Light Box Made With PVC and Verilux Lighting

My photos have come a long way in the last year on The Stuff of Success.  But there is always room for improvement.  Now that it is dark in the morning when I leave for work and dark at night when I get home – my opportunities for taking pictures of the items I need to review, the projects I am undertaking are much more slim.  I used to come home from work, open my mail and start taking photos as soon as everyone was settled into their evening routine.  With the lost daylight I either need to find a way to adjust my photos or wait til I have access to daylight on a weekend.

Don’t get me wrong there really is no substitute for a beautiful day in the neighborhood when it comes to taking photos.  But it cannot be the only option.  Lack of daylight will really impact my blogging in a timely fashion.

I have wanted to make a light box for some time but just couldn’t bring myself to spend a great deal of money on purchasing one and although I could make one pretty inexpensively with a cardboard box – I really didn’t want that hanging around my house.

I do many projects with PVC piping so why not go that route to create a light box.  It is light weight, portable, easy to store, collapsible, and inexpensive to make.

A PVC light box can be made any size you want.  I made mine approximately 16×16.  It is not a true box – which is easy enough to do but I wanted it to be collapsible so I made it “table” like where the legs can just fold into itself.

That means I can take it anywhere I go.  Of course the lamps are a bit bulky but still quite manageable.

I used Verilux Natural Spectrum Lighting – the equivalent of 100W.  You must use natural lighting bulbs to make sure your photos are crisp.

I picked up some inexpensive clamp lights (3 of them) to be clamped one on each side and one on top.

To build the light box you need 1/2″ PVC piping.  If I wanted to make it very large, I would use 3/4″ PVC.

4 15 inch legs

4 12 inch cross bars

4 caps

4 T’s

4 Elbows

Then simply purchase some strips of Muslin or white sheets – I need larger strips but this still works.  If this were a permanent box I would actually attach the muslin to it but since I fold it up, I merely lay the muslin over all sides of it.

You can use fabric for the background or poster board.  In this photo there is just another strip of muslin hung over the rear bar but you could hang any type of fabric over it.  I actually sit this right on the kitchen table or on the couch to take photos.

And side by side comparison so you can see just how much the light box photo has improved the quality. The photo on the left has some shadowing, the details of the car are not very clear and it is just not that appealing.  I can do some editing to make it a bit nicer but not entirely.

The photo on the right was with my “new” light box and on the same muslin background.  I wouldn’t ordinarily use muslin as a background but it was what I had on hand at the moment.

The key to this entire process is the lighting!  The best photos are those with natural lighting and the Verilux Natural Spectrum Lighting are just 23W but the equivalent of 100W.  They are 10,000 hour bulbs and will last for years of me taking beautiful photos.

Makeover your vanity, bathroom or closet to display truer color for better makeup application or making wardrobe choices.  Verilux Natural Spectrum lights display truer color, so you will never be surprised by your makeup or outfit once you walk out of the house.  Once you experience the Verilux difference, you will never go back to conventional lighting!  Replace your current bulbs in a space where you apply makeup and/or dress with Verilux CFL 23 Watt bulbs and document your experience with truer color display for fashion and beauty.

Giveaway

One lucky The Stuff of Success reader will win (3) 2 Packs of these Verilux 23W (100W) compact fluorescent bulbs.  Prizes will be sent directly to the winners from the sponsor. Please allow 6-8 weeks for shipping.  The giveaway will run until 11/08/2014 at 11:59pm EST.  The winner will be chosen randomly via Giveaway Tools and will be announced on the Giveaway Tool Widget.  Any taxes or other charges that may be part of the prize are the winner’s sole responsibility.  The giveaway is open to United States residents only.  You must be over 18 years of age and you guarantee that you are eligible by entering.  We reserve the right to cancel any giveaway.  No purchase is necessary. One entry per person per household.

I received payment or one or more of the products or services mentioned above in exchange for an honest opinion.  I only recommend products or services I use personally and/or I believe would be helpful for my readers.  I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”  The opinions expressed in this post are entirely my own.  Your experience with the product(s) or service(s) may differ from mine.
I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.