Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

How to improve your product photography for less than $10

How To Build A Photo Light Box For Less Than $10
Whether you’re selling something on eBay or taking your first step into product photography, one of the most useful pieces of equipment you can have — besides a camera and a lens — is a product photography box.

Usually made of a combination of white or black material, a product photography box is essentially a blank, seamless platform that creates a clean background with even lighting for the product you’re shooting to be photographed on. You can go out and buy dedicated boxes and tables, but the truth of the matter is, you can create one yourself with minimal financial investment.

Recommended Videos

Here to help is YouTuber Savvy Seller, who shows how a cardboard box, a few pieces of poster board, some sheer fabric, and a light you probably have clamped onto something around the house can be used to create your very own photography box.

Image used with permission by copyright holder

To start out, you’ll need a cardboard box large enough to fit the items you’re wanting to photograph, a large piece of poster board, some sheer fabric to diffuse the light, and a pair of lamps and bulbs to light the scene. A box cutter, scissors, and tape will also come in handy.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Once you have the required materials, it’s a matter of putting the box together on one end and closing it with tape. From there, you measure out the walls you want to light the box through and cut them to size so that the sheer fabric will perfectly fit over top and secure with tape.

Turning your attention to the inside of the box, you’ll need to cut the poster board to size and secure it on the inside of the box with tape to act as a seamless. Be careful not to crease the poster board. From there, it’s a matter of plugging in your lights and snapping away.

It might not be the most elegant solution, but with a little tweaking, it should be more than enough to get you started off on the right foot.

Gannon Burgett
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Don’t miss the chance to get this 128GB SD card for less than $100
The Lexar 128GB Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card on a white background.

Your new purchase from camera deals will need storage for photos and videos, but you can't buy just any SD card that you see online. It's highly recommended that you invest in a high-quality storage device like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card, which you can currently get from B&H Photo Video with a $75 discount on its 128GB version that brings its price down from $170 originally to a more affordable $95. You may want to buy multiples of this SD card while it's available for less than $100, but you'll have to hurry because we're not sure how much time is remaining on this bargain.

Why you should buy the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card
More devices are using microSD cards for expanded storage, but according to our guide on finding the right memory card for your digital camera, most DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras are still using SD cards like the Lexar Professional 2000x UHS-II SDXC Memory Card. Lexar is one of the brands that we wouldn't hesitate to recommend to photographers, and this SD card's read speed of 300 MB/s and write speed of 260 MB/s will enable quick transfers and smooth shooting. Additionally, as an UHS-II card, you won't have a problem with advanced functions such as continuous shutter bursts, rapid shooting, and raw and JPEG captures.

Read more
Capture all the action with the GoPro HERO12 Black — $150 off today at Amazon
The GoPro Hero 12 Black Creator Edition set up on a small tripod on the beach.

In the moment, when you're blasting over that jump on your dirt bike, catching that killer wave, or jumping off of whatever insane cliff you've found, you don't necessarily think about capturing it all. But one of the best ways to make that happen is to strap on an action cam, like a GoPro. You can capture all of the action, and it's relatively low-lift. You wear whatever unique mount is best for the situation and the camera does all the work. There's just one issue, action cameras can be expensive especially if you're on a budget. However, today, Amazon has the GoPro HERO12 Black for $150 off. That brings it down from its normal price of $400 to $250. You can use that extra money to grab an accessory and you're good to go. GoPro HERO12 Black captures it all in 5.3K or 4K so you can rewatch the glory over and over.

 
Why buy the GoPro HERO12 Black? To capture the action, that's why
An action camera like a GoPro makes it possible to capture the action, in full detail, no matter what you're doing. You don't even have to be doing crazy stunts either. A common misconception is that they're only useful for outdoor activities, but no they work for filming just about anything. Even if you're having a barbecue, or a birthday party, or want to see what your roaming cat sees throughout the day -- a GoPro is what you need.

Read more
NASA astronaut Don Pettit talks photography from the space station
NASA astronaut Don Pettit discussing his photography from aboard the ISS.

NASA astronaut Don Pettit arrived at the International Space Station (ISS) in September on his fourth orbital mission in 22 years. Besides working on various science projects on the space-based facility, Pettit is also known for his keen interest in photography, and he regularly shares his impressive efforts -- including rivers, clouds, star trails, and high-speed spacecraft -- on X and Instagram.

Pettit -- at 69, he's NASA’s oldest serving astronaut -- has just taken some time out of his busy schedule to chat about his photography.

Read more