I am trying really hard to improve my photos. My husband was always the photographer in our family. He has a Nikon D90, light stands, back drops, etc. and is great at taking pictures. He really loves taking pictures of our kids and capturing the candid moments of them making silly faces. But I have only ever used his camera on auto, and only because he made me do it.
I confess that all my photos on the blog so far (except my profile pic that was from a family photo shoot a good friend & amazing photographer did) are taken with my iPhone. It’s just so handy to have a decent camera in your back pocket when you are building, crafting, cooking or remodeling! But I know I need to improve my photos, I have lots of room to grow there. And so my first step in better pictures is to get better lighting. I will take it one step at a time, maybe next month I will have the hubby teach me about aperture and f-stop (at least I know the lingo?).
My homemade light box was made under my hubby’s direction. He has been bugging me to make one since I started blogging. So the other morning I emptied out a box that was storing clothing my little girl had grown out of (now they just get to be unceremoniously dumbed into a garbage bag) and got to work. The process is simple and it really is awesome to see how much better the pictures look already!
Materials needed:
- Cardboard box
- Parchment paper
- Packing tape
- Knife or scissors
- Large sheet of white poster board
- Light sources (lamps, window, overhead lights)
The box I had was 16x14x12 inches and I wanted as much space to take photos as I could get, you never know what you will need to take pictures of. So I started by taping the top flaps straight out so the box was extended. Now I have a box with no top.
Then I cut out a large square out of 3 of the sides. I left a 2 inch border on each of the 3 sides and cut out the inside of it.
Then I used sheets of parchment paper and taped them to the inside of the side openings. Any white, transparent material will work, and I had parchment paper and it worked perfectly.
The last step is to put a white piece of poster board into the box. It will cover the back and the 4th side that isn’t cut out. Don’t crease the poster board, you want the seamless background with no horizon line.
Now add some light! You can light whichever side(s) you want, or for less shadowing, light all three. And you can light it with whatever you have on hand. You can put any light source around the box and the parchment paper will diffuse it so you have beautiful white light on your subject. I am using the chandelier centered over my dining room table for the top light, and lamps on the sides. So easy, and the dining room table is already a perfect place to take photos!
When using the homemade light box, I can still use fun backgrounds (I have a few placemats I bought from Target that have been working well for me) or keep the background white for simple photos. I grabbed a couple things I had lying in arms reach to test it out (like the kids drill toy in the first photo) and this yellow rose that was left over from a wedding we went to earlier in the day. These photos are still taken with my iPhone, but I have great light and soft shadows.
And can you believe I am super eager to take photos of all the upcoming projects and recipes now that I have in the works to share! Yeah for awesome photos 🙂
Sherry says
I’m going to give this a try. We don’t have good natural lighting around here. We’re covered in shade trees, so I’m always struggling with good lighting for photos. Thanks for linking up and sharing with us at Funtastic Friday. Hope you join us again this week.
Kati Farrer says
I know how it feels to not have great light. We are in a twin home and so all our windows face east and it can get dark in the afternoon when the sun is on the other side. This makes is so I can still get things done even without perfect lighting!
Carole West @ Garden Up Green says
I absolutely love this idea. I have so much fun taking pictures outdoors but when the camera comes indoors I seem to fail. This is so helpful thank you!
Carole
Kati Farrer says
Thanks Carole. Indoor light is definitely harder, and I usually only have time when he kids are in bed so the light at night is really bad! I still need to figure out taking pictures outside, especially in bright sun! Any tips for me?
Ashley H says
I love this! As a blogger, it will really come in handy. Thank you! I’m sharing this with my FB fans. Stopping by from Wednesday Showcase.
The Frugal Ginger
Kati Farrer says
Thanks so much Ashley! It is very useful for blogging when the kids are in bed 🙂
Trish @ TagsThoughts.com says
Awesome!! I need to follow this tutorial ASAP. I’m so glad you shared it with the Creative Inspiration Party!
Kati Farrer says
Thanks Trish! Last night I even tested it out after dark and I’m super happy with the results!
Rachel says
Great tutorial! Love how the box is one piece so my kiddos won’t be able to knock part of it down!
Kati Farrer says
Thanks Rachel. The box is very handy when you have kids. They can’t get to what’s inside the box 🙂
Michelle James says
This is such a great idea. My husband has been bugging me to make one too. Thanks for the tutorial. I have some foam board but the line that shows is not great. I like the poster board idea so you don’t get that.
Kati Farrer says
I was using foam board too, and would have to build a tower behind it to keep it standing up and yes the kids always found a way to knock it over. Now they are less inclined to try to touch what I’m taking photos of cause they can easily see what’s in the box.
Kathleen says
Thanks for this very clear tutorial and photography helps.
Thanks, Kathleen
Kati Farrer says
You’re welcome Kathleen 🙂 Thanks for stopping by!
Rachael says
This is so cool! All of my photos for my blog, except my profile picture, were taken with my iphone too, lol. I’m going to pin this so that I can try it soon once I get the materials together!
Kati Farrer says
I’m happy to know I’m not the only one out there that isn’t using a DSLR camera yet! Thanks for stopping by Rachel 🙂
Adena F says
Wait….are you saying all of your great photos aren’t taken with a DSLR? I’ve looked through some of your posts and you have great photos, especially food pics that are usually hard to get without a DSLR. Great job. And I’m making one of these boxes today!!
Kati Farrer says
All of the pictures before the lightbox are definitely taken with my iPhone. I am starting to learn how to use my hubby’s DSLR and so some of the newest posts I am using the DSLR (sometimes on auto, but hey, it’s a step closer). But with the iPhone or the DSLR, the lightbox has helped me so much. Almost all of my food photos were taken with it!
Cristina @ I Say Nomato says
This looks really easy and doable. I love the effect the rose! I love natural light from the window, do you find that the light created by the box is similar, even with artificial light?
Kati Farrer says
Hello Cristina! The light is not as pure as the window light, sometimes I have to adjust my white balance just a little bit to get the true colors, but it is a great solution for when you don’t have the natural light source you want, when you need it. I find I don’t get a chance to take my photos when the lighting is the best in my house so we had to find me a new solution!
Red says
Thank you for this! Will definitely make this my next project 🙂
Kati Farrer says
Thanks Red! It was super easy, and I love the results!