DIY Light Box: Better Jewelry Photography in Half an Hour

DIY Light Box: Better Jewelry Photography in Half an Hour

Light Box
Originally uploaded by Angel's Lens.

Because that's how long it took me to make this light box. No, really.

Although there's a funny story lurking here. As a devotee of the Container Store, I was there on Saturday drooling over all the fun little gadgets and storage stuff. I decided to get a box to make this light tent while we were there and spent ten minutes puzzling over exactly the right box in the shipping materials aisle, unable to find anything that exactly suited my needs.

Eventually my long-suffering husband pointed out that the big cardboard box full of small plastic boxes, already in the cart, was exactly the shape I was looking for. Oops.

Anyhow, the whole thing took exactly half an hour to make. Slice out the sides with an Exacto knife, tape on some tissue paper (which I had on hand, being the Queen Pack Rat) and stick a $5 bendy lamp on each side. Voila! Doesn't look like much, but works really well.

I still need to get another bendy lamp high enough to bend over the top, and a piece of posterboard for the inside to replace the white fur that's currently there. It would also help to have the box in a place where I can poke the camera down through the top, but the only place to put it right now is on the filing cabinet where it's pictured, which puts it at eye level. A good start, though. I'll post a few of the photos I took this morning.