LIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY TIPS
Light painting is a photography technique in which a camera is set to a very long exposure. This long exposure allows any movement to be blurred, so moving a light in front of the camera will make the light streak hence the name light PAINTING. When you're light painting there are steps and tips you should take into account. These are listed below:
- Settings: Your camera’s settings are probably one of the most crucial aspects of light painting because without having the right settings your light painting might not even work. The best settings for light painting involve a very slow shutter speed like 1/10, 1/15 or even bulb. You’re also going to want to have your aperture very closed like at f22, as well as your ISO being very low. This is because
the longer your shutter is open, the brighter your image will be. In order to compensate for the slow shutter speed you have to go darker in your other settings (ISO, Aperture).
2. Props: Having fancy or different props to do your light painting with is not at all necessary, a simple flashlight is enough but having some cool toys to elevate your photos surely doesn't hurt. One of my favorite light painting tools is a light strip. This is essentially LED lights in a line stuck on a strip of plastic. This tool is really cool because each LED creates its own light streak so it gives off a really cool effect. Another cool light painting prop are sparklers. Sparklers are things that you light and then they give off sparks. This effect looks really cool because it looks wild with the sparks going everywhere.
3. Technique: The light painting technique is very important. Although you may come up with your own way to do this awesome photography form I will walk you through my way. First you should change the setting on your camera to the ones I mentioned above. Tell your subject to stand VERY still. This is important because if your subject does not stand still you will see a blur in your photo. After this you are going to take your prop and do whatever movement you want to do to get your desired effect. However (person doing the movement of the light) have to be hidden behind something, out of the frame or constantly moving fast.If you don’t move or move slowly you’re going to leave behind a ghost. A ghost is the camera seeing you and processing the image with you in the spot that you were in for too long.
2. Props: Having fancy or different props to do your light painting with is not at all necessary, a simple flashlight is enough but having some cool toys to elevate your photos surely doesn't hurt. One of my favorite light painting tools is a light strip. This is essentially LED lights in a line stuck on a strip of plastic. This tool is really cool because each LED creates its own light streak so it gives off a really cool effect. Another cool light painting prop are sparklers. Sparklers are things that you light and then they give off sparks. This effect looks really cool because it looks wild with the sparks going everywhere.
3. Technique: The light painting technique is very important. Although you may come up with your own way to do this awesome photography form I will walk you through my way. First you should change the setting on your camera to the ones I mentioned above. Tell your subject to stand VERY still. This is important because if your subject does not stand still you will see a blur in your photo. After this you are going to take your prop and do whatever movement you want to do to get your desired effect. However (person doing the movement of the light) have to be hidden behind something, out of the frame or constantly moving fast.If you don’t move or move slowly you’re going to leave behind a ghost. A ghost is the camera seeing you and processing the image with you in the spot that you were in for too long.