How to make a cheap product photography box

Whether you’re shooting something to sell online or simply want to practice photography, the right lighting is the secret to getting the perfect shot. You can invest in an expensive lighting system or try working in natural daylight, but there is certainly nothing easier to find and use than a homemade product photography box. By simply adding a diffuser to a cardboard box and using a few cheap lamps properly, you can create a product photography box that will allow you to capture many beautiful photos in just one afternoon.

Table of Contents

Make a box

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Choose a cardboard box large enough to hold the object you want to capture. Try to find the largest box possible as this will allow you to photograph almost everything you need. Ask at your local store, find a box you no longer use, or buy one from a storage company for the perfect cardboard box. ^{[1] X Research Source}

If you want a more durable product photography box, you can use a box made from a stronger material. Large wooden or perforated plastic boxes are fine. However, it is likely that you need something sharper than a multi-purpose knife, such as a saw to cut the edge of the signal light board.

Seal one side of the box lid. Turn the cardboard box over and fold the lid over to get a flat bottom. Use tape, thick tape, or something similar to secure the lid in place and keep the box stable. Glue the inside of the box lid so they don’t affect you while you work. ^{[2] X Research Source}

Some boxes have one side pre-attached to the piece of cardboard. Although this design has kept the box stable during work, it would still be beneficial to glue the edges of the box to make it even more secure.

Measure the window size on both sides of the box. Flip the box over on one side so that the opening is facing you. Use a ruler to mark points on the face of the box so that each point is about 5 cm from the nearest edge. Use a pencil to draw a line along the edge of the box to connect these points together, forming a rectangle inside the space created by the edges. Do the same thing with the opposite side. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

This is the size of the window that you cover with a piece of cloth, stencil, or tissue paper. If the box is too big, make the window smaller to make sure the cloth or paper can still cover it.
You can also draw a window at the top of the box to focus the light on the product you intend to photograph in a top-down direction.

Cut out the window shape of the box. Use a multi-purpose knife or sharp scissors to cut along the line you have drawn. Cut around in straight lines until the middle piece of cardboard falls off, revealing a small window-shaped gap. Do the same with the other side to create another window frame. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

To cut straight, hold a ruler and press against the pencil-drawn lines and cut along them. This does not affect the function of the box, but also makes the box look better.

Cut a piece of white poster paper the same width as your box. Place a piece of white poster paper or white cardboard on top of the box. Use scissors or a multi-purpose knife to trim the excess off the edges so that the piece of paper can fit inside the box. The poster paper should be the same width as the box and about twice the length of the top of the box. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

White poster paper is great for this job because it’s flat and doesn’t wrinkle easily inside the box. This type of paper is often sold cheaply at craft stores. If you can’t find it, you can use a temporary large piece of white cardboard or glossy business card paper.
The white poster paper gives the viewer a feeling of “infinity” as if the object you photographed is lying in an empty space. Try different colors for interesting effects.
The most important part of the material you choose is the matte finish. Anything that is too glossy can cause light reflection and adversely affect the intended use of the product box.

Glue the poster paper to the inside of the top of the box. Attach a long piece of duct tape or tape to the edge of the poster paper. Being careful not to let the tape touch anything else, press it to the inside of the cardboard box as close to the inside of the top of the cardboard box as possible. Use another piece of tape to keep the bottom edge of the poster paper firmly attached to the bottom of the box. ^{[6] X Research Source}

Minimize wrinkling or folding of poster paper. Try to bend the paper so that it curves slightly along the bottom corner on the inside of the box.
Don’t worry about wrapping the whole box, as long as you have a wide enough cross-section to take the picture without any exposed cardboard.

Cut two pieces of white fabric or tissue paper to cover the window. This helps to diffuse the light entering the box, even making the entire photo bright enough. Cut several pieces of white fabric, tissue paper, or something similar that are about 2.5cm longer on each side than the length of the window you cut. ^{[7] X Research Sources}

To make it easier, you can follow the original cut of cardboard to create the window. Place it on a piece of fabric or tissue paper and cut it around, taking care to leave some space on each side for the slice to stick to the box.
You can use plain white fabric, tissue paper, stencils, or anything similar. The material you choose just needs to be non-reflective and let in some light, but that’s not all.

Glue or attach the fabric or tissue paper in place. Starting at the top edge of the material of your choice, use a piece of tape or some hot glue to glue the material to one of the windows. Drop the cloth to cover the window and use more tape or glue to finish on the remaining edges. Do the same with all the windows you cut until they are completely covered. ^{[8] X Research Sources}

Use box

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Place the object you want to capture in the center of the box. Place the box you’ve finished on a wide flat surface, making sure to leave room for the lights on either side. Arrange the subject to be photographed in the center of the white surface in the box. ^{[9] X Research Source}

Use the viewfinder or camera monitor to position objects in the box. Move the camera and objects continuously until you get a good shot without any exposed cardboard.
If you can’t position the object or the camera, use cropping to remove the part you don’t want to see. You do not need to edit anything further, just the cropping feature can help you less hard in positioning.

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Arrange lights on both sides of the box. Directional lights are better for product photography than natural light. Find as many desk lamps or directional lights as possible to shine in the product window. Position the lights so that their shadows are facing the window you cut and turn on the switch. ^{[10] X Research Source}

Always keep the lamp at least 13cm away from the window to prevent the cloth from overheating.
The distance from the light to the box needs to be reasonable from the moment you push the switch on. Try moving the lights in different ways, when backing away, when moving closer to create some interesting lighting effects inside the box.
Using a bulb with a soft white light is best, as other types can give your photos a yellowish tint.
You can find cheap lamps or desk lamps in the home appliances section online for only a few tens of thousands of dong, or at home appliance stores near your home and stationery stores.

Try adjusting the camera settings. The photos you take don’t always look well-balanced and well-lit, so the first batch of shots may be overexposed or out of color! Change the shutter speed, light sensitivity, and white balance settings of the camera until the image looks normal. ^{[11] X Research Source}

If you’re using a smartphone camera app or a selfie camera, don’t make any adjustments in the settings.
Often a photo that looks too yellow or blue is a sign that you have not adjusted the white balance correctly. If the photo looks too dark or too bright, try adjusting the brightness by changing the sensitivity, shutter speed, or aperture. Keep trying until you get the perfect shot!

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Take a photo. Once you’ve gathered all the necessary supplies and set up your camera, it’s time to take pictures. Move the camera until there’s nothing but a white background in the frame, hold it firmly, and take a few shots! ^{[12] X Research Source}

Use pieces of open cardboard caps to block direct light from reaching the camera. Any light that doesn’t pass through the window can cause flare and reduce the effect of the product box.

Advice

Make sure you use glossy paper and not glossy poster paper. Glossy poster paper can reflect light and cause glare.
Try using poster paper or even fabric in different colors to achieve the desired effect.
Wear a solid-color long-sleeved shirt when taking photos to prevent your hands or camera from appearing in the reflection of the object you’re taking.

Warning

Make sure the lamp does not cause a fire!
Be careful when using a multi-purpose knife. Avoid cutting the meat and hands by mistake.

Things you need

Cardboard box
Fabric, tissue paper, white stencils
White glossy poster printing paper
Tape
Ruler
Pencil
Multi-purpose knife or scissors
Desk lamps or other directional lighting
Camera or smartphone

Steps

Make a box

Use box

Advice

Warning

Things you need

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