Got bored, built a lightbox

[TWINSET 1793]

Been taking pics of smaller stuff lately, and the shadows meant I spent ages on the PC 'photoshopping' them out.
Looking at 'studio' setups, for similar applications, it was a toss up between a light tent and a couple of lights or a lightboxbox/lightpad

The box won.

After a bit of online research, carpentry is involved in most of the lightbox builds, but my woodworking skills aren't great.
So I started looking for deep picture frames etc then stumbled on a 'Really Useful' 33 litre box which looked prefect.

The dimensions are 710mm x 440mm, 165mm deep

The lighting comes from a 5m strip of LEDs - £16 from eBay including the power supply
The reflector is aluminium tape from Toolstation - £7.58 for a 50m x 100mm roll
Then a couple of switches and a PSU socket also from eBay
The box was £13 from Hobbycraft

The whole setup probably cost similar to a light tent and a couple of lights, but it's a lot easier to set up - just plug it in
Next job is mount a hadle to the back of it so I can hang it on a hook for storage




Reflector fitted


Reflection from camera flash


Two rows of LEDs with their own switches


In the beginning...








Top plate 'frosted' acrylic - just waiting on an 'opal' sample




On-camera flash on white paper background


Same camera settings, on lightbox


No shadow even with camera in portrait orientation



Over paper


Over lightbox




The LEDs

[zomboided 374]

Like that, it's clever.

[mr crispy 2293]

Very nice, and no heat issues with the LEDs I guess.

[TWINSET 1793]

Not yet - it was on for a couple of hours last night with the lid on and it didn't feel any warmer

The plan is to stick a load of rubber feet around the top edge of that box, then I can lay any colour sheet on top of them and that'll give it some ventilation too (if it needs it)

The rubber feet are just to stop the acrylic 'top' moving around

[markbt73 5316]

Nice work! I've been wanting a glass-topped one for cutting/weeding decals and stripes for a while now. Never thought of making one. Might have to steal your design, and add a glass top.

[Yonez 180]

Not yet - it was on for a couple of hours last night with the lid on and it didn't feel any warmer

The plan is to stick a load of rubber feet around the top edge of that box, then I can lay any colour sheet on top of them and that'll give it some ventilation too (if it needs it)

The rubber feet are just to stop the acrylic 'top' moving around

That is really nice!

But this is just to cancel out shadows right?

What is your main source of illumination?

Did you research LED CRI (Colour Rendering Index) before buying those LED's?

I've put pretty much everything on hold while the house is being refurbished, but at some point I'd love to start taking good pictures for build threads and my much neglected showroom. I've been thinking about getting a cheap studio light for that, but I've never thought about a light box.

[TWINSET 1793]

Yonez; sorry - I've only just seen your reply!
The main illumination is a diffused flashgun on the camera (A 'stofen' style diffuser if it helps)

I didn't do any research into anything before starting, just had a idea and went with it.

The only thing I'd change if I did it again is not to get the waterproof LEDs as the silicon or rubber protection makes it a pig to cut and solder the lengths.

Here's some build shots from last week, they're straight out of the camera except for re-sizing

All parts are resting on frosted acrylic as per the pics in post #1



Note the shadow the shock tower and screw cast over the left chassis rail;