DIY Photography

Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time

  • News
  • Inspiration
  • Reviews
  • Tutorials
  • DIY
  • Gear
Search

Submit A Story

Bored At Night? Build A Softbox!

Apr 8, 2013 by Udi Tirosh 6 Comments

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Last night I decided I need a small softbox for my flash. Something light, that can be taken apart and constructed from things I could find in my house at 11pm.

Bored At Night? Build A Softbox!

First, I cut out the bottom of a plastic food box. I then cut out the shape of the flash in the middle of the plastic sheet at the bottom of the box, so that it would fit snugly on the flash head. While heating it over the stove, I shaped it into a flowery shape and cooled it down under running water. (If you are going to do this please, please! be careful)

An Evening DIY Softbox, 1

Using a metal string, I tied the sides of each plastic corner to create a channel that would house a wooden skewer.

An Evening DIY Softbox, 2

I took 4 wooden skewers and soaked them in hot water for a few minutes, bent them a bit and tied to a round object, to create a small curve. When they were dry, I took them off and cut them to size.

An Evening DIY Softbox, 3

The skewers could now be pushed into the plastic channels and create the skeleton of the softbox.

An Evening DIY Softbox, 4

I traced the size of each side of the skeleton onto a piece of paper and cut out the different shapes out of a silver/white lycra fabric (light-proof).

I cut the shape of the front square out of white silk.

After sewing the 5 pieces together, it looked like this:

An Evening DIY Softbox, 5

An Evening DIY Softbox, 6

The final step was to turn the fabric inside out so that the silver side was on the inside of the softbox, to dress the skeleton with its new outfit, and to mount the whole thing onto the flash.

An Evening DIY Softbox, 7

An Evening DIY Softbox, 8

A test shot was then taken on my roof, in the afternoon sun (sun is behind the model).

An Evening DIY Softbox, 9

About The Author

Ben Saar is a photographer and DIY-er based in Tel-Aviv, Israel. You can follow his work here.

FIND THIS INTERESTING? SHARE IT WITH YOUR FRIENDS!

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Flipboard
  • WhatsApp

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailWhen Bored At Work, Build A Camera Default ThumbnailWhen NASA Engineers Are Bored, They Build Single Cam Bullet Time Rigs How To Choose The Right Softbox For The Job: Understanding Softbox Size Vs Soft Light Default ThumbnailWin A Strobe And Softbox Set By Building A Softbox

Filed Under: DIY, Tutorials

About Udi Tirosh

Udi Tirosh is an entrepreneur, photography inventor, journalist, educator, and writer based in Israel. With over 25 years of experience in the photo-video industry, Udi has built and sold several photography-related brands. Udi has a double degree in mass media communications and computer science.

« Using A Game Pad To Expedite Adobe Lightroom’s Workflow The Cheap Version
Nikon DSLRs Hacked To Remove Video Recording Time Limit »

Submit A Story

Get our FREE Lighting Book

DIYP lighting book cover

* download requires newsletter signup
DIYPhotography

Recent Comments

Free Resources

Advanced lighting book

Recent Posts

  • SpaceX shares unique view of Earth in latest video
  • Get ready to photograph two total solar eclipses this year
  • How I started (and succeeded) photographing space from my backyard
  • Insta360’s new teaser says they’re entering the gimbal market
  • Users report blurry photos from Samsung Galaxy S23/S23+ cameras

Alex Baker is a portrait and lifestyle driven photographer based in Valencia, Spain. She works on a range of projects from commercial to fine art and has had work featured in publications such as The Daily Mail, Conde Nast Traveller and El Mundo, and has exhibited work across Europe

Dave Williams is an accomplished travel photographer, writer, and best-selling author from the UK. He is also a photography educator and published Aurora expert. Dave has traveled extensively in recent years, capturing stunning images from around the world in a modified van. His work has been featured in various publications and he has worked with notable brands such as Skoda, EE, Boeing, Huawei, Microsoft, BMW, Conde Nast, Electronic Arts, Discovery, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, NBC, and many others.

John Aldred is a photographer with over 20 years of experience in the portrait and commercial worlds. He is based in Scotland and has been an early adopter - and occasional beta tester - of almost every digital imaging technology in that time. As well as his creative visual work, John uses 3D printing, electronics and programming to create his own photography and filmmaking tools and consults for a number of brands across the industry.

Dunja Djudjic is a multi-talented artist based in Novi Sad, Serbia. With 15 years of experience as a photographer, she specializes in capturing the beauty of nature, travel, and fine art. In addition to her photography, Dunja also expresses her creativity through writing, embroidery, and jewelry making.

Copyright © DIYPhotography 2006 - 2023 | About | Contact | Advertise | Write for DIYP | Full Disclosure | Privacy Policy