I made a lightbox. Look:
I decided to build one in order to get better quality shots of my yarn and knitted objects. I found this really awesome tutorial from jyoseph.com and pretty much followed it step by step.
Here are the materials I used and where I found them:
- 5 sheets of Elmer’s foam board (20″ x 30″) from Michaels craft store. They were $2.99 each, but I got them on sale–buy 1, get 1 free!
- 4 clamp lights (5 1/2″) from Lowe’s, $6.48 each
- 60-watt GE Reveal Full-Spectrum light bulbs from Lowe’s, $3.48 for a 2-pk
- 2″ white masking tape from Lowe’s, $2.48
- power strip from Lowe’s (didn’t have an extra one at home–4 lamps = 4 separate plugs)
- box cutter (already had this at home)
- straight edge & cutting mat (already had these as part of my sewing tools)
I wound up spending around $50. Not too bad, considering the results look pretty good! Voila:
Originally, I only bought two lamps but I could tell from this shot that I needed an additional two. The colors look great, but there are some grayish shadows around the edges. (The yarn is Crystal Palace Mini Mochi, btw.)
I bought an additional two lamps (for a total of four) and the result is much better. Still a wee bit of shadow, but I think that’s more because the skein is so puffy and not because of lack of light. (The yarn is Knit Picks Stroll Handpainted.)
Here’s another test with all four lamps turned on. (Knit Picks Imagination)
Lastly, I took a pic of a WIP. I think this shot turned out so well since the sock-in-progress is flat (no shadows). (Just a basic toe-up sock; yarn is Universal Yarn Ditto.)
I’m really happy with the results of my lightbox. Now I don’t have to try to find daylight or perfect indoor lighting before taking pics of yarn, WIPs, and FOs. It was easy to assemble and (best yet), affordable! Can’t beat that. 
That’s so neat!
And it makes a huge difference in how the yarn comes out in pictures
Brilliantly done!
great results!!
Hi,
I made the exact same light box yesterday. I purchased two of the lamps you did, and then two other slightly larger ones. I used GE Reveal 75 watt light bulbs but am having difficulty with shadows of the object reflecting against the back wall. If you had any advice on this, it’d be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I got some shadows with my objects, too (see the yarn photos above). Did you try using a flash or resetting the lights at a different angle?