Photography Portable Light Box - have you used one? are they worth buying?

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Has anybody experience of using a portable light box for photographing single 28mm figures?

I want to improve my miniature photography and am thinking of buying a folding light box.

Some are very cheap and some much more expensive.

This one is £20
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01LXDPO7P/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=37YA14SYDRCEV&coliid=I5Q13IPIK3EJP

This one is £60 and has good reviews.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00AW08438/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=37YA14SYDRCEV&coliid=I3EC5BGS3IRUES

Can you advise me if it is worth getting one?

Thanks


Mick

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

I took the plunge and bought the £20 version.  It has arrived and I am very impressed with it.  
It appears to be a great improvement on my previous lighting.
I am in the UK for a few days so I will do some test photos next week and post the results.

[Charlie_]

Yes, I got more or less the same thing for the same price (the £20 one) from Amazon. A worthwhile purchase for sure! Though I'm not photography expert, and really need to invest in a better camera to get the most out of it... but it certainly seems to do a good job of getting a nice white background.

[dbsubashi]

I bought a similar one last year for the LPL, and it works great. I use 3 cheap lights with LED daylight bulbs and the lighting is fantastic and has no shadows. I also backed the Fat Mats photo background kick starter, and it fits in the box and gives a great effect.

[Doug.Sundseth]

FWIW, I'm a professional product photographer and I would recommend that you not get a light box unless you know exactly why you're getting one instead of using another lighting solution.

Light boxes are optimized for putting light on the top and sides of a subject and reducing reflections on shiny objects. For subjects like computer mice and jewelry, they work really well. But for miniatures, they tend to put light in the wrong places and reflections are usually not a major problem.

To solve the most typical sorts of problems with miniatures photography, use a medium gray background (to get a consistently correct exposure) and use two table lamps (with identical bulbs) or similar positioned level with the subject and at 45 degrees to either side of the line between camera and subject. Further, move the lights in as close to the mini as you can without putting them in the frame to soften the shadows. (Yes, that sounds wrong to most people. It's not wrong.)

[bandit86]

Not a photo box but it works nice I have one
http://www.tablewar.com/macromats-full-backdrop-set/

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Here are some of my experiments.  They are an improvement on my previous miniature photography.

@Doug
I am working on step by step painting guides, so I want a permanent set up so that I can easily take photos as I am completing each step.

Top one is with a Canon Powershot HS260 Compact.


Dragon 1/35, Crusader 28mm and Frontline 20mm

Bottom two are with a Canon 60 D DSLR and 18-200 Zoom Lens giving f10 at 1/60 on shutter priority and ISO 100.
This appears to be the best solution so far.  
It is easy to control the focus and depth of field and also gives accurate colour.


Crusader 28mm and Frontline 20mm


Artizan 28mm

[The Dozing Dragon]

I got the £60 version a while back and find it improved my pics and saved attempting arrange lighting in my cramped available spaces. Not the best however I like it.

[Calimero]

Just to be sure, the 20£ version also have an integrated lighting system too, right?

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

Yes it comes with a strip of powerful LED lights

[Hupp n at em]

FWIW, I'm a professional product photographer and I would recommend that you not get a light box unless you know exactly why you're getting one instead of using another lighting solution.

Light boxes are optimized for putting light on the top and sides of a subject and reducing reflections on shiny objects. For subjects like computer mice and jewelry, they work really well. But for miniatures, they tend to put light in the wrong places and reflections are usually not a major problem.

To solve the most typical sorts of problems with miniatures photography, use a medium gray background (to get a consistently correct exposure) and use two table lamps (with identical bulbs) or similar positioned level with the subject and at 45 degrees to either side of the line between camera and subject. Further, move the lights in as close to the mini as you can without putting them in the frame to soften the shadows. (Yes, that sounds wrong to most people. It's not wrong.)

I'm going to have to save this advice, this is excellent! Thank you for sharing!

[Orctrader]

FWIW, I'm a professional product photographer and I would recommend that you not get a light box unless you know exactly why you're getting one instead of using another lighting solution.

Light boxes are optimized for putting light on the top and sides of a subject and reducing reflections on shiny objects. For subjects like computer mice and jewelry, they work really well. But for miniatures, they tend to put light in the wrong places and reflections are usually not a major problem.

To solve the most typical sorts of problems with miniatures photography, use a medium gray background (to get a consistently correct exposure) and use two table lamps (with identical bulbs) or similar positioned level with the subject and at 45 degrees to either side of the line between camera and subject. Further, move the lights in as close to the mini as you can without putting them in the frame to soften the shadows. (Yes, that sounds wrong to most people. It's not wrong.)

This is more or less what I do.  Some of my photos in this years LPL were "off" because one of my lamps went kaput.  I learned this some years ago when I read Tom Weiss's tutorial.  (Which I think pre-dates the wide availability of "daylight" lamps.)  LINK

[Deano]

ditto

[Doug.Sundseth]

Glad it was helpful. I have a fuller post about miniatures photography over at the Reaper forums if you think it might be helpful:

http://forum.reapermini.com/index.php?/topic/55357-miniatures-photography-101/

[Mick_in_Switzerland]

A friend, Yves, has been giving me photography lessons.  This is a 1/35 scale 50 mm tall Dragon figure.
This is done in the light box with an additional Video LED lamp on top of the camera.
The camera is a Canon 60D with 18-200 Zoom.  
The camera is on a tripod and the Flash shoe is 50 cm from the front edge of the lightbox.
The camera was set to +2 exposure at f10, ISO 100 and colour at K6000. A timer was used  as the speed was +/20.
I need to improve my painting to match the photography.