Light painting tips
Discussion
a torch? 
its really one of those things that anyone can do as its so easy. great fun but once you get into it, there are some pretty amazing things yo can do.
Old house ghost. by dave and jodi piddington, on Flickr
Staircase on fire by dave and jodi piddington, on Flickr
ive got a pixelstick which allows you to do the above but to be honest, id grab yourself:
torch (as many as possible)
flashgun
coloured Gels
kids light up toys
wire wool for sparky stuff
remote shutter release
and then just play!
most lightpainters will use SOOC images with little or no editing but it is possible to stack images in post if you want to change elements or have different layers in an image.
keep iso as low as possible and manually set your focus point before locking the focus out - i use a torch on the floor off in front of the camera (gives something to see in the dark)
dont be disheartened by the bits that go wrong and the over exposed images you will end up with. if you can take someone to help - do. it makes life much easier.
its really one of those things that anyone can do as its so easy. great fun but once you get into it, there are some pretty amazing things yo can do.
Old house ghost. by dave and jodi piddington, on FlickrStaircase on fire by dave and jodi piddington, on Flickrive got a pixelstick which allows you to do the above but to be honest, id grab yourself:
torch (as many as possible)
flashgun
coloured Gels
kids light up toys
wire wool for sparky stuff
remote shutter release
and then just play!
most lightpainters will use SOOC images with little or no editing but it is possible to stack images in post if you want to change elements or have different layers in an image.
keep iso as low as possible and manually set your focus point before locking the focus out - i use a torch on the floor off in front of the camera (gives something to see in the dark)
dont be disheartened by the bits that go wrong and the over exposed images you will end up with. if you can take someone to help - do. it makes life much easier.
Edited by pidsy on Thursday 2nd March 15:35
Thanks, very helpful. Wasn't planning on taking it quite that serious this weekend though 
I am actually going night fishing, thought it maybe something I could play around with whilst I keep to form and catch nothing - so I am covered for a torch/head torch/bivvy light......
You say low ISO, but what about aperture and shutter speed - does it have to bulb setting or would something like 30 secs be sufficient - as I said, wasn't intending to be that artistic, just dipping the toe so to speak.
I am actually going night fishing, thought it maybe something I could play around with whilst I keep to form and catch nothing - so I am covered for a torch/head torch/bivvy light......
You say low ISO, but what about aperture and shutter speed - does it have to bulb setting or would something like 30 secs be sufficient - as I said, wasn't intending to be that artistic, just dipping the toe so to speak.
There's no magic formula but 30 seconds should be enough for you to do your 'painting' so I would go for iso100 + 30s +
probably fairly open aperture (f4/f5 or some such) but there's a bit of trial and error there depending on the ambient light in the scene. Really you want to expose for the general scene then light paint the bit you want lit up so maybe longer than 30s - you would need to try it and see.
Have fun
probably fairly open aperture (f4/f5 or some such) but there's a bit of trial and error there depending on the ambient light in the scene. Really you want to expose for the general scene then light paint the bit you want lit up so maybe longer than 30s - you would need to try it and see.
Have fun
Thanks, will give it a go. You never know, I might be too busy hauling fish Gassing Station | Photