Compact DIY Photography LightBox With Foldable Lamp

Hey Guys , I'm gonna show you how to make this foldable light box and LED Lamp.

Check out the last step for some pics i took using this setup !

This is my first ibles i'd love to have some feedback in the comments , and please consider voting for my project , i have made this ibles as clear as possible even for the simple tasks so that even a non DIY'er can understand it !

I did this because i have planned to do many ibles and wanted to have a setup like this made to take the pictures properly as well as save some space because this is rarely used item , wanted it to be able to store it somewhere.

So here it goes... (fingers crossed)

Materials...

For The Light Box

• A Large Piece Of Thick White Paper
• A Brown Shipping Box
• Adhesive Tape

For The Foldable Lamp

• Aluminum rod
• Nuts and Screws
• Piece of Acrylic Board
• 5 Metres of 5050 LED Strip
• Translucent Paper / Diffuser

Tools Needed

• Pair of scissors
• Dremel Tool
• Bench Vice
• Sandpaper
• Pliers & Screwdriver
• Soldering Iron & Solder
• Suitable Power Supply (12v 2A)
• Instant Adhesive/Bonding Epoxy

1. Take the box and cut along the horizontal seam with a pair of scissors (There will be an overlapped portion of the box , this is called a seam).
2. Cut out all the flaps around the box.
3. Now Fold the box and stick 4 pieces of the flaps on one side of the backside of the box with some adhesive tape (This is to create a heavy base so that the box remains upright when placed on a flat surface)
4. (OPTIONAL) At this stage you can paint or cover the outer portion of the box with some fabric or paint , i have chosen to skip it.

The White Paper must be thick and large enough to cover you open brown box.

1. Take the paper and lay it over the box (The box must be open) , Then fold it back onto itself along with the paper (Refer the first picture).
2. Fold the paper along one of the edges of the box then secure it with some tape.
3. Now fold the box over like shown in the Fourth picture.(Make sure that the paper must not have a crease)
4. Tape the other side too with some tape.

That's it ! Your light box is ready ! :D

First we need to cut the aluminium rod to specific lengths.

Thicker Rod(11mm or 7/16'') For The Base

1. 24 cm (9.5'') x 2
2. 18 cm (7'') x 1

Thinner Rod (8mm or 5/16'') For The Boom

1. 24 cm (9.5'') x 1
2. 17 cm (6.7'') x 1
3. 12 cm (4.7'') x 1

After cutting all the pieces round the edges of the rods and sand them down using different grits for different grains (looks nice)

• The above picture is pretty self explanatory , make a hole at the red spot , also read the note for spots outside the rectangle.
• The numbers are representing the cut pieces in the previous step.
• I used a dremel and small drill bits to make the holes , i mounted the rod onto a bench vice for stability.
• The Hole size depends on the screw size you are going to use , it must match the screw diameter here i'm using 3mm size.
• Using a Sandpaper or Dremel, sand near the holes for a better grip during assembly.

• Take the first set of Thick rods and just fasten the screw as tight as possible. (First image)
• Do the same for the second Thick rod. (Second image)

• Take the FIRST two Thin rods and put a screw and a nut in one of the holes fasten them as tight as possible then use super glue to permanently fix them. (Third image)
• Now Connect all the rods as Shown in the Fourth image. (Follow the notes)

1. You need to Thread the Thicker rod and screw it in on either side , before screwing in fill it with super glue or epoxy for perma fix
2. Put the rod through and fasten the bolt as tight as possible , THEN SUPER GLUE THE NUT TO THE SCREW , DON'T LET IT TOUCH THE ROD IN ANY WAY WE NEED IT TO SWIVEL.
3. Thread the hole on the first THIN rod and screw it in place.(5th image)

• Cut the Acrylic sheet into 20x20cm (7.87'') and screw it into the third Thin rod , seal it with superglue.( 6th & 7th image)

• Cut the LED strip at specific cutting points , i did it after every 12 LEDs So that it fits perfectly on my 20c20 cm Acrylic Board.
• While sticking the LED strip make sure the polarity marked on it is something like this +- -+ +- -+ .(2nd image)
• Now solder the similar signs together of every two adjacent strips on either side make sure the strip is running in series (Like one continuous strip) minus to minus and plus to plus use some jump wire.
• Use Some Hot glue to seal all four corners of the board.
• Now wrap that Translucent Paper/ Diffuser onto the board with some sticky tape.
• Solder an Adapter at the end of the LED strip wires to connect the Power supply.

Thats it its done !

Note : You can tighten the screws for better grip , every now and then they get lose , i would recommend using rubber washers to increase the friction , i just couldn't find those washers locally so didnt use them !

Here are some Pics i took from my cheap lumia 520 phone ,i'm not a photographer but not bad eh ! After editing this might really look very professional.

As the aluminium loses its luster over time , you can spray paint some clear coat of acrylic to keep the shine for a long time.

Phew ! That was a tedious process of making an ibles , as my first ibles i really underestimated the work required to make a proper ibles , now i have more respect for the guys here making some really good ibles , anyways i'm going to be making more ibles just like this so stay tuned...