- Technique: Place the camera on the tripod and take a sample shot with the lights on to make sure that the composition is okay. Then, set the exposure to a long value and the aperture low, and make the click. Once the shutter is open, light up the object that you want to "paint" with a flashlight. Move the flashlight like a paintbrush or a pen in a design. The areas where the light is held for a longer time will be darker.
- Definition: Light painting is a photographic technique taken in a dark enviornment, where a light source is "painted" across the viewfinder under a low exposure.
- Tools: In order to paint with light, a camera capable of long exposures (digital camera preferred, not film camera), a tripod, a flashlight is needed. A dark room works better.
- Ideas: One idea is to create a word or drawing out of light, for an example an inspirational word like "love." Another idea is to outline an object with different colored light to make it stand out.
- Examples:
 |
| Photo taken from: http://mhsdigitalimagingmorganrittenhouse.blogspot.com/2011/04/painting-with-light-prelimenary.html Artist: N/A |
 |
| Photo taken from: http://www.photographyreal.com/painting-with-light-photography/painting-with-light-photography/ Artist: N/A |
Our Painting with Light Experience
In class, we had a painting with light lab where we took pictures using light. It took a lot of tries and there were multiple bad ones, but after working with the camera's shutter speed, ISO, and aperture settings, we were able to get a good, quality shot. At first, we put the shutter speed on a high number and the pictures came out blurry and were not capturing our full design. So, we decided to lower the shutter speed to "bulb" so we could adjust the length of time for each picture.
THE UGLY.
This picture is considered "ugly" because the shutter was not low enough to capture the light so that it looks "painted." Also, the aperture was too low, making the image appear too dark. To fix this image, the shutter settings should be set on a lower number or even on bulb.
THE GOOD.
This is a good picture because the shutter setting is low enough to capture the entire design. The aperture and ISO are low enough to capture enough light, but the painted image is still seen.
