For Etsians - How to get perfect pictures every time

Every Etsian knows how important it is to have great pictures of your products on your site. For a long time we struggled with getting the perfect picture. We waited until it was sunny out, we waited until it was cloudy out, we took pictures on the windowsill, we tried everything. We finally decided it was best to take pictures outside in indirect sunlight on the sidewalk. They look pretty good. But what if you want to list something and it's raining? What if you want to list a new product at night? I recently found a way to get perfect pictures every time!! I'm using it for all the pictures in our new shop (http://www.artbloc.etsy.com/). And now you can do it too!

This is my tutorial on how to make yourself a very easy and cheap, but very effective light box.

Materials:

• cardboard box. Mine is 15 1/2" by 10 1/2"
• utility knife
• tracing paper
• scissors
• tape (I used duct tape)
• work light and bulb (I use a 100 watt Reveal bulb)
• craft foam or colored paper (I used brown craft foam. You could use white, or black or any color you want)
  

Directions:

Use a utility knife to cut out three sides of your box leaving about one inch of material on the sides to make three windows....like this:



Cut your tracing paper to the size of the side of your box and attach it with tape to cover the windows....like this:



Place a piece of craft foam or paper in the box so that one side is resting on the back of the box and one side is resting on the floor.

Shine your light into the box. You might want to experiment with different light angles before you get it just right. If you are able, you should set the white balance on you camera to tungsten.

And here is the final product.
You can see more of my pictures on our etsy at http://www.artbloc.etsy.com/

Let me know if you try this and if it was helpful to you!