What is a good cyc curve for a 24" Lightbox

[nelson may]

New here. Am I in the correct thread?

I just built a Lightbox and am going to install my globes and diffusion. I want to make a cyc out of some oak veneer I have laying around. I want to make some ribs and glue the veneer to the ribs. This will also allow me to attach other surfaces if needed. Do you guys have a particular curve in degrees that you like for smaller light boxes that will allow a turntable and enough room product photography? See my pics on what I am trying to do. I have access too a laser cutter or a CNC machine to make this happen. I can only find videos on making larger studio cycs and am not finding info on smaller lightboxes.

If my hand drawn pic is confusing, how far can I make my line, "in from the front and down from the top" to meet the curve so I get that infinity look? If it is that easy, I can just drop in a curve.

Cheers!

 

[declanjames89]

New here. Am I in the correct thread?

I just built a Lightbox and am going to install my globes and diffusion. I want to make a cyc out of some oak veneer I have laying around. I want to make some ribs and glue the veneer to the ribs. This will also allow me to attach other surfaces if needed. Do you guys have a particular curve in degrees that you like for smaller light boxes that will allow a turntable and enough room product photography? See my pics on what I am trying to do. I have access too a laser cutter or a CNC machine to make this happen. I can only find videos on making larger studio cycs and am not finding info on smaller lightboxes.

If my hand drawn pic is confusing, how far can I make my line, "in from the front and down from the top" to meet the curve so I get that infinity look? If it is that easy, I can just drop in a curve.

Cheers!

Hey! That sounds like a cool project you're working on with the lightbox and the oak veneer for the cyc. When it comes to creating the curve for your lightbox, a common angle that works well for smaller lightboxes for product photography is around 45 degrees. This angle usually provides a good balance between allowing a turntable and enough room for product photography.

Regarding your question about how far you can make your line "in from the front and down from the top" to meet the curve for that infinity look, typically, for a smaller lightbox, you can aim to have the curve start around 6-8 inches in from the front and extend down about 12-16 inches from the top. This setup can help create that seamless infinity effect in your photos. If you have access to a laser cutter or CNC machine, that will definitely make the process smoother for you. Good luck with your project!

 

[Digger...]

Nice build with the box so far, they cat ramps on the wall there. Seems like fun...

 

[smoke665]

Do you guys have a particular curve in degrees that you like for smaller light boxes that will allow a turntable and enough room product photography?

I think you mean radius, not degrees. I had looked into building a cyclorama wall with a parabolic corner but ultimately decided against it because of space. From research, found that the "radius" used was from around 15" for small subjects to as much as 60" for larger subjects. The larger the curve of the radius – the greater the achievable distance from the subject, and the more cyclorama background you can have in the FOV without seeing the radius. Larger = smoother transition. One thing I didn't find was the acceptable distance to radius. Since you're working on a smaller box, before I spent the time and money building, I'd suggest doing a little experimenting with either cloth or white poster board to find out the ideal radius and distance from. I do mostly portraits with a 10x20 backdrop that also serves as a floor sweep, resulting in a curved transition. I've never measured exactly, but the radius of that transition ranges in the 30-36" range, with a subject to background distance of roughly 8'.