DIY

I've been toying with the idea of buying a light tent for some time. It's not that I'm cheap, but for the use I'd get out of it the cost benefit analysis always came down in favour of managing without!

When I found the instructions for making a light tent out of a cardboard box on strobist.com I had to give it a go.

When I found out that a pad of tracing paper was going to cost me over a tenner I almost gave up on the idea, but a roll of greasproof paper at under two quid was worth a shot.

Fifteen minutes work with a Stanley knife and some gaffer tape and the flimsy construction was ready for action.

I had some scrap flexible card which I use for making cheap mounts for the prints I frame up to evaluate. So a piece of that got used as the background that curves up from the worktop. The lighting stands I already had for use when doing product shots for my website and fishing blog.

The addition of the 'tent' has made the results much better, even at the first quick attempt. Maybe not perfect, but a huge improvement over the days when I used a bridge camera and it's built in flash or natural light.

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