How I Built a Lightbox for $0
I’m 39 weeks into a 52 week project. Every week I go to this Art Prompt Generator for a random prompt and then spend a week taking a photo to match the prompt. This week was “Candy”. I wasn’t getting great results taking pictures of candy on plates, counters or other mundane surfaces so I thought I’d try a lightbox.
I propped a curved piece of printer paper up against some cardboard. I positioned the setup so my flash was on one side and a mirror was on the other. That’s it! The flash is a cheapo Yongnuo triggered remotely. The stand and umbrella are also just the cheapest things on Amazon. My whole strobist kit cost less than $150 and I certainly didn’t buy it for this one photo.
Here’s a picture of the whole setup:
The makeup vanity just happened to be a convenient place — I could have used any horizontal surface near a mirror. I saw a bunch of tutorials for lightboxes that involved multiple lights, all sorts of materials like plexiglass with white cloth. Not necessary!
The final photo (up top) was taken with a Canon 6D and the 40mm f/2.8 lens. It was dead simple and I’m really happy with how the photo turned out.
About the author: Jon is a hobbyist photographer living in the Pacific Northwest. His focus is Nature, Travel, and Fine Art photography. That being said, he’s always trying out new techniques and loves exploring the art of light. To see more of his work, head over to his Flickr stream or follow along on as he completes a 52 week project. This post originally appeared here.
