Intermediate Nail Photography: The Lightbox (Tutorial)

Hello everyone! You may remember a while back I wrote a two part series on nail photography (check out part one and part two). Now I'm gonna show you how to step it up a little bit with a lightbox!

You can buy lightboxes that even come with lights for pretty cheap on Amazon or similar stores, but today I'm going to show you how to make your own for even cheaper! This method is the method I used to create my lightbox -- the one I use in all of the photos that you see on this blog.

PLEASE NOTE: This technique uses a box cutter! They are VERY SHARP and you need to exercise EXTREME CAUTION when using them. NEVER EVER cut things by pulling the box cutter towards your body. Always push it away from yourself.

	STEP ONE: Gather your materials. You will need a box (this one is 14x14x14, my first lightbox was 18x18x18), tissue paper or tracing paper, scissors, a box cutter, and tape.
	STEP TWO: Assemble your box, taping only one end closed. Leave the other end open.
	STEP THREE: Cut the top and side panels off the non-taped side of your box. You can cut the bottom panel off too but I like to leave it on mine.
	STEP FOUR: Using your box cutter, carefully cut windows into one of the sides of your box. Leave about an inch border on all sides.
	STEP FIVE: Repeat step four on the other two sides of your box. It can be tricky because the box is weakening with every panel that gets cut out, so just go slowly and proceed with caution.
	STEP SIX: Take a piece of tissue paper and cut it so it fits nicely over your window panes. Tape it on taut with your tape.
	STEP SEVEN: Repeat step six on all sides of your box.
	STEP EIGHT: A) Cut a piece of posterboard to be used as the interior background of your box (this one is white). Tape it up to the top of the inside of your box so it doesn't slip. B) Time to set up your lighting! When I use my lightbox, I shut all of the shutters in the room. I turn on all of the room's overhead lights and lamps, and I shine this little IKEA lamp in through the top. I prop it on a DVD box set because it's not tall enough.
	STEP NINE: Start taking pictures! When doing nail photos inside the lightbox, make sure your hand is facing the light that you have set up at the top of the box. You know how fashion models are told to "find the light" with their faces, so they are evenly lit? Same goes for your nails. Tilt your hand up towards the light so none of your hand gets shadowed.

That's it! It's pretty easy, right? A lightbox is a great way to ramp up your photo quality a bit, if you are ready for that step. And while you could always buy one, it's pretty cool to use one that you made yourself (and save some ca$h money)!

Want more lightbox resources? Check out these tutorials from Strobist and Digital Photography School.