- 1). Set your box upright. Cut off the entire top with a box cutter. Cut a large window on each of the four vertical walls, leaving about two or three inches of cardboard around the outside edges. Each vertical side of the box now has a window with a two or three inch cardboard frame.
- 2). Unfold your sheets of white tissue paper. Tape them across the windows of the lightbox. Leave one window open, but cover the top with tissue paper as well. The tissue paper acts as a light diffuser as well as a light reflector.
- 3). Lay a long piece of white poster board inside the lightbox. The poster board should be at least three times the height of the box. For example, if your box is 15 inches high, the poster board should be at least 45 inches long. Begin the poster board inside the box in the back top edge. Let it curve like a waterfall inside the box, down the far back wall and out the opening. A nice curve starting from the top far inside edge and ending past the front opening makes for a nice infinity sweep look. Also, the white color helps prevent object shadowing because it reflects light up from the bottom as well.
- 4). Screw your light bulbs into the clamp fixtures, and clamp them onto anything nearby. Tables and shelves work well. If you don't have anything around, fill large buckets with sand, stick yardsticks into the sand, and attach the lights to them. Two full-spectrum lights work best.
- 5). Place your lightbox under or next to the light bulbs. Make sure to shine them through the tissue paper to create soft lighting. Depending on the desired photograph, move the lights closer or further away from the lightbox.
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