Bloggie Wednesdays: Pros and Cons of Using A Photography Lightbox for Beauty Blogging

Photography and beauty bloggers go hand-in-hand. Back in the day when beauty blogging first started, most of them time, stock images were used and they were more than sufficient. These days, we’re photographing products more and using as little stock images as possible. We learn how to pose for photos, edit images and covet the latest digital SLRs, all in the name of blogging. Yep, those ticked all of my boxes 😛

A trend, if you will, these days amongst beauty bloggers is using lightboxes to photograph beauty products. If you’re unfamiliar with lightboxes, it looks something like this:

My Lightbox

My lightbox. It’s very big, so thank goodness it can be folded away easily

A lightbox is used in photography to give the item a clean and more professional look to it. The standard equipment is usually a light box and at least one fluorescent lamp (depending on how big the lightbox is).

I thought I’d share some advantages and disadvantages of using a lightbox for beauty product photography.

Pros:

  • Great for those who do not have the time nor place to take photos with natural light.
  • With the right lighting and setup, it can look very professionally done.
  • Great for portraying true colours of swatches. Or at least, as close as possible to the real thing.

Cons:

  • The item can end up looking like the official stock images. In that case, why not just use the stock images?
  • Lacks a personal touch, can look sterile
  • Depending on the equipment and setup, the lightbox, lamps, etc can take up a lot of space.

I use the lightbox very often for my jewellery photography, but strangely enough, I barely use it for beauty products. Personally, I do not enjoy using the lightbox for photographing beauty products for the blog. I like adding personal touches to the blog, and I try to do so with my images. I like photographing products outdoors if possible, or most of the time, just use my desk or the window sill. These days, a lot of bloggers enjoy using Instagram-ed images on their blogs, and I think they can look very good (except for swatches. Try not to use filters for swatches, because the actual colours will be skewed).

Take a look around your house and see what you can do to introduce more natural light for your photos. Christine from Temptalia does not use lightboxes for her amazing product photography; just a table from IKEA placed near a window 😛 (note: the post was written in July 2011. Things may have changed since then)

Still, I understand that most people do not have access to natural light a lot of the time, and that’s when a lightbox can be very useful. At the end of the day, it really is up to you what you’d like for your blog, and the direction it is going.

If you’ve not use a lightbox before, I recommend that you at least give it a go. You don’t have to buy one as they are very easy to make (I built my first lightbox using these instructions). You might end up not liking a lightbox after all, but at least you’ve given it a try.

Do you use a lightbox for your beauty product photography? Do you like or dislike it?

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29 comments… add one
  1. Jess

    I totally agree that product photos taken with a lightbox often look very sterile. Although I lack both time and good daylight these days, I think I still prefer my little window board. 🙂
    Jess recently posted..A little gift to myself…My Profile

    1. Tine

      Jess: Your photographs are gorgeous Jess. I’ve got a lot to learn from you 🙂

  2. Norlin

    I don’t normally use a lightbox for the images on my blogposts. Like you, I only use it for the products that are in my e-shop, because let’s face it, we need much better images for stock that we sell. I agree that using lightboxes to photograph the products for our posts makes it that much more sterile. I love that my images are “arty farty” or so I try! Makes it more personal.
    Norlin recently posted..6 Hair Dos for Those Growing Out Their HairMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Norlin: I agree. I use the lightbox on my jewellery as well. I need as much light and clarity on them as much as possible. But for the beauty blog, I very much prefer to use natural lighting, on the desk, sofa, etc. More personal anyway 🙂

  3. Paris B

    I’ve done the DIY lightbox too to see if I’d like it. I decided I didn’t. It looked too clinical and I like a bit of texture and personalization in blog photos. It is of course just me since we all have different styles of doing things 🙂 For people who are selling items, I must say a lightbox is essential – you want your goods to look their best and most professional and that’s something a lightbox can give you 🙂
    Paris B recently posted..Nailing it! Simple Spring Cherry/Plum Blossoms Nail Art for Chinese New YearMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Paris B: I DIY-ed mine too, but chucked it when I moved to my current home. In the end, bought the big one from eBay 😛

  4. sesame

    Wow, so advance! I never knew and I’ve never even considered it. But I don’t understand why the picture will look sterile though…can’t some art direction or interesting background improve the look?

    In any case, I just use a point and shoot camera and don’t even use a DSLR. So I’m not knowledgeable in this area. I prefer to use other methods to jazz up my pics. I think pictures also portray a personal blogging style.
    sesame recently posted..Share: would you consider permanent makeup?My Profile

    1. Tine

      Sesame: It can when you don’t use any form of photo editing to give the photos a bit of oomph (e.g. light and contrast). Unfortunately I’ve seen a few blogs which use lightbox photography, and the products just looked washed out in a grey background (even though the background was actually white). It looks cold and sterile like that. But with some tweaks, and even add some ‘props’ to the subject, it can look very good.

