Ever wondered how photographers get those perfectly white backgrounds on perfectly lighted products? They use something called a Light Tent, sometimes called a Light Box or a Soft Box. You can go out to your local photography store and buy one for $50 and up, depending on size, or you can build your own for $2.96. Besides saving a nice chunk of change, you gain the ability to fully customize your tent/box.
You’ll need these items:
- A cardboard box (of whatever size you choose) – You most likely have one of these around the house.
- A roll of decently wide tape – I bought a 50 yard roll of clear packing tape 1.88″ wide for $1.08.
- A piece of white poster board – I bought a huge sheet for $0.38
- A thin white plastic tablecloth (alternately you could use a thin white sheet of cloth) – I bought mine for $1.50.
All you need to do is cut out the sides of your box and tape the cloth over the openings. The cloth acts as a light diffuser, giving you nice soft light over your subject. Cut your poster board to fit and you can use it for “infinity sweep” purposes. I use two strobes on manual settings to provide the actual lighting.











