Hi friends,I’ve read in some website long ago about making a softbox.. I didn’t try it @ that time and forgot about it. This month’s smart photography magazine contains an article on soft box and I thought of making one myself. It’s very simple and very cheap. I just thought of sharing  it with you guys.
Requirements
One cardboard box
Butter paper/Tracing paper (good quality one.. the one with a plastic finish is nice but should not be transparent.
Glue
Tape
Thermocol sheet
Cutting knife.
Table Lamps with CFL bulbs

Remove the lid numbered 1 and the portions marked in red. This will give u a box with 3 openings on the sides – 2, 3 and 4. Now cut the butter paper to fill these sides by gluing it there. Make sure you paste it inside the box and it covers the entire area of the side. Now cut a thermocol piece to the size of side 5 and insert it into the box. This will be like a background. Now cut a thermocol piece to the combined size of 8 and 9. and insert it there. Tape lid – 8 to the thermocol. Now cover the portions 6 and 7 with white paper. This will serve as reflectors. We are almost done with the softbox. Now cut a lengthy piece of butter paper with the width of the box. Pin it to the top corners of ‘5’ on the thermocol and let that white butter paper flow down like this…

This is a bisected view of its crosssection. Now place your subject like the red square…. And provide light using table lamps (use cfl bulbs) from the sides and the top… the light when provided through the butter paper will not fall on a point and will be soft. It u need to use flash, hold a  butter paper in front of it too… as there is no visible corners, it’ll give a magical feeling too… It’ll be better to use a tripod when u shoot using a softbox.
Happy Clicking.... :)
Febz

ps. I wrote it upon the request of a friend and the images are drawn by me using photoshop for this purpose... if u have any problem in understanding it, please feel free to ask me...
febin