Light Box - Introduction
If your subject is small enough, and you want a photo of it in isolation, it would be handy to have a miniature photo studio. Luckily, if you don't have one, they are easy enough to build. The idea is simple. In order to get a good photo of an object in isolation, you need to make sure that the lighting isn't harsh and the background color is a consistent.
Because the subject is small, it will be captured in high detail. As a result, harsh lighting could ruin the quality of the results, especially if the object has shiny surfaces. And, if there are reflective surfaces, it is important that the reflections don't include you or the studio. To avoid these issues, a regular cube can be constructed to enclose the subject with translucent windows to diffuse incoming lighting. For the Light Box construction in this exercise, an old white pillowcase will suffice as the material for the light diffusing element. The box can be constructed of any light material that sports the background color you are looking for. In this case, both the box and the pillowcase are white because it is a common color which will not conflict with the edges of the subject we are photographing. The box material is made from a thick poster-board which is both durable and light. Having the box light makes the miniature studio portable which is an added bonus.
Because the box has edges, taking a picture of the object directly in
the bottom of the box will not yield the results we are looking for. To make
sure the background of the image is a consistent white color, a large
sheet of white poster paper is inserted into the bottom of the box.
The poster paper is long enough to cover the entire bottom of the box,
and ride up the side as well. In this way, the background below the
object and behind the subject are consistently colored.
The constructed box is shown on the next page.