How to Make a DIY Softbox to Light Your Photos

A softbox is a light modifier used in photography, film, and television that softens the brightness of a flash, reducing harsh shadows and balancing your lighting effects to create soft light (like a lampshade) on your subjects. Using a softbox can create a more even distribution of light in a photo, decreasing harsh contrast and mimicking the look of natural light. You can purchase a softbox at a store, or make your own softbox at home for some spontaneous DIY photography.

Softboxes come in a variety of different sizes and shapes, including octagons, squares, and rectangles (which are meant to mimic window light). They are usually made out of fabric, with a reflective inner lining and two layers of diffusion fabric on the front to create softer light. Smaller softbox lighting is better for single subjects or for up-close camera flashes seen in product photography and portraiture. Large softboxes are better for bigger (or numerous) subjects.

Professional or studio-grade softboxes are often square, rectangular, octagonal, or parabolic “boxes” with one opening covered with a translucent or white fabric. However, making your own DIY softbox opens up a series of possibilities for your at-home photography studio. Here are five DIY softbox ideas.

1. 1. Cardboard softbox: You can transform an old cardboard shoebox into a small softbox to mount on top of your handheld camera. Use a white garbage bag or pillowcase as your diffusion panel to filter your light source.
2. 2. PVC pipe softbox: You can use PVC pipe and hot glue to construct a softbox frame. Next, drape a bedsheet around five of the sides of your box, leaving one side open or covered with a light material.
3. 3. Parchment paper softbox: You can use printer paper (or even tissue paper) to create your own DIY softbox diffuser, but parchment paper is a better option as it is both heat-resistant and opaque enough to do the job. Parchment paper can be placed directly over your lights without risk of a fire hazard, which makes it a safer option than other flammable types of paper.
4. 4. Lampshade softbox: You upcycle a cheap, old lampshade from your local thrift store into a simple, bell-shaped softbox. Place your light source toward the back-inside of the lampshade (like a cone), cover the inside of the lampshade with reflectors, and secure the back to a piece of cardboard.
5. 5. Umbrella softbox: An old, regular-sized eight-pronged umbrella can work as a DIY softbox in a pinch. Place the light source behind the convex side of the umbrella, making an opening for the light to stick through. You might need to bend and adjust the ribs or replace the fabric to improve the quality of the light.

When you’re choosing your style of softbox, consider the type of light you’re using. Be careful when you add coverings to incandescent softbox lights, and make sure that you are not using flammable materials. LED lighting can be safer to use than incandescent lighting, because it does not generate heat.

If you want to make a simple cardboard DIY light source for your at-home lighting setup, you just need a few materials that you may already have lying around your house.

1. 1. A cardboard box: Find a small cardboard box to make the body of your softbox. A shoebox is a strong option because you will need to remove one of the sides of the box for your light diffusion surface.
2. 2. Aluminum foil: You will be lining your box in aluminum foil to provide a surface for your light to bounce off of.
3. 3. White fabric: You will need white fabric like an old bedsheet (or white garbage bags in a pinch) as the diffusion material for your softbox.
4. 4. Light source: You will need a light source or flash to illuminate your softbox. Assess the different choices of light bulbs and light sources you have at your photography store.
5. 5. Glue: Glue will be necessary to bond your softbox materials together.
6. 6. Duct tape: Duct tape will provide your softbox with extra structural security.
   
7. 7. Scissors/utility knife: You will need scissors of a utility knife to cut a hole in your cardboard box for your camera flash to fit through.

You can use a softbox as a primary light source and/or a fill light, which is an important component of various types of productions such as music videos or product photography. A DIY softbox light may yield the same quality as a fancy studio light, but it can still improve the lighting of your photograph. Follow this step-by-step tutorial to learn how to make your own DIY softbox at home.

1. 1. Gather your materials. The more items you have lying around at home, the more inexpensive your softbox production will be. Get all of your materials together first before you start building.
2. 2. Create an opening for your light. If you’re using a shipping box, remove the lid flaps. If you’re using a shoebox, simply remove the box top. Trace a hole on one of the sides of the box. This is where you will insert your light source or flash head, with your analog or digital camera at the bottom. For a landscape-style rectangular softbox, put the light on the long side of the box. If you want a vertical-style rectangular softbox, and on the short side of the box. Cut the hole so that your light source fits snugly, and secure it in place with tape.
3. 3. Insert your reflectors. Take your extra pieces of cardboard and cut them into trapezoids to fit inside your box, adjusting the shape and angle to how you want to direct your light (forming a 3D cone with the rest of the box). Glue in place, then cover the inside of the box in aluminum. Depending on the shape or size of the box, you may also be able to cover the inside of the box directly with tin foil. Make sure to leave an opening in the foil to surround your flash so that you don’t cover it.
   
4. 4. Add your diffuser. You can use a variety of light or white materials for your light diffuser panel, such as a bedsheet, t-shirt, or paper. Secure this tightly over the opening and the light source, and glue it to the sides of your box. Your softbox is complete.

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