I’ve been using a lightbox to photograph my models for nearly three years now (which is weird to type out, because it feels like it’s been much longer than that). It was - and I guess technically still is - a game changer.
Not only did it force me to learn a little bit more about photography, but it also meant that my photos finally looked halfway decent (at least, they look better to me; you can judge for yourself).
But there have also been flaws and limitations with the box, and it took me a long time to:
- Realize that these flaws and limitations actually exist
- Realize that I could - and - should - do something about it
The biggest problem has been that the box is a little too small, even for 1⁄144 scale models. For simple standing poses and basic action poses, it does the trick. But for any HG that’s a bit taller than usual, or has a longer weapon than usual - or if I’m doing for a pose that extends the limbs out just a bit farther than usual - I inevitably come up to the edges of the box.
That means angling and/or zooming out the shot so that the edges can be cropped out, and if you look at my work over the last three-ish years, you’ll notice that I’m not always successful. Just look for any photo where a foot or a leg or the tip of a beam saber is cropped out because I still couldn’t fit it all in.
And as you might imagine, if I struggled to fit a single High Grade into the box, that meant it was even harder to fit in multiple High Grades. Sure, it’s possible some of the time, if they’re small enough:
But if I shot larger models:
Or tried for an action scene:
Or heaven forbid, a group shot:
Then the walls were impossible to crop.
I’d like to go back to this photo for a second:
Notice how dark it is. I had to crank the brightness down (either on the camera, or by dimming the light), otherwise the black backdrop would look way too shiny and shimmery and distracting. It’s the main reason why I’ve rarely used it, instead choosing the white backdrop more often than not.
There were other, smaller issues as well. Some of the colored backdrops that came with the lightbox were made out of flexible plastic, while others were made out of plain paper. The latter kind tended to crinkle and bend over time, which made me afraid to use them for fear of messing them up. Not to mention that I felt limited by the handful of colors it comes with.
For the longest time I just tolerated these shortcomings. It simply didn’t dawn on me that things could be different.
I think what finally “broke” me, so to speak, were a couple of Master Grades. I actually built two Master Grade kits this year that, at the time of this writing, I have not posted about. That’s entirely due to the fact that I couldn’t easily fit them in the lightbox. It’s been such a problem that I’ve actually amassed a small backlog of Master Grades that I’ve held back on building until I could properly shoot them.
Indeed, I’ve been slow to shoot all of my finished models this year, and it finally dawned on me that maybe I’d have an easier time of it - and thus be more motivated to do it - if I had more space to work in. And maybe I’d get better shots if I had more light. Or better backdrops.
So with all that in mind, I decided it was time to upgrade. The only problem was that I wasn’t sure how much bigger the new one needed to be. I’m not exactly the best at visualizing things in 3d space, even after taking exact measurements. Ultimately I came up with a fairly simple decision matrix: “make your best guess at how big you think it needs to be, and get one size bigger”.
Sure enough, the new box is bigger. Quite so. Whether it is big enough remains to be seen.
As for the quality of the shots, judge for yourself. Most of the photos I took of the Build Strike Exceed Galaxy were taken in the new lightbox, and I think they’re as good (or even better) than usual. I was even able to use the black backdrop to great effect!
Colors
The new box comes with quite a few more background colors than before - 12 in all. In addition to black and white, we get -
Red:
Some sort of pinkish cream:
Purple:
A very deep blue:
A dark green:
Brown:
Tan:
I think this is supposed to be … orange?
And lastly, a crisp yellow:
I’m not entirely sure what these backdrops are made out of. They’re shiny like plastic, but some of them have already wrinkled and crinkled as if they’re made of paper. They’re also not quite as glossy as some of the old backdrops, which should lead to better photos (provided I take care of them all).
Anyway, I have no idea how much I’ll use any given color, but it’s nice to have the option.
Some Cons
The new lightbox is great and all, but it has its own set of flaws.
For one, the power cord is much shorter. The old box had an extremely long card, and I was able to plug it into an outlet that was much farther away, where it got out of my way. On the other hand, this new cord has to be plugged into an outlet close by, where it blocks off a path through the room.
As for the backdrops, I’m going to miss the light blue that came with the old box:
It was so nice when taking shots of amphibious mobile suits (though who knows - maybe the new dark blue background will look even better)
I also think that some of the colors look a little too similar to one another. While it may technically have twelve, in practice it feels more like nine.
Lastly, there’s the size. The box fits - just barely - in the same space where I used the old one. This was a pleasant surprise, because I wasn’t sure if that would be the case when I ordered it.
But even if it technically fits, it is still so tall and so wide that it feels like it gets in the way when it isn’t in use.
I used to leave the old lightbox open and “deployed” for months on end, rather than fold it up and put it away. I don’t think I’ll be able to get away with that from now on.
Having said all of this, most of these cons are minor. On a whole, I think this new box is going to be a marked improvement going forward. If it can lead to better photos - and even better, if it can lead to faster photoshoots - then I’ll be a happy camper.