# Easy to use picture box



## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

This is the picture box i built. There are some bugs that I have to work out.










The camera moves forward and backward to make the circle larger or smaller, just push it through the hole and you eliminate the circle.
The board serves several purposes, it stops the glare on the glass and hides you while your taking pictures,that keeps the bird calm, and it makes the circle.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I used the slide piece of of my tri pod.










You just lift it up to put the birds in, and use your hands around the screen to move the bird into place. I was amazed at how calm the birds were. When I first built it i had the top clear and the birds kept trying to fly out and look up thats why the bird is looking up in the first photos. I fixed that by painting the top to.










I also put air holes in the top.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

The finished product. Remember there are some bugs to be worked out.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I used a gray screen on this one. You could use any color you want.


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## Thunderbird Racing (Jul 24, 2010)

a darker color would show off those birds better. I have a friend in this business, he says florescent colors are the easiest to cut away in edit programs. he uses green.


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## sreeshs (Aug 16, 2009)

Nice set up 

Though the sides are transparent, the top is not is that why I feel it's a little dim in the picture ?

What if you added some LED lights through the holes on the top ?


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## hillfamilyloft (Jun 22, 2005)

A color to contrast the bird works well. Less shadow would also help when cutting the background out in photoshop or pixlemator. The background is nice as is. You might want a bit more light.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

I did it inside the house it works better outside but not in sunlight. There's to many shadows that create problems with shooting through glass. Im just experimenting, I know nothing about photography. You could put any color background by taping colored paper inside.


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## Charis (Feb 11, 2007)

You are very clever, Shadybug.

I had an experience with a photographer and my pigeon Sammy, some years back. The photographer needed a feral pigeon photo for an article in New York magazine and the folks at the feed store I go to, gave him my name and number.
When I took Sammy for the shoot, I was unnerved because there was no way to contain him. I had no idea if he would co-operate. A box, such as you have created, would have made me feel much more comfortable.. Sammy did just fine. His picture is my avatar.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Charis said:


> You are very clever, Shadybug.
> 
> I had an experience with a photographer and my pigeon Sammy, some years back. The photographer needed a feral pigeon photo for an article in New York magazine and the folks at the feed store I go to, gave him my name and number.
> When I took Sammy for the shoot, I was unnerved because there was no way to contain him. I had no idea if he would co-operate. A box, such as you have created, would have made me feel much more comfortable.. Sammy did just fine. His picture is my avatar.


Once there in the box you don't have to worry about them getting away, and you just lift it up far enough to get your hand in but not enough that the bird can get away. I used a Plexiglas box i already had if I were to make a new one i would make it 2" higher.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Quite impressive.
The problem with shooting through any clear material when there is any light source that can reflect off it is there is always a reflection of the camera lens on the front of the box, which the camera will pick up.
If you were to illuminate the box from above, (or with strip LED's along the edges) and exclude any light from falling between camera and box front, (possibly drape a black cloth over the area between the screen & box front) this would help reduce any reflection.
A Curved background would also help distort any shadows generated by the lighting.
In normal photographic studio circumstances, lighting is normaly supplied by reflecting the light off concave "umbrellas" to avoid shadows but that would be nearly impossible in such a small enclosed setup.
The camera is also picking up the thickness of the screen when using the cut out. If you make the screen hole larger, but then use a thin 1/16 " plastic card (can get from most craft shops) screen with about 1/2 " smaller diameter hole and mount that on the camera side of the original screen, it would give you a sharper thinner edge, while still giving you the rigidity of the original material.


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## Greek Boy (Apr 12, 2010)

Gary- for a man who knows nothing about photography you did a great job and very clever at that. Once you work out the bugs it will be near perfect I'm sure. Nick..


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## george simon (Feb 28, 2006)

*Very nice one thing a dark backgound for white birds, and a light backgound for dark birds. realy a very nice job that you have done.*GEORGE


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Quazar quote; The camera is also picking up the thickness of the screen when using the cut out. If you make the screen hole larger, but then use a thin 1/16 " plastic card (can get from most craft shops) screen with about 1/2 " smaller diameter hole and mount that on the camera side of the original screen, it would give you a sharper thinner edge, while still giving you the rigidity of the original material.

If you look at the second pic, you can see the shadow where i have a 4" hole and a thinner poster board glued over it with a smaller hole I noticed the thick edge and did that to make it thinner. The thinner board by itself was to flimsy.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Thanks everyone, your coments will help me make it better, now i have some things i can try. If anyone else has any ideas to make it better i would like to here them.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> If you look at the second pic, you can see the shadow where i have a 4" hole and a thinner poster board glued over it with a smaller hole I noticed the thick edge and did that to make it thinner. The thinner board by itself was to flimsy.


I can see the feignt shadow now, didnt notice it at first lol

When I mentioned about strip LED lights, one relatively cheap way is to use the ones you can get at some car accessory shops. Most are already mounted in a thin bendable strip with a self adhesive backing and are quite bright.
You could cover the front of the strip with a piece of greaseproof paper, which will allow the light through, but diffuse it enough to stop any glare.

Also, Just a couple of asthetic points, 
If the carpet base (or even just the raised part) was a grass green colour, it would show off the birds feet better. (from a photographic point of view orange or red & green are excellent contrasting colours)
and background wise, you could use picture of the sky (rich sky blue with a few wisps of cloud like the old windows xp desktop). This would show off both light and dark birds very effectively.


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## Ashby Loft (Aug 31, 2007)

Very nice. I have been thinking about making something similar out of white melamine. You have given me some ideas.


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## Wayne Johnson (Oct 1, 2010)

What are the current measurements? Why would you make it 2" taller?


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Quazar said:


> I can see the feignt shadow now, didnt notice it at first lol
> 
> When I mentioned about strip LED lights, one relatively cheap way is to use the ones you can get at some car accessory shops. Most are already mounted in a thin bendable strip with a self adhesive backing and are quite bright.
> You could cover the front of the strip with a piece of greaseproof paper, which will allow the light through, but diffuse it enough to stop any glare.
> ...


 Good ideas the carpet can be changed and any background could be taped in there The very first pic on my thread had white paper taped in till i decided to paint it.
Keep the ideas comming.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Wayne, 18" x 10" x 12" high, The reason it should be higher is because when the birds stand up high there heads are out of the circle.


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## Quazar (Jul 27, 2010)

Shadybug Lofts said:


> Wayne, 18" x 10" x 12" high, The reason it should be higher is because when the birds stand up high there heads are out of the circle.


If you could somehow attatch the screen to the actual camera mount (not the slide) so that the screen moved with the camera, that would solve that as then your focal circle would remain static in relation to the camera but the photographic coverage area would increase as you slide it back.
Or you could also allow the screen to slide separately along the camera slide which would give you both area coverage and circle size adjustmet.


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## Shadybug Lofts (Mar 13, 2010)

Quazar said:


> If you could somehow attatch the screen to the actual camera mount (not the slide) so that the screen moved with the camera, that would solve that as then your focal circle would remain static in relation to the camera but the photographic coverage area would increase as you slide it back.
> Or you could also allow the screen to slide separately along the camera slide which would give you both area coverage and circle size adjustmet.



I thought of that but was to lazy to do it, when i didn't even know if the thing was going to work, but I could make the screen slide just like the camera. If I put all these ideas in this thing i will have a cadillac. I like the box small that way the bird can't go far and its easy to get him back on the puck I think I will move the puck back towards the back, because they want to stand behind it. I told you there was a lot of bugs to be worked out. LOL


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