Finally, I have time to built my own light box for macro photography.




















Not so satisfy with the outcome, I think need some work on the lighting, may be add one more light on the top...cut a hole on top of the box and stick with white paper, let the light come in from the hole..hmmm

This post has been edited by LanEvoX: Nov 5 2006, 02:22 PM

walao.. i like the motor section..
very nice..

What lights are u using ? Nice effort there , thanks for sharing

LanEvox ... I got some suggestions (suggestions, not advice, becoz I never used a DIY lightbox before) :

1. Change your lighting, try fluorescents instead. Energy savers are okay but the lighting is too weak, too diffused and light coverage is bad.
2. Use a tripod and shut down your aperture to create a greater depth-of-field and visibility.
3. Light is escaping from the box's opening, increase your ISO (if can!) to capture them before they cabut (haha!)

This post has been edited by ac98: Nov 4 2006, 11:03 PM

you beat me to a DIY lighttent.
after seeing maniac's lighttent, I had an idea to make one, but maniac's a little too big, so I was and am still planning on making mine portable, ie being able to keep inside a normal document bag, with interchangable background cloth.

With the current workload and kids, I don't expect to get that project completed until maybe CNY.

Excellent shots on the model bike. Maybe a little photo of a scenery behind to make it look like a real motorcycle?

woah,
very life like

eh, light can escape wan meh?

nice tut on the DIY lightbox

i can see some harsh reflection on the motor, not hi contrast enuf for this kind of setup thoug, anyway, modify further, why not show us the setup itself?

1. was trying to minimize my cost while looking for material. Dint found any material for a fluorescent tube...so try with this first.

2. Was using tripod at first, then later use hand, my camera cannot shut down aperture

3. May be shud try ISO100/200, later try again

Yup, was trying to make the light soft....the harsh reflection make the shot not nice...hmmm
oh ya, the setup is in my blog: http://jack-hoo.blogspot.com/2006/11/diy-l...-box.html#links

gold3knight, try using a box like me, very simple only

Oh yes. I study light like water : It goes around bends and curves, and you STILL can decide how water flows similiar to light. If light escapes, you get partial darkness ... if you let water escape, you get what? You get BANJIR

A DIY lightbox with an interchangeable backdrop, now that's something new!

Actually, a lightbox can be as big (heard of a 'lighthouse'?) or as small as you want. It bows down to how practical it will be vs how effective it is. Too small a lightbox and you can't even fit a 10" high flower vase in

This post has been edited by ac98: Nov 5 2006, 12:22 AM

maybe you could substitute the white mahjong with the white coloured gloss art card.. I've used those for my model-making projects.. bought them in technical graphic shop..

they have them in various coatings (single-side gloss, both side gloss, both site matte, etc..) and thickness & size.. Last time I ordered too many of the wrong thickness, maybe I could make myself a lightbox for snapping macros..

Would glossy surface do any good to macro shots?

That was the part i missed, the 4th point

Light was partially escaping thru the rather-translucent mahjong paper but I dunno if white glossy cardboards are more expensive or not. One disadvantage would be ... should LanEvox uses external flashes later to replace strobes and using remote triggering, it won't possible to shoot past the cardboards.

kawan...im not using DSLR or wat...no external flash or strobe...not using flash for those shot also

From those DIY project i found online, most of them place the light outside the box, let the light shooting thru the paper...of coz, the cutting the box and cover with a layer of paper.

This is wat i did for the light in the latest shot


might try diff color background...hmm

Alamak! The lighting looked even more diffused ... got any sample of shots from this setup?

muahahahahhahaha!!! coming!
















the mouse look dark, the background not white enuf....hmm

i got nothing to shoot already, shoe also come up

really need suggestion on how to correct the lighting, shud i do something like this? http://k53.pbase.com/u16/wlhuber/upload/13...20.P3050198.JPG

Maniac is right, you need more contrast to kick ass you know what I mean? From the mouse's shots it's still very obvious that light is trying to make a quick run away from you. And go easy with the close-ups, you need to master the lighting 1st.

Anyway, I need some Oreo and Root Beer now ... brb ...

i open the oreo and keep it back again...too full to eat

yup, lighting is very important in this kind of shot. Tomolo, I got the whole sunday to play with it


light escaping....hmmm

nice work there.. i was too lazy to diy so i bought a small one.less than 100 ringgit and came with a blue or green background cloth.

lighting is the key doing this kinda shots.i'm still trying to get mine right, always create unwanted shadows.

got sell de mer???
where???
don tell me in Japan...

walao..
henry taiko thinking to get 1 liao..
hahaha

no la... i am thinking to build one...

wanna build one arr.. i think instead of using a box, build a wire frame and cover it with translucent paper. that way light can still get through. anothher way is to use food covers, those big hoods.. cut a whole on one side and u got a diy soft box!

mine us to have a look on ur light tent?

search ebay, u'll got a lot

quick shot of it. totally foldable..like an umbrella, maybe use an umbrella?





kinda small.. only for small objects but i'm broke now n thats the best i can afford

sorry bt the blur pics..

This post has been edited by clemong_888: Nov 5 2006, 11:10 AM

thanks for the pic


hmm....kinda got an idea of it....

just now i bought this


and make into this


and try this or with the light on top



how to make the light soft so that the object dint reflect with the light?

Here is the shot with the new tent, most of it with the light on top of the box













comment needed to improve the setup

judging from the output, ur flash is not diffused properly and covering everypart.

I marked (green circle) one of your photo on hot-spots. its there coz u shine direct from top, u can try move the a lil bit by lil away from the 'card board' to see the differ type of result, moving away gave u less-harsh lighting.

the othe easier way is go to buy the cube laundry bag, then use some hard colored card (u can pick the color u like as 'changeable' background), this work best also.

For this kind of 'set up' shot, u need hi contrast, hi sharpness, best/deepest DOF u can have. from the sample shot above, the DOF is slightly not enuf, the wheel is not sharp enuf. for example check out the shot below which I took earlier for Canon.



this one is using a single flash (SB800), D70's kit (18-70DX), the table lamp diffused by the laundry bag. and white manila card...

This post has been edited by Maniac: Nov 5 2006, 09:52 PM

Maniac

What advise can you give on my product shots?
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f...dpost&p=7778093
http://forum.lowyat.net/index.php?act=ST&f...dpost&p=7778097

i was trying to look for the cube laundry bag...guess wat, when the time u want to find it, u'll nv get it...b4 this i always see it in the place i go

anyway, thanks for the comment, i'll be back

generally not bad, but try more interesting angle and try not to include too many into one, if u insist, group most of them, and make one outstanding. some of the photo has a harsh bright reflective, these are the tough part loh.. i also headache sometime exspeciilly plastic/metal.


be patient, my friend, anger leads to the dark side hehehe

This post has been edited by Maniac: Nov 5 2006, 10:10 PM

Thanks.
I've tried to make one more outstanding before but the owner didn't like them. So I went with the plain but practical (for the company) style. They wanted the customers to be able to see all the colours.

Maniac's shots are good samples, nice and tight.

how bout the bulb using? how many watt is nice? the one im using is 18watt but with 100watt output

shud i try with other lower watt bulb?

Nolah ... the correct line should be "Fear leads to hate, hate leads to anger, and anger ... leads to suffering. I sense much fear in you, my young padawan"

"The Dark side will lead to Balance to the Force"

we prefer something faster, dark side lead to darkness, go get a new nikon hahah