An effective light tent must diffuse all exterior light striking it. This means that it should have a frontpiece made from the same diaphanous material that is used in the tent's overall construction.
But, the frontpiece must be removable, like a door or tent flap, to permit you to insert the item to be photographed, to attach a backdrop and to change the arrangement of items inside the tent. A good commercial light tent will have such a removable frontpiece. It is typically attached using sewn-on velcro strips. (Some light tents are manufactured with a flap on top that permits you to access items inside the tent from above.)
The image on the left shows a light tent with its frontpiece attached. Because it is held in place with a number of velcro strips, you need only to detach one or two of them to give you enough of an opening to work inside the tent, and then quickly re-attach them to take a picture.
It is difficult to see the camera slit built into the frontpiece in the upper photo, but it is clearly shown in the lower close-up picture. The slit is large enough to accommodate any camera's lens.
Because any item, not just a reflective one, photographed inside a light tent will be evenly illuminated when properly exposed, its details will all be clearly shown without harsh shadows or bright highlights. This makes the picture ideal for displaying the item for sale in a catalog or on a webpage.
Such a photograph on eBay, for example, may be of great help in promoting the sale of an item. If you are one of the many who displays and sells items on eBay or similar websites, then a light tent may be a photo accessory that you will find you can't do without.
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