Making a Light Box . . . a big improvement

[tom turner]

Hi,

I just built my homemade light box (the M27-2 purchase was a huge motivator). It is very cheap and easy for anyone to build a lightbox and be able to shoot photos that are glare-free.

I'll put the link below to a site that gave me the basic plan that I (mainly) used to make mine. I made mine a little larger though, and did not glue the components together, as per directions (except the vertical legs), for I want to be able to make the light box larger or smaller as needs dictate.

One big difference, I made my frame long enough (left-to-right) so the 24" art paper I use will fit between the PVC elbows . . . a big deal IMHO. Also, rather than punch holes in paper to hang, I put the roll behind the frame and lift the paper up and over the back bar . . . and roll the paper back up to use again!

Here's mine, used to take the M27-2 pictures:

Here's the link where you can get plans to make your own. GO FOR IT!

Hope this helps,

Tom

ps: My clamp on light reflectors are clamped onto a pair of microphone stand that I have.

PLANS TO BUILD A CHEAP LIGHT BOX:
Light Box / Light Tent Photo Gallery by Bill Huber at pbase.com

And here are some pictures of my first results. Big improvement. No, others are better photographers here, but for me these ain't too bad.

 

[deanpf]

Thanks for sharing!! Awesome work and photos!!

 

[Rule3]

Excellent pictures!

I have pretty much the same set up but can not get the same results.

Couple questions:

What wattage bulbs? I have the daylight (6500k) bulbs but do not seem to have as bright a light.

What camera are you using and settings? Do you set the white balance or is it auto? This is where I think I am missing the quality of your shots.
My camera is fully auto(not a SLR) but does have the ability to manually change settings(Sony Cyber shot)

Thanks!

 

[tom turner]

Hi,

My camera is a fairly new Canon t1i, with the standard "kit lens," an economical 18-55mm zoom, that comes in the standard kit.

The bulbs are 100 watt "equivalent" compact florescent "swirl" type bulbs. I believe their true wattage is 26.

Camera settings?

I used the "Av" (aperture priority) mode, with the aperture closed down to 27. This is to maximize the depth of field (distance from front to back within an image that will be in sharp focus). In Av mode, you control the aperture, then the camera sets the correct shutter speed.

Why a high Av number (27)?
In closeup (macro) photography, depth of field is VERY short . . . just an inch or so, maybe more . . . and a large aperture number increases this "in focus" distance, vs lower Av numbers.

I imagine your Sony Cyber shot has some sort of settings for different purposes . . . such as maybe "macro" . . . or even "landscape." Both these programs will tell the camera to go to a larger number (smaller size) aperture which will help you get a sharper overall photo!

White balance? By all means do it if you can. Luckily, since the daylight color temperature bulbs approximate both daylight and strong shade white balance settings, your camera on "Auto" should be able to give you an acceptable color balance.

I manually set my white balance but then forgot to hit the "set" button. I noticed after the session that the camera thus defaulted to it's "Auto WB" setting. Thus, by error I had mine set on "Automatic" and they turned out fine.

Shutter speed/Exposure?
Other than setting the aperture to f27, I checked exposure with a gray card first, and determined that I needed to also add + 1.5 stops to my exposure setting to compensate for the bright white background and the bright nickle of the gun once I removed the gray card and saw my exposure time change with the white background.

In otherwords, I "tricked" my camera's light meter on purpose! Otherwise, on "auto," all cameras will "think" that it is light metering an average scene, and underexpose the entirely white scene as if white were actually a darker tone like medium gray.

. . . just like you see of photos many people make of outdoors in the snow . . . and the white turns into a sickly gray of an underexposed photo, such as this one:

At times like this, you need to compensate for an overly white scene. The camera can't think . . . they are programmed to make the same mistake every time something out of the ordinary is encountered!

I'll bet your Cybershot also has either a mode to shoot outdoor scenes on white beaches or snow, and/or has a setting allowing you to go into the menu screen and add or subtract your exposure settings to do what I did.

The neat thing about digital cameras is you can see the results instantly. When shooting tricky exposure scenes, take several test shots first, varying your exposure times +/- an percent or so.

Hope this helps. Check your manual and you should find the answers to how to do these things.

T.

 

[kobsw]

Looking good, they a some nice photos.

That gun looks terrific!

 

[gunlovingirl]

Nice work and beautiful pictures Tom! Thanks for sharing!

 

[bamabiker]

Very nice photos and instructions. Beautiful M27.

 

[MFPD 10MM]

Outstanding pictures. Beautiful Model 27.

 

[Hunt200]

Nice job Tom, I saw those plans when I was making mine, I chose to make mine from wood instead so I can disassemble it and put it away. I can reassembly it in mere minutes. I experimented with different lights and found the reveal lights work the best for me. And setting the white balance is a must.

Here is the box my son and I made and some pictures from it.

 

[bobf]

Hi,

My camera is a fairly new Canon t1i, with the standard "kit lens," an economical 18-55mm zoom, that comes in the standard kit.

T.

Tom
Have you used live view with your computer? If you haven't tried it yet you can control the camera with your computer. The mirror is locked up and your monitor is the viewfinder.
Bob

 

[Rule3]

Tom,
Thanks. I can make those settings on my camera, I have usually just left it on auto (for dummies)

Hunt,
I made mine out of wood also after messing with the PVC version, mine does not have the nice mitered corners though. Is that sheet material or paper on the side panels??

 

[tom turner]

Tom
Have you used live view with your computer? If you haven't tried it yet you can control the camera with your computer. The mirror is locked up and your monitor is the viewfinder.
Bob

I'm still learning the in's and out's of the camera Bob, but it is a lot of fun. I was trying a maroon fabric background in the light box late last night and I finally did lock the mirror up, and used the live view feature on the camera's big LED viewfinder on the back of the camera.

Wow, it made a big difference in focusing, for you can zoom the viewfinder 10x to make sure all key areas are in sharp focus.

Here's a shot I made of a 19-5 with the maroon background. I'll try the live view feature hooked to my monitor soon! Thanks for the tip!

Tom

 

[loutent]

Nice job Tom - especially the last shot - looks like you have the technicals pretty well nailed. The dark background really shows off the nickel.