Photographic Lightbox MK2

New Lightbox

After having a lot of success with the £5 lightbox, I started a new little project. I have been working on a few scale models at the moment that are a little too large to photograph in the lightbox I have. So with a few bits around the house from DIY projects, I began by throwing together a quick frame for a new lightbox.

Building a new framework for a photography lightbox
The Framework For The New Lightbox Completed.

Next, I wanted to see if I could use some of the LED strips I have amassed. I had thought that they would produce enough light, going by the lights in the living room bookcase. I attached them up and ran a circuit, I took a few pictures just to see as proof of the concept.

The new lightbox with strips of LED lights
Trying The Lightbox With The LED Light Strips.
The LED light strips switched on to see if there is enough light given off.
Trying The Same Photo But This Time With The LED Lights On.
Trying the lightbox with the lights turned off
The New Lightbox With The LED Lights Turned Off To See The Difference In The Pictures.
Taking A Photo With The Lights Switched Off.
So Here Is The Helicopter With The Lightbox Lights Switched Off.

As you can see the LED Strips just don’t give off enough light to make it a viable option. So back to the drawing board. I have a few garden floodlights that I picked up on sale from Homebase a few years ago. They are halogen fittings but I have ordered some replacement LED bulbs to cut the running cost down. In the meantime, I can line the inside of the frame with MDF and get it painted white.

Fitted MDF Sheets To The Lightbox Framework.
Fitted Some MDF Sheets Inside The Lightbox Framework.
painting the inside of the lightbox
Undercoated The Inside Of The Lightbox. It Will Need A Fine Sanding Before A Final Coat.

With all that done, I have given the MDF a quick fine sanding to make the surface nice and smooth. Now fitting the lights and wiring them up.

The Light Box Is Painted And Ready To Fit The LED Floodlights.
The Light Box Is Painted And Ready To Fit The LED Floodlights.
Cables Ready For Fitting The Floodlights To The Light Box.
Cables Ready For Fitting The Floodlights To The Light Box.
I have now fitted the first floodlight to the lightbox
The First Floodlight Has Been Fitted To The Lightbox.

So now I have added some 120w floodlights. I picked these up years ago at the Homebase sale. One of those “I don’t need them now but fuck they are £2 each”. I ordered some 10w led light bulbs off eBay and the first result was not great. So I ordered some 120w halogen bulbs and here are the results below. As you can see, it looks goods but it has that yellow tinge to it. I tried to edit it out in photoshop but I’m losing some of the detail. So back to the LED bulb but I have moved the fitting slightly, Only a couple of inches, but let’s be honest a couple of inches more is all we ever want ?!?!

trying 120w halogen bulbs in the homemade lightbox
Here is using the 120w Halogen Light Bulbs, Good Light But Too Much Yellow
Led Lights For The New LightBox
This Is With The LED Bulbs, Maybe A Fraction Less Detail But A Better End Product.

Now I am happy with how this has turned out. I just want to run a little silicon along the back of the light box to diffuse that hard edge, the reason being that angle is 90 degrees and quite acute and we want something slightly more obtuse so it doesn’t take away from the subject matter. When that’s done we crack on!

Filled and smoothed the back of the lightbox
Filled In And Smoothed Off The Hard Edge At The Back Of The Lightbox.
Repainted The Lightbox after filling the back edge
Finished Lightbox, Repainted After The Back Has Been Filled In..
Testing Out The New Lightbox With LED Floodlights
Testing Out The New Lightbox With LED Floodlights.

This is going to be the bain of my life. Your model is only as good as your picture, luckily I’m learning both at the same time, so by the time I’m making awesome models, I should be taking awesome scale model photos.

Comments are closed.