The sharp-eyed amongst you might have noticed that some of my recent photos have a seamless, clean white background, like this shot:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhxBDj0LExqN7iM3oCiWvsVb6vmyBFabPqbT6iDBhEHIefbAgpXAILG0ykmTSfNpzPfdT5hoPfgiuMNc3kYUJYIiKyPhydYmUlRd_QS9wav9YNigm8QxwWChyI-EZzyjyidK0IUBLEJpeE/s400/P1070638.JPG)
No distracting, 80's-style kitchen tile in the background, no bits of pug dogs lurking about in the edges of the frame:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDp_RogevP0AAMbjuZ9oVoo3HJ6rvpjGnzfAvXTVsKYyJXGqQ-x3xHJMmzitSX-JNpLDKUxcvM1IEqbfgNeK5NYL02ImBOMIz2C7w1X3wapp4EcCrSOaHn4pD_woBqqse9LntsuIy9vGE/s400/P1070652.JPG)
It's because of this lovely thing, which for lack of a better term, I'll call a "subject box."(Although others call it a "light tent.") It's made of a cardboard box, a bit of old men's tee shirt, some duct tape, and a single piece of lovely, heavy
Bristol paper that forms a continuous, white background:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEYdiAjltsMLfnbeGuPd9XA9Ba3m4b8twhUchfKUXTXwjcFOnGJs_g1e-iICgh-WkpL3jSrxpAP_sGCyKMnu9gXHyx6s3jlyLlPir23GLpMEYN7uwkmBFKyJN-32Bqrw01e26eD_tkZL4/s400/P1070667.JPG)
Yessirree, this is a thing of beauty. Look at the workmanship in that corner!:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXlJ07HYJ5Vmyac_pyaSPiVu5RASrbHGe83NKysww09cmYk99Xf4gbWTNiwlOnmsTfC-lEt_uWkWWpDs_uHiAt8BZZptWr8Uz5zkdraTy8U9MejS_W_6G0hKbItYQlsNQG6dnsRIt56T0/s400/P1070668.JPG)
The beauty of this handy tool is threefold: 1)It doesn't have to be perfectly made, 2)It costs next to nothing to create one, and 3)It improves the look of your photographs of bitty things. And I love bitty things!
I found the instructions for making this nifty photographer's helper
here. The box, tee shirt and duct tape I already had. I bought a piece of Bristol at my local, excellent art store, and with an
X-Acto knife and some glue, I was good to go!
The seamless swoop of white eliminates distractions when photographing little things up close:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFWK91u-CPQTqRscbQPMdbn-6LJ_SbD_UuVX5g4_ctGZri4bIdtmy7ZuIR90Yl8JVB_U1E4yO9TVCRt6knilf7KSGBTNK5wr6FnbOIq-XgsE6s8n-XkKU5KaeEDnZg9ej2gZPFyT8qiK0/s400/P1070669.JPG)
It's a surprisingly commodious box:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmzYu9X0Qtb1gq3MuMtI05Z1WJSMgqHmpT_o85IPgNd3BlD1Kj3cnJaxLqcKZ0At09SKrPLvBDHKI3Y_w-1BhdoWm_KVUc_f8HTtPVU5zn79R779FUyWcMElwBL1Z-Ftgvxxax9BpOC60/s400/P1070670.JPG)
Of course, a box like this requires a light source. So I use this lamp kicking around that The Boy didn't want in his bedroom any more:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPEm7PNLsqD9U0srEJ43rrSMcMvikZ54CLQjFrX65wlnOS-UQM_weEmnx_yoKKoxe7tcoSY_q_7v24J1AAj_B3ToEf46Gwd_1HtlGO6lu1uoidkk2IMIzdgH0WrwAeDuhjeIoRcbYEqCI/s400/P1070664.JPG)
I wonder, why not? (Note to photographer self: go to lamp store, get new glass shade.):
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht9VNsf7z0D-w0qjiHfNS9TmDYlApH1a5wFqnDCdK0nFWDgshUUs5SI3TWwMulnLG-t61h2UDrK2gDdAiZWxvgq52YlDpTUAq3ctLfnI0DtH5BwhfPaYPC1lVrUHSjPJUpmZ39J6gxlNI/s400/P1070666.JPG)
Now I can photograph little things in a serene environment that's filled with light, even on a sunless day:
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhI_kwDFOuw8Nyw27iNnkm1YE47KaI5DbcB1wKLbgqQlMPyAN46PgfVCNL3BjzrD73Nr1XEmFG8tdUGd7iXWt5GhCtLET4uvf50540FfoeFP7F3XPdPvWx7NpDMpIGMQcYSItOS76WGnss/s400/P1070687.JPG)
(Second note to Photographer Self: Get some silver polish. Those earrings look awful!)
![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsSLy8DF7YvH82zQcQzdrLqz4Ny9bDHCDX2P31A2UdQGCCF8H1du8PpMX9PfnGFWmxLpFxW07k-uQ-abZxf1umN53w1zQlbHmGzHD3IHEyO9lqT06LaGpGM25Cd0cBOnxe3-MMIkJbjR4/s400/P1070674.JPG)
Anyhow, if you like to photograph things and you want to kick it up a notch, build yourself this low-tech subject box and see if you don't like the way things pop!
No comments:
Post a Comment