Step 1: You will need...
A cardboard box big enough for the things you want to photograph.
Make a Studio Box
A compact and portable light box, home-made but professional! Great for playing around with still lives and creating soft, even light that you can control.
Resource by Elizabeth Doak.
Step 2: more things:
Ruler, pencil , scissors , tracing or tissue paper, tape, coloured thin card or paper to fit the box.
Step 3: Cut
Cut off all the box flaps.
Step 4: Mark a border
On the top and two sides of the box mark out a 2cm border.
Step 5: Cut out windows
Cut out the ‘windows’ leaving the border edge intact.
Step 6: Attach tracing paper
Attach tracing paper or any soft transparent paper such as tissue paper to the windows. This diffuses the light source that will light your object.
Step 7: Background Curve
Using thin card or paper, create a background curve that fits into the top of the box and leads forward out of the bottom of the box. Make sure you leave a curve and not a harsh bend at the back – an ‘infinity curve’. This lets the object look like its floating. Any colour will look great.
Step 8: Lighting
Using torches and lamps, experiment with lighting your object creatively. You can also take the box outside and use daylight which creates a very soft diffused light.
Step 9: Take your photographs
Use a camera or Smartphone to photograph your object making sure that you have your object and background in shot only. Not the edge of the box!
Share
Share your photos with us! Send us your photos by email or DM us on instagram @photoworks_uk and add the hashtag #studiobox
