One of the hardest things about photographing your models is getting the lighting right. Too little and they come out too dark but too much and you get heavy shadows. So what you need is a photo booth but they can cost a lot, often giving you little change from a thousand dollars.
So here is a simple do-it-yourself option that anyone can make at home for under $10 ( sometimes even for free ). All you need is a good solid cardboard box with the flaps cut off. Go for one around 40-50cm wide, 30-40cm high and 20-30cm deep. You can do it with smaller but this size gives you the ability to get in and around your model from more angles. The only other things you need are about 1.5m of light tissue paper or baking greaseproof paper, an A3 sheet of coloured card, and some tape and a knife.
Start by cutting holes in the box on both sides and the top. Cut to around 4-5cm from the edges to retain as much rigidity in the box as possible.
Then tape one end of the greaseproof paper to the back, roll it around over the three openings so that you finish at the back again, then tape it down all around.
The next thing you need is a good background sheet in a neutral colour. I find a mid -blue works best for me as it contrasts well with all the colours I most work with. Fit it to the top, back edge of the inside of the box and let it curve down and out. Trim it at the sides to fit the box if necessary but let it protrude out the front if you like ( or trim it if you want to tape it down permanently ).
And that’s it. One basic, budget photo-box. You can use lamps on either side and from the top to shine light onto your model and the paper will diffuse it. Tissue will diffuse the light better but also keeps more out. The photos below were all taken at the same distance and angle, the first one using the box in bright, direct sunlight, the second with no box in the same sunlight and the last one inside with the flash. They are all untouched and no additional lighting was used.
Next week we’ll look at adding extra lighting to improve the over-all result.
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