fbpx
Education Field Instructional

Make Your Own DIY Softbox for $7

Chris Gampat
No Comments
03/26/2015
1 Min read

Last Updated on 03/26/2015 by Chris Gampat

Screen Shot 2015-03-26 at 10.46.01 AM

DIY projects can be really fun, and filmmaker Dustin McLean has a cool tutorial on YouTube on how to make your own softbox. His is mostly targeted at filmmakers, but if you’re a photographer who uses constant lighting then you can use if for your own needs.

Dustin fully states that the $7 spent was just for the diffusion panel, but the softbox was otherwise made from cardboard that was painted black, given black tape on the edges for securement and to ensure that light didn’t escape, and added diffusion/reflective material on the inside. Most of this was all right at home and available to him–and chances are that it is available to you too.

The only tough part that we see is the opening for a flash or a light which we feel needs to be tight to ensure that light doesn’t escape.

The video on making a DIY softbox is after the jump.

diy DIY Softbox Dustin McLean softbox
Shares
Written by

Chris Gampat is the Editor in Chief, Founder, and Publisher of the Phoblographer. He provides oversight to all of the daily tasks, including editorial, administrative, and advertising work. Chris's editorial work includes not only editing and scheduling articles but also writing them himself. He's the author of various product guides, educational pieces, product reviews, and interviews with photographers. He's fascinated by how photographers create, considering the fact that he's legally blind./ HIGHLIGHTS: Chris used to work in Men's lifestyle and tech. He's a veteran technology writer, editor, and reviewer with more than 15 years experience. He's also a Photographer that has had his share of bylines and viral projects like "Secret Order of the Slice." PAST BYLINES: Gear Patrol, PC Mag, Geek.com, Digital Photo Pro, Resource Magazine, Yahoo! News, Yahoo! Finance, IGN, PDN, and others. EXPERIENCE: Chris Gampat began working in tech and art journalism both in 2008. He started at PCMag, Magnum Photos, and Geek.com. He founded the Phoblographer in 2009 after working at places like PDN and Photography Bay. He left his day job as the Social Media Content Developer at B&H Photo in the early 2010s. Since then, he's evolved as a publisher using AI ethically, coming up with ethical ways to bring in affiliate income, and preaching the word of diversity in the photo industry. His background and work has spread to non-profits like American Photographic Arts where he's done work to get photographers various benefits. His skills are in SEO, app development, content planning, ethics management, photography, Wordpress, and other things. EDUCATION: Chris graduated Magna Cum Laude from Adelphi University with a degree in Communications in Journalism in 2009. Since then, he's learned and adapted to various things in the fields of social media, SEO, app development, e-commerce development, HTML, etc. FAVORITE SUBJECT TO PHOTOGRAPH: Chris enjoys creating conceptual work that makes people stare at his photos. But he doesn't get to do much of this because of the high demand of photography content. / BEST PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: Don't do it in post-production when you can do it in-camera.
You might also like
Education

So What Exactly is a Petzval Lens?

3 Mins read
07/25/2013

Ever seen portraits that had a fascinating swirl-like bokeh and field curvature, but never knew how it was done? Well it all lies in the Petzval lens design, and we’re sharing some of its storied past.

Pauleth Ip The Phoblographer Sony FE 24mm f1.4 GM Product Image 3 of 5
Education Learn

Can 24mm Prime Lenses be Used for Street Photography Successfully?

2 Mins read
12/14/2018

Many photographers will tell you that the ideal prime lenses for street photography are 35mm lenses, 40mm lenses, and the trusty 50mm lens. These three lenses are considered to be perfect for street photography because they closely replicate what the human eye sees naturally. Usually you’ll find that anything longer than 50mm just won’t capture enough of a scene to tell a story, while anything wider than 35mm can create images that lack intimacy. Recently photographer and YouTuber Pierre. T Lambert decided to try 24mm prime lenses for street photography. After the jump you can watch the video and can see what he found out.

B
Education Field Instructional

How To Develop Your Photographic Voice

5 Mins read
11/11/2018

New photographers often want to imitate those that inspired them to first delve into the world of photography. They look at images from the past masters and confirm to themselves “I want to take photographs just like that”. They buy their first camera and tell the whole world that they are going to be a photographer. First, forcing family members to sit and pose, and second, taking photos of every sunset that they witness. But like any relationship, the honeymoon period only lasts for so long. Over time you need to become more confident in who you are and what you can do. You need to find your place in the photographic world, and it needs to hear your voice.  Doing so isn’t easy – how does one go from replicating the work of others to truly finding out who they are as a photographer?