I used to have a piece of disposable tablecloth to act as a backdrop whenever I took photographs of still objects like the photos of my new Oakley Specs. The problem with this method is, it is a hassle to fold and pack away the tablecloth nicely before the ladies in my house start nagging at me. The crumpled tablecloth also does not help in making my photos nicer with the roughness of the background.

Buy a light tent? Spending a few hundred dollars on some enclosed fabrics that cannot help me during times of emergencies (like hiding from my gf) does not sounds reasonable. So I put off the idea of having a dedicated light tent and keep using my old dirty tablecloth until I realised I can actually build my own! (Credit goes to DPS ).

First you need:

• A big box (I used an old computer CPU box) 
• Paper Cutter or Pen Knife
• Scissors
• Sticky Tapes and Glues
• Paper Clips
• Pens and ruler (to plot your lines for cutting)
  
• White Fabrics (must not be too thick)
• Hard, big and white paper card to act a background (the size must fit your box)
  

Step 1: Cutting the box

Just cut up the big old box like what you can see in the photos below. The top layer must be completely removed. Do not touch the bottom layer for obvious reason ! Cut big holes in all the 4 sides of the box, leaving around 2 inches of surviving cardboard borders around.

Step 2: Paste the Fabrics

Now, cut the white cloth and attach each piece onto 3 sides of the box. The remaining side that is not attached with any cloth will be the side that you need to shoot from. For my case, I used sticky tape to stick them onto the cardboard. If you find that your stuff are unable to stick, you can choose to use a small paper clip. This is one of the days where you find that a small thing like this can help you so much!

Step 3: Get the background in and finish this off

Lastly, just get the cardbord in and make sure it does not bend too sharply around the corner. In order to have a smooth background in your photos, the white background need to have a smooth bend at the back. Use paper clip to hold the card onto the box. Finish this off by getting the top layer of cloth on!

Sample Setup

The good thing about having your own studio like this, you can actually play with the lightings to get the effects you want. I got myself a Panasonic Study Lamp (5000k temp) to become of one the light source from the right.  And I also played with Sony Alpha's wireless flash function to test the effect from different angles.

Here are some of the samples photos that I took inside my very own DIY light tent that I built with my gf. It took us half a day in total to make this.

Lighting from the side 

Lighting from the top 

Lighting from the side

Lighting from the top

Why this is good for you if you don't have a light tent yet

• A good bonding period with your partner. Make her believe making this box will save some money, which can be better spend on stuff like "her clothes".
• Get some exercise!  Trust me, cutting the box might not be so easy as it seems. We spent 3 hours cutting the box and trimming the edges to make it nice.
• The next time you want to take photograph of a still object. Just pop the stuff inside and shoot! No more hassle of setting up the background or watsoever.
• With a setup like this, you can play with the lightings much easier. The lights are automatically diffused through the white fabrics and so you do not have to get dedicated studio flash light anymore.
• It is cheap! Other than the fabrics and lamp, I guess the rest of the stuff can be found everywhere for free.
  

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