LIGHT
W H A T’ S T H E M A G IC? Having some experience in light painting myself, I’ve made a basic guide to get you started on drawing with light. Setup and settings (lights on):
on your camera, set the mode to Manual set the aperture (shutter opening size) to the largest size (larger sizes correspond to lower f-stop numbers; for instance my largest aperture is f/2.8 which lets in more light—we want this for shooting in the dark). set th shutter speed to between 8 and 20 seconds (this regulates how long the aperture is open; since we want a long exposure to be able to draw our figures, we need a long shutter speed--feel free to adjust exposure time as necessary ) set the ISO to the lowest value (100, for instance; this minimizes the amount of noise) be sure to have the flash off place your camera on a tripod in an open space where you will be able to move focus your lens on where you plan to be standing set your camera to a ten second timer for it to automatically so that your hands don’t shake the camera
Lights off:
this is your moment on stage, with the space around you as a canvas you can try drawing pictures and words reflecting the light from walls for a softer effect drawing in different locations in the depth of field (for instance start close to the lens and swirl out into the background) outline objects and silhouettes be sure to have fluid motion at medium speed, and don’t spend too much time in one area or you may overexpose that section of the photograph (it will be too bright)
Hope this starter is helpful, but the key to success is experimentation, and it is up to you to do and create your original light painting aesthetic.
photography by Scotty Bara Alex Lenail Bradford Thorne Masha Andreyeva [29]