This the third installement of Two Cheap Studio Setups. In my last entry on this subject, I told you a way to get a cheap studio set up with some lights from Lowe’s. The problem with that setup was mainly time. It was time consuming to set up and tear down. Well, hold on to your butt, but today I’m going to tell you about a studio setup that’s both cheap AND fast.

Drum roll…It’s a cardboard box/tissue paper light box! I got this idea from Strobist. Please, just go read about it there. That saves me from having to type up a how-to, and really, he’s done a fantastic job with the article.

Just a quick summary of that it cost me to get this one going.

• Cardboard box (free)
• Tissue paper (free)
• Packing tape ($4)
• Poster board ($5)
• SB-400 ($400)

OK, so it didn’t really cost me $409 to get this up and running. I already had everything in the house. The only real gotcha here is that you need some sort of flash and be able to trigger it remotely. You don’t need to spend $400 on this flash either. Shoot, you could probably get by with desk lamps if you had to (just use a tripod).

The results? I’d say even better than the other setup.

Again, the best part about this setup is that it’s so easy to set up and take down. Easily done in a few minutes. The one drawback? The tissue paper is easily torn and the box is hard to find a place to store. I’m working on a new setup that solves both these problems. Keep an eye out for the new version, soon.