DIY Light Box Tutorial

With the number of comments and questions that I received about the light box that Ryan built for me a couple weeks ago, I thought it appropriate to get a tutorial up right away!

I originally wasn’t planning to post a tutorial for this project, so forgive me for the lack of step-by-step photos. Hopefully the photos that I do have will give you a good idea as to what the box should look like when complete.


Here’s what you’ll need:
Cardboard box – mine is 16″ x 12″ x 12″
Tissue paper
Poster board
Painter’s tape or any tape you have on hand
X acto knife
Utility lamp – I found these in the home improvement section at Wal-Mart for less than $6
100-megawatt daylight light bulb

1. Assemble the box. Then, draw a square on three sides of the box leaving 2″ around all sides from the edge of the box. Cut out each square.
2. Take the tissue paper, and cut pieces down to size to cover each square. The tissue should extend out a bit further than the square. Tape down the tissue paper to the box; make sure it’s taut with no wrinkles!
3. Lay the poster board against the back of the box so it curves down, covering the back and bottom of the box. Be careful not to put a crease in the board.
4. Clamp your utility light onto a ledge higher than your box, turn on the light, and ta-dah! Your light box is complete!

See, I wasn’t kidding when I told all of you how easy this project is! It’s amazing what such simple supplies can do for blog photos. I am still using the flash on my camera to enhance the brightness – the lighting in our rental home is not ideal – but adding two more utility lamps on either side of the box in the near future should help solve that problem.

Be sure to tag me on Instagram if you give this project a try. Happy picture-taking!