Photo Tent…ever consider making one by yourself?

I think a lot of people will agree with me that the biggest challenge for online sellers is that your potential customers cannot feel and touch your items. Besides having a good description of your items, a perfect picture is equally important. Good quality pictures will keep potential customers browsing through your shop. I have noticed that when people asking for a critique for their shop in the forum, the most common problem other people pointed out is the quality of the pictures, they are either too dark or out of focus, or sometimes both.

Personally, I have problem with the lighting. In order to have good quality pictures, I need to take picture during certain time of the day and I would be lucky if it was a sunny day. I have tried to take pictures in my backyard under indirect sunlight but the result is very inconsistent and not possible during the winter months! Recently, I have heard people talking about photo tent and I think that may worth a try. While I was searching where to buy an inexpensive photo tent, I came across a site that shows how to make a photo tent (or light box, whatever you call it) by yourself. I have read the tutorial and it is very easy to make. I have made my own, why not try it yourself. It really helps to improve the lighting of your picture. It only costs me a few bucks to buy the light bulb!

Materials you need:

1. Box
2. Cutter/Scissors
3. Masking tape
4. Glue
5. Ruler/Measuring Tape
6. Marker
7. Fabric - It is recommended white nylon or white fleece and even some white under shirts.
8. White Bristol board - For background, if you prefer different color background, you can use other colors. (I use foil instead!)
9. Desk Light with a full spectrum or daylight bulb, avoid using regular light bulb as those will create yellow light.

Here are the simple steps how I made my own photo tent/light box:

1. Cut off the flaps on top of the box. Leave the bottom intact.

This is the box I am going to use and I forgot to take a picture after cut off the flaps...Oops!

2. Use a marker and ruler, draw a square/rectangle in the middle with 2 cm from the side of the box (The orignal tutorial is asked about 2 inches but I think it is depending on the size of the box you picked.) Repeat this step for the other 3 sides.

   

3. Cut off those marked squares/rectangles.

4. Take your white bristol board and make 16 strips to cover the inside edges of the box. The width of each strip should be 2 cm or 2 inches wide (depends on the measurement you use in step 2) and the length of the the strip should be equal to the height of the box. For example, I have made 2 cm from the side of the box and the height of the my box is 28 cm so the strips should be 2 cm wide and 28 cm long. After you have cut out 16 strips, glue all the strips around the borders. Since the inside of my box is white so I can skip this step.

5. Then cut out another white Bristol board as your background. The width shoud be the inside width of the box and the length should be much longer than the box. Put the long piece of Bristol board into the box to where the piece curves to the bottom and cut off the excess paper. It is strongly recommented to avoid creasing as it will show up in your pictures.

6. Cut out the fabric that are big enough to cover the each opening EXCEPT the one that facing the background, that is the opening where you put your camera and take pictures….and….YOU ARE DONE with the box!

Please note that I left the top uncovered as I want to light shine directly on the object which I think is brighter. It is totally up to you to cover it or not, just play around it and see which show better pictures.

Also, I have made a modification on mine. Instead, of using fabric covering the left and right opening, I used those cut out rectangle and covered them with foil and hang them on both sides. Here is how mine looks like.

But, WAIT! While I was trying mine out, it did not work as good as it is said! What went wrong? The lighting is terrible and it was whitish-gray. I was so disappointed and my husband told me not to waste my time, maybe he is right…. or….NOT! I am not that easy to let go, I searched on the internet and …. AHA….I found something. There is a function in most of the camera called white balance, WB. By setting the right WB, the pictures look totally different. So, there is only one final step is to adjust your camera.

To adjust the WB function

Since there are tones of different kinds of cameras, it is impossible for me to tell you how to find this in yours. You can always refer to your user manuel to figure this out. However, I am using my camera as an example. My camera is Canon Power Shot SX120IS and hopefully you can find the similar button on yours. By the way, I usually do not use Auto mode to shoot my picture and WB adjustment is not available to Auto mode. In order to understand what I am saying here, please switch your camera to Portrait mode, an icon showing the left face of a woman. While your camera is on Portrait mode, press the +/- button which is next to the camera screen on the right hand side, then you will see a scale from -2 to +2 on the screen. Play with different settings and you will be able to shoot like a pro! :o)

Additional information: If you do not have the +/- button on your camera, try FUNC./Set. There should be a few choices on the left hand side after you press it. In my old camera (also Canon), it shows a red ±0 on the top left, just above AWB. If the red ±0 not there, try to select AWB and choose the option says white balance (usually the last option), hopefully it will guide you there. If you are still not sure, I strongly recommend you to refer to your user manuel.

Ok, here are some pictures that I took with difference WB settings. These pictures have not been edited by any of the photo editing softwares.

This picture shows without any WB adjustments and that is what I meant whitish-gray!

WB: +1

WB: +1 1/3

WB: +1 2/3

WB: +2

I hope you enjoy making your photo tent/light box. Good luck! :o)

If you like this post, please feel free to retweet to let other people know! Thanks in advance!

Reference site: http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-make-a-inexpensive-light-tent