my very first DIY attempt... DIY Light Tent!

[terryansimon]

I am not kidding when I say that this is my very first DIY attempt in any hobby that I have undertaken. I'm not that good with my hands when it comes to construction work, and hence I rather spend the money on a product that has been designed for such a purpose.

but I couldn't justify spending so much money on a light tent when I am merely doing this to idle some time away before I jet back to Australia. so I figured I'll just ask/dig around for some materials, and created this... thing, which has crafted out some rather pleasing results.

obviously, I had help. first and foremost, this article has made it virtually idiot proof for me to create my own light tent. secondly, thanks to my girlfriend and maid who got in on the act of things to help things go smoothly. since I am very incompetent with my hands, I guess I would have been doing this till next year and still not gotten it done!


Materials used are

1. Box. Cost = free
2. 3 pieces of 70cm by 50cm paper from Popular. Cost = $1.70ea
3. two rolls of double sided tape. Cost = $0.65ea
4. some blutack. Cost = free?
5. muslin cloth from Popular. Cost = $2.99 per meter. I bought 4 meters so that I can use it for cooking purposes as well.
6. time taken to realize I really can't draw a line with a ruler to save my life. Cost = priceless.

anyways, here are the pictures.

this was an unused Santa Fe box that was used by my mum to shuttle stuff back and forth from Thailand whilst she was stationed there. it measured 50cm by 50cm, by the way.

this is just one panel that had to be hollowed out to make the "windows". notice the top portion of the box was also removed (via a swiss army knife blade).

image of the portion that got sawed off.

these tools certainly made it easier for my girlfriend to cut the pieces of paper we bought, to form the borders for the internal part of the box.

measuring the 5cm border around the edge of the box. the other hand belongs to my maid!

 

[terryansimon]

strips of paper that have been cut to form the borders around the internal bits of the box. hence 3 pieces of paper were needed. thanks to my girlfriend for helping out with that bit

two brown things in this picture. the first one is the hollowed out box, and the halfway mark of completion for the light tent. the second log like thing is my dog, who decided to walk past me to go into the room.

application of the white backing to all internal bits of the box, including the base. notice that by now, part of the box was already wrapped in muslin cloth. and note to self, exercise more!

my maid being serious with the muslin cloth. she's an avid sewer, and hence was pretty eager when asked to do some cloth cutting. as for me, I'm there making sure that the base has been properly taped, and was in the process of removing the backing for the double sided tape.

the completed light tent. I realized no photos were taken to show the light tent in its entire glory, without anything obstructing it. so this shot will have to do.

 

[ArcticFox]

Looks nice. Show me the result!

 

[terryansimon]

my very first photo of an object in the light tent. my very old but still functioning Casio G-Shock Raysman solar watch.

my Fossil watch. I got the stand to prop the watch up from City Chain. for free. I merely went in to one of their outlets and asked nicely if I could have one. the lady who served me was more than willing to give me one for free. yayness!

Roger Federer's Feder-bear. I took this picture because the tele was on and it was an Australian Open recap, with a short snippet on Roger Federer's UNICEF work.

my Boss RC-2 Looping Station pedal.

 

[terryansimon]

I must admit, the white balance was off. way off. I didn't adjust it properly, nor did I take a measured reading to make sure that it was properly calibrated. it could have been the light bulb as well, seeing how this was a very old study lamp that I pulled out from some chest of drawers... and seeing how it hasn't seen the light of day in about 10 years now, it's still amazing that it even works.

I merely snapped the pictures to show that the proof of concept does work. next, I'll need to

1. try a new lightbulb
2. adjust the white balance. PROPERLY.
3. look for small objects to chuck in
4. have fun with it!

once again, full credit goes to Digital Photography School for their article on how to make a DIY light tent. credit must also go to my maid for helping me cut the fabric and hold the box whilst I was cutting the "windows" out, and my girlfriend for helping me cut the pieces of paper to form the internal borders.



I hope this inspires people to try making one for themselves!

 

[terryansimon]

and oh, by the way, just in case anybody was wondering, them paper cutting tools belongs to my girlfriend's mum. she's an avid scrapbook maker herself, and hence have such tools at her disposal. we merely loaned it out from her for the night. heh.

 

[jimbok]

Hey, that quite a detailed step by step DIY process, kudos to that!
I've made mine awhile ago, one thing bad about it is that it is hard to keep, but sure does take good pictures.

 

[terryansimon]

Hey, that quite a detailed step by step DIY process, kudos to that!
I've made mine awhile ago, one thing bad about it is that it is hard to keep, but sure does take good pictures.

where do you get your background from? the only place I could think of that sold colour background of that size is from popular, since photographic background is too big and an overkill.

 

[jimbok]

where do you get your background from? the only place I could think of that sold colour background of that size is from popular, since photographic background is too big and an overkill.

Got my background from the mahjong paper in Popular. Bad example so please don't follow me. :bsmilie:
The sheet on the bottom was bought from Spotlight.

 

[hazmee]

What other Boss pedals do you have? LOL!

 

[insinto]

hmmm...this sure looks cool to do! I must find a big box so my almost-a-month-year-old little girl could fit in! thanks, terryansimon!

 

[fleaz]

hmmm...this sure looks cool to do! I must find a big box so my almost-a-month-year-old little girl could fit in! thanks, terryansimon!

i hope you're just joking about it

 

[dRebelXT]

white balancing is influenced by the remaining yellow frame of the box.. if you take the trouble to paste 'em up with white paper many layers, then it WB can be easily corrected.
Luckily my HDB walls are all white, so it's a giant light tent.

 

[insinto]

i hope you're just joking about it

just kidding, though but tried putting her up here when she was 5-day old:

 

[ArcticFox]

After looking at your images. I think the problems are, background not well lit and WB is off.

 

[terryansimon]

What other Boss pedals do you have? LOL!

just the RC-2. was thinking of getting a Keeley modified Blues Driver (BD-2) or a Super Distortion (SD-1). maybe an Acoustic Simulator (AC-3) and the pedal tuner (TU-2) too! ahahaha

or I may just get myself a GT-10 when I go back to Australia in a few weeks time.

white balancing is influenced by the remaining yellow frame of the box.. if you take the trouble to paste 'em up with white paper many layers, then it WB can be easily corrected.
Luckily my HDB walls are all white, so it's a giant light tent.

you referring to the inside of the box or the outside of the box? if it's the inside, I did use a very heavy paper to cover the inside bits of the box. so are you suggesting that I add more layers onto it to make it even thicker/whiter?

or are you referring to the outside bit of the box?

After looking at your images. I think the problems are, background not well lit and WB is off.

yah I suspected it's the WB. like I said I was trying to achieve proof of concept and hence just randomly shot some pictures. I've got a feeling it could be my bulb in the light stand I am using as well. I'll try it out when I get down to moving my butt off the bed/couch later. (=

 

[casio]

where do you get your background from? the only place I could think of that sold colour background of that size is from popular, since photographic background is too big and an overkill.

There are lots of paper stuff you can use from ArtFriend.. they have branches in Takashimaya and Bras Basah.

 

[terryansimon]

There are lots of paper stuff you can use from ArtFriend.. they have branches in Takashimaya and Bras Basah.

ah alright.

I'll check those places out again when I've got the time and energy to do so. thanks a bunch!

 

[dxsibo]

gd job! till now i can't find a cardboard

sorry to ot abit..wah u also from 42?!

 

[zhix]

if this can help any bros doing any DIY light tent .. this is bought from ikea about 15 sgd.



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