photography store, and then bought the third bulb at Home Depot. The lights with bulbs ended up being between $15-$20 a piece.
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