Light Tent

I made a light tent last semester and took some photographs along the way, so I thought I'd re-post them for those of you who may not have seen these last year and might be interested in making one.

Also, here's the URL for the site Laura gave us in class in reference to casting shadows in photoshop:
www.photoshopcafe.com/tutorials/cast-shadow/cast-shadow.htm



LIGHT TENT CONSTRUCTION

1. I had a couple of friends over while I was making one, and one of them took this photograph while I was explaining the steps to them.




2. Obtain a cardboard box. The bigger, the better-I have several things I would like to photograph that won't fit in mine. For each side of the box (excluding the bottom/top), use a ruler/t-square to make a rectangle. Leave about 2'' around the perimeter. Cut off the top flaps of the box.







3. Spray paint the entire interior of the box white. This is necessary in case any areas are exposed after you complete the next step. Wait for the paint to dry. This is a good time to have a cigarette or a glass of tomato juice, whatever your fix is. Congratulate yourself, for you are half-way there already.




4. Cut 16 strips of white poster paper (or any sort of thick pure white paper) to line the inside of the box. Each vertical/horizontal span of cardboard that makes up each of the 4 rectangles needs to be covered with these strips. It's better to cut them slightly larger than the ver/horiz rectangles to make sure you completely cover the cardboard, and this is why you spray paint the inside white just in case you're off a bit.




5. At this point, you're ready to cover the three sides and top with fabric, obviously leaving the front side open. There are a wide variety of fabrics that you can use, different sources recommend different things. I bought several kinds to test out. The light tent that Liz had yesterday was made out of nylon. I bought white muslin, white nylon, white fleece and a couple of others. You may not want to go crazy with taping the fabric down at first, in case you find that it's not working for you and need to try another type.

As you will also see in this photograph, I placed a white poster board in the box that rests against the inside front of the box and gradually curves towards the back and up to the top back edge. This is helpful because it eliminates any horizon line interference and allows your object to be photographed in a clear, white void.




6. As far a lighting goes, any full spectrum lightbulb should do. Lighting is really the most important part, so make sure you buy the right kind if you don't have them already. I would also recommend having two available lamps, for some photos you will want to shine the light from both sides as opposed to a single top shot. I found it useful to leave extra fabric for covering the lamp heads when I needed to dim the light a bit, especially when photographing something glossy/shiny.




All in all, the complete construction took a little over an hour, if you don't count travels to get supplies. If you decide to make one, I wish you luck. Hope this was helpful.