I get emails all the time asking about my homemade photo studio lightbox so I thought I’d post this update to my previous posts which can all be found here.
I’m going to try to answer the most frequently asked questions in this one post. Some of it may be repetitive if you read my previous posts, but hopefully this will help put it all in one place. 
As always, please feel free to contact me if you still have questions.
**Please keep in mind that I’m just a scrapbooker and home craft business owner taking photos of my products, I’m not a photographer and I don’t have a fancy camera with tons of settings. I have a point and shoot camera and don’t even know how to work the settings, I use “auto” for everything (LOL). This is what has worked for me and that’s why I’m sharing it.
Materials needed to make your own photo studio lightbox: (UPDATED)
- 4 pieces of white foam board (or less if you are making a smaller lightbox) (You can get these at the $1.00 store)
- Razor knife
- Masking tape or white duct tape
- Two (2) clip on/clamp lights (I bought this brand from Lowes for around $8.00 each)
- Two Ottlite bulbs to go in the clip on/clamp lights. (This is the best lightbulb to use because the color is natural and you won’t get a grey or yellow tint to your images. You can buy them in different wattages. Here is a link to the ones that Joann.com carries: Ottlite Bulbs
- I also have one additional tall Ottlite lamp that i got a Goodwill for under $10.00 that I use for shining light in certain directions, etc., because it moves. (Shown in the photo below) However, you can use ANY lamp for this as long as it moves. Just buy another Ottlite bulb and put it in your lamp. You do NOT need an Ottlite lamp, the bulb is all that counts.
Here is a picture of my homemade photo studio lightbox withall the lights on.
And here is a picture of the little clip on/clamp lights with the ottlite bulb in it.
You may notice that my lightbox is rather large. I did that because I take photos of my 12 x 12 scrapbook pages/layouts. You can make your box any size you’d like. Just cut the foam board down to whatever size you want.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q. How did you put the lightbox together?
A. I cut the foam board to the size that I wanted. The bottom piece is a full sheet, I wanted it longer than the other pieces so it stuck out in front (I place my tripod on it). Then I cut the two sides and back to the height and width that I wanted (two sides are same size). I didn’t really measure anything, I just held the foam board up and eye-balled it. Then I used masking tape (although white duct tape would have looked better), and taped all the corners and sides. Here is a picture of the back of the lightbox all taped up.
Q. How much did this project cost from start to finish?
A. I spent in total about $35.00 on this entire project. To break it down, I had the tall lamp, razor knife and masking tape to start with so all I purchased was as follows:
- Foam Board = $4.00
- Clip on/clamp lights = $16.00 for both
- Ottlite bulbs = $15.00 (3 light bulbs bought on sale at 50% off at Joanns)
Q. In your previous post you showed different light bulbs that you bought at Lowes. Why didn’t you like them?
A. The pictures came out with a yellow tint to them and I had to fix the photos in photoshop and yet they were never white enough. The Ottlite bulbs make all the difference in the world! No more editing each photo! They come out crisp, and clear every time!
Q. I want a lightbox with different colors for different photos, what do you suggest?
A. I do this sometimes as well because I don’t always want a white background. I would suggest making the lightbox as shown above, but use paper, fabric or other material in the colors that you prefer by just laying them down inside the lightbox for each photo. Here are examples of photos I’ve taken with paper in the lightbox.
These pictures were taken using different colors of scrapbook paper as the background.
The following photos were taken on a plain white background without any paper or other materials.
I think those are the most frequently asked questions about my lightbox. Thanks for stopping by and if you make one of your own, please let me know, I’d love to see a photo of your completed project!
I have always wanted to know what lights and how these light boxes are made. Thanks for posting this!