Show me your light boxes - all types!

[snowbird]

gotcha. And then, did you simply spraipaint the inside? Also, can you give details on the top - what size is the hole for the light, I'm guessing the size of a tennis ball? And - do you use a regular "brooder type" light? Also, do you put anything - such as cheesecloth - over the hole to sort of diffuse the light a bit?

Wynette, Just drill a hole in top for the wire to go through and mount a metal 3 or 4" box for the ceramic receptacle to to screw onto..

This also has two pieces of 2x4 welded wire that hangs on the front. Just use a small steeple as a hinge and you can open when the bird settles down

 

[Wynette]

Ah, okay - gotcha. Great idea on the welded wire front!! Thanks, Don!

 

[Wynette]

Well, I didn't get much feedback on this, so I had a lengthy discussion with DH about making me a light box that was collapsible. That was important to me, as space is a premium in my barns. He pondered on it a bit, and came up with what works fabulously for me - I wanted to share the pics with you in case anyone would like to build something similar.

I used it for the first time last week, and I have to say, I LOVE THIS THING! The birds I photographed didn't seem to want to escape (sans one, which DH sort of stood to the side & waved his hands at when he kept attempting to escape). I think it makes for a pretty nice picture, though I AM going to pick up some cheesecloth to put over the light hole (details below).

Here are the 5 pieces of the box (the only piece I didn't get a picture of is the very front piece, which is 4" side, with a section of 2X4 to hold it up - simply to hold the shavings in. I'll get a pic of that tonight & update this post tomorrow).



The top and bottom sections have a "rail" of sorts - DH doens't have a router (that would be much easier), so he simply used his table saw to make the rails for grooves in which the sides would fit into). These rails are on the top and bottom of the box, and only on 3 sides of each).



Here's a side view:



Here's the top. Because I have very large (Jersey Giant) LF to get pics of, I did not want to mount a light inside the box; so, I had DH cut a hole about the size of a softball in the middle of the top, and I used a basic brooder heater lamp with a 60 watt light bulb, and just set it right on top of the box while taking pictures. You can see in the picture at the end that it was too bright; so, I'm going to buy a section of cheesecloth to lay over the hole to diffiuse the light a bit.



The SIDE sections have pegs in them - these are only for ease of aligning the sides with the back when I'm putting them all together:






And here is the paint I used. A basic, exterior type paint. I tried to pick a color that would look good as a background for many colors of poultry, but if I end up not liking what I see, it would be easy to hang a section of cloth, or a towel or the like on the back with tacks. I painted 2 coats and only painted the inside of the box.



Here is an uncropped picture using my light box for the first time. See the rails on the bottom and the pegs in the side?



Different bird, but same setting - looks much nicer when cropped:

 

[Dipsy Doodle Doo]

I SEE what it is now, thanks! I use a simple smaller one for chick pics.

 

[3riverschick]

Hi,
We use one of these photo cubes. Not for everyone, especially flighty or oversize birds, tho they do come as large as 30 and 40 inches..
The little tent lights are fantastic, even if you built you own box. They really chase the shadows away.
Karen

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Lighting-Studio-/30078/i.html?_from=R40&_nkw=photo+studio+cube&_sop=15

 

[Blue Smoke]

Great information here! Thanks!