It’s a well accepted fact that when it comes to photography its all light, and of course that would mean you need to light your subject appropriatly before hitting the shutter release button right? Wrong!
The technique known as Light Painting is not exactly a new concept but since I’ve only just had a chance to play with it I thought I’d tell the world.
Is this the holy grail?
No it is not the wine cup of a deity’s minor it is infact a faberge egg (not a real one obviously).
Here i’ll describe the process for anyone that’s still reading and not just looking at the pictures.
Needed;
Camera (you will need some control over shutter speed, an SLR set to bulb mode is ideal)
Torch or some other way of painting your subject with light
Tripod or something to sit the camera on
Darkness
Optional:
Sweet wrappers etc to color the light (or filters if you have any)
Shutter release cable (this makes things easier)
To capture the image of this angry knife I set up my camera on a tripod and focused on the subject. This can be done manually or by the auto focus of the camera but you must remember to set the camera to manual before taking the shot. (Otherwise the autofocus will constantly hunt in the low light conditions)
Now if your using an slr you’ll want to set the camera to its lowest ISO which in my case is ISO 100, the reason for this is so that we can gradually add the light since the sensor isn’t over sensitive resulting in an over exposed image. You can adjust your aperture to suit your needs I personally shot these at f10.
For your shutter speed you will want to set the camera to bulb as it gives you plenty of time to play with your torch, on my Canon 400d this involves just scrolling right through the shutter speeds and it is at the end. If your camera doesn’t have a bulb setting you can set it to your longest exposure but remember your now working to a deadline.
Now the fun bit grab your torch and turn off the light.
If your operating in bulb mode you will need to keep your finger on the shutter button which is why I suggested the remote control, the alternative is to set the exposure time. Now you can have some fun by painting your subject with light. Start passing your torch over the subject changing the color of your filter when necessary.
This is where practice comes in handy as you’ll not be able to see what you have already lit so you’ll be keeping a mental note of what colour is where.
Once you think your done just release the shutter button and view your results.
This is a great technique for the winter months since it doesnt require any daylight and anything can become interesting with a little time and effort.
