Product Lightbox Using Camera's Own Flash

The idea is to create a product ightbox that gives consistent, clear results WITHOUT the flash whitewashing everything. The lightbox is a simple cardboard box. I've cut out the sides simply because I was trying out different ideas. You probably don't need to cut the sides out, although it might give more scope for angling the interior white reflective surfaces. I used white polystyrene - you could probably use white cardboard. Mirrors and tinfoil caused too many problems - flashes are very powerful and a simple white surface is reflective enough.

At the front of the box are some sheets of paper to rest the product on.

The top reflective surface is the critical one. With polystyrene you can get a nice curve which isn't really shown too clearly here. The camera flash is going to aim at this top surface and then be reflected down into the box. if the camera flash is above this top reflective surface it won't work. You have to try by trial and error what the correct height is.

This is the simple bit - tape a bit of tinfoil to reflect the camera flash straight ahead (ish) instead of straight down. However, the angle of the tinfoil is critical for consistent results (if you remove it and replace it later your results will be different if it's not exactly the same) and light must NOT be allowed to escape out of the sides as it dramatically affects the final result.

You can see that the product images come out with a nice white background and a shadow.