      I use a point-and-shoot most of the time for the blog too. I like your images, especially the ‘props’ you use with the subject. They go very well together 🙂

  5. cendana blushfully

    this is a great post, tine! i don’t have a lightbox but definitely see the appeal, especially photographing at night. lucky i still can make use of the natural daylight these days 🙂
    cendana blushfully recently posted..Review: Lush Catastrophe Cosmetic Fresh Face MaskMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Cendana: Haha thank goodness for summer and the long daylight! 😛

  6. Megan

    I really want to get a lightbox for swatching photos mainly. I tend to do my blogging photos late at night and so it would be very useful for me. I really like the one you have for it’s portability.
    Megan recently posted..Perth Online Beauty Media Event – FOTDMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Megan: A lightbox will be good for late-night photography. Check it out on eBay 😛

  7. emmabovary

    I’ve been meaning to sort out a light box, for those days where I’m working late and can’t take advantage of daylight. I think it’d be good to have as an option to mix up with my outdoor/window photos. I do read some blogs who use light boxes but in ways that make the products stand out from stock ones, which I like. They have much better cameras than me, though ;P

    Great post, thanks for making me think about it
    xx
    emmabovary recently posted..clear blue skies in CorfuMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Emma: Ahh I know what you mean. A way to make products stand out and look less like stock images would be to add some ‘props’ to the subject when taking photos. After that, edit to give the images a bit more light and contrast. Voila! You’ll have great pictures 🙂

  8. Mystique

    I am not a fan of lightboxes…I try to take my photos outside in natural light. Otherwise I may as well just use the stick photo. I try to include a mix of stock photos and my photos. 🙂
    Mystique recently posted..Introducing The Body Shop White Musk LibertineMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Mystique: I try to take mine in natural light as much as possible too. If not, then wait the next day to take. Or the weekend 😛

  9. gio

    I prefer to use natural lighting but that’s not always possible, especially in winter, so I use a lightbox too every now and then. I like to have options. 🙂
    gio recently posted..Product Review: Giorgio Armani Armani Code For Women FragranceMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Gio: Love your comment, Gio. You’re absolutely right. Don’t need to always use the lightbox, but it’s good to have the option when you have poor lighting 🙂

  10. Amanda

    I used to photograph my jewelry (though I don’t make any now) with a lightbox, but I probably didn’t make the right setting, my photos looked a bit off. So I still had to do some editing before posting. But all in all, they were way better than photographing without a lightbox, jewelery-wise.
    Amanda recently posted..Review: Issahra Gentle Face ScrubMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Amanda: Yeah I know what you mean. I do find it a lot of work photographing jewellery because you have to get the lighting just right or else the jewellery will look very washed-out, too bright, too dark, etc. I tried photographing without the lightbox, and …mmm…didn’t work either. Gah!

  11. Bun Bun Makeup Tips

    I built a lightbox using non-reflective white boards and… my pictures turned out atrocious. LOL! Really bad! The lighting was all wrong. And it was hard to store and was taking up a lot of space. So now the board pieces are just lying around… turning yellow… What bulb do you use?
    Bun Bun Makeup Tips recently posted..Why Do People Leave Negative Blog Comments On Blogs?My Profile

    1. Tine

      Bun Bun: I used 2 white fluorescent lamps with quite high wattage. Unfortunately, I broke one of the bulbs and have yet to replace it 😛

  12. electronicfly

    I bought a lightbox recently for the fun of it, and because it was super cheap (a quarter of what it’ll cost locally). Having low lighting in my room most of the time kinda pushed me to it too 😛

    Unfortunately the light that I wanted to buy together was OOS, so now I’m stuck using a lightbox in crappy lighting -.-” Any suggestions on what sort of lighting would work? I don’t really see your kind of tripod lights around here in MY, except in specialty stores, but they are so expensive!

    1. Tine

      Electronicfly: I got mine in a set from eBay, which came with the foldable lightbox, different coloured fabric for background, and two lamps. In terms of lighting, when I first used a DIY lightbox, I simply used a desk lamp from IKEA to shine from the top of the lightbox (the lamp was propped up with a couple of phone directories :P). It works 🙂

      Cheap lamps from IKEA or any hardware store would do. Easiest would be the ones that can clip at the bottom of the lamps 🙂

      1. electronicfly

        IKEA’s stuff are easy enough to find, but where am I gonna get a couple of phone directories?! O.O hahahahhahaha

        Thanks for the tips!

  13. Tram

    I tried making a lightbox once, but it just didn’t work! I never knew Temptalia doesn’t use a lightbox for her product photos! How surprising! The photos she takes look extremely professional and clear and perfect!

    Most of the time, I try to cheat by editing the ‘color curves’ in Photoshop so the background of my products looks much brighter and almost white, however, sometimes it washes out the true shade/colour!

    I love your posts and these Bloggie posts are so informative and helpful! I’ve got so much more to learn! Not sure why your posts never show in my feed though, so I’ve subscribed via email!! ^_^
    Tram recently posted..Sportsgirl Pout About It Lipsticks ReviewMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Tram: I know, right? I was very surprised to find out Temptalia doesn’t use a lightbox either. But image editing is also very important, which I think she does quite a lot too for her pictures 🙂

      I use Photoshop heaps too, especially the ‘curves’ and ‘bright and contrast’ feature. But yeah, you have to be very careful as not to overdo them 😛

      PS: Aww thanks for subscribing. Appreciate it 😀

  14. coco

    i’ve been thinking about making a lightbox because i work full time and the only time i can take photos are on weekends, provided it’s good weather. but i’m so lazy… i planned to make one during x’mas break but somehow i’ve been putting it off. i usually take photos with a colorful children’s stool from ikea next to the window with an old digicam. thought about using hubby’s SLR but it’s too complicated (hubby tried to teach me but i dozed off… lol!)
    coco recently posted..evil shades spectrum paletteMy Profile

    1. Tine

      Coco: Hahahaha my husband’s been trying to teach me to use the DSLR properly too, and I really had to pinch myself to stay awake at this tutorials 😛

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