Sunday, November 15, 2009

Experimenting with a lightbox

Today I FINALLY got around to making a piece of photo gear that I've been planning on making for months: a homemade lightbox. As soon as I finished making it I immediately set to work giving it a test run. I will share some images of my first tries with the box over the next few days. It's super-easy (and cheap) to make, and you can find out how to make your own at the Strobist blog.

Here's mine in action:


And a "finished" image.


So far I have only taken images using available, natural light (i.e. no flash, no lightbulbs). I look forward to playing with this lots more and seeing what new possibilities will open up as a result. Wish me luck!

14 comments:

Jain said...

Luck schmuck! It already looks fabulous!

Heather said...

Jain - Thank you so much!

Kelly said...

...Rick made one of these to photograph the jewelry I used to make jewelry. It's really cool. Love your close-up.

Heather said...

Kelly - Hmmm... I bet you could fit some smaller pieces of pottery in one of these, too. You know... if you want to show us more photos of your pottery. I'm just sayin'.

Anonymous said...

That's interesting - I'll be watching for more experiments - This one's great & how cool!!!

Heather said...

Tricia - This could easily turn into an obsession - the possibilities of what could be done with this seem endless!

Jim McCormac said...

Hey Heather - as per your ID requests, this one is Canada Wild Rye, Elymus canadensis.

Jim

Monika said...

Oooo....lightbox. That might have to be something I try at some point. I look forward to seeing more of your experimentation.

Heather said...

Monika - I definitely encourage you to try it. I have a feeling the box is going to become my best friend if the weather gets super crappy this winter!

Candace said...

I definitely need to find a box and tracing paper like immediately! :)

Candace said...

P.S. Did u use poster paper for the inside or something else?

Heather said...

Candace - For the outside of the box I didn't have tracing paper, so I used wax paper instead. It works great! Inside I used just some plain white printer paper for these shots, but I bought some poster paper the other day that I'll be using for future "experiments".

Candace said...

Oh ok, nice alternative. I'll prob use wax paper too hehe

Heather said...

C - I tried parchment paper at first, but due to its non-stick nature, tape wouldn't stick to it (duh!), so wax paper was plan B. I love it when plan B works! I look forward to seeing some lightbox images on your blog in the future.