Photo box for photographing miniatures

I wanted a photo box that was:

• a suitable size for my miniatures (1:48 scale furniture and roomboxes, and occasional 1:12 scale items)
• easy to put a seamless backdrop in

This is what I came up with. The sheet is "miraculously" held in place by four photo corners, making it really easy to change. I keep some colored papers in a plastic folder to protect them from dust, fading and wrinkles. For my website, I mostly use plain white backgrounds - i.e. regular printer/copier paper. If a miniature tends to topple over, I secure it to the paper with a bit of Tacky Wax. If the wax leaves a mark, I just replace the sheet of paper.

Supplies

Cardboard that is at least 1.5 mm (1/16") thick - mine was 2 mm
Utility knife
Straightedge and a set square
Tacky Glue or similar
Masking tape to hold it together during assembly
Four adhesive photo corners (mine are clear but colored ones are probably better)

Parts needed

As the whole point is to make the photo box fit the paper size, I'm providing two sets of measurements to cater for both A4 and letter size paper. Select size and cut parts as follows:

	Box to fit A4 paper (A4 is 210x297 mm or 8 1/4"x11 3/4")	Box to fit letter size paper (Letter is 8.5"x11" or 216x279 mm)
Base	Width: 21.5 cm Depth: 15.5 cm	Width: 8 3/4" Depth: 5 5/8"
Back	Width: 21.5 cm Height: 17cm + cardboard thickness	Width: 8 3/4" Height: 6 1/2" + cardboard thickness
Sides (cut 2)	Depth: 15.5 cm + cardboard thickness Height: 17 cm + cardboard thickness	Depth: 5 5/8" + cardboard thickness Height: 6 1/2" + cardboard thickness

As the back and base differ in size, you can turn the box around to make it a little deeper and lower or taller and shallower depending on what you're photographing. The difference is small (only 1.5 cm or 5/8"), but it does make a difference in taking photos of e.g. 1:48 scale roomboxes.

I cut a semi-circle "thumb grip" at the top of the back piece (i.e. in the center of the longest side). This is entirely optional, but it makes it easier to remove a sheet of paper. It also makes it easy to spot which is the tallest side.

Assembly

• Glue back to the edge of the base. Secure with masking tape at a 90° angle while the glue dries.
• Glue sides to the edges of back/base assembly. Secure with masking tape.
• When dry, remove all masking tape.
• Add photo corners in the outer corners of the back and base - see the image to the right.

To remove a sheet of paper, just push down in the thumb grip so the paper slips out of the upper corners, then pull it gently out of the two others.

© Copyright Anna-Carin Betzén 2005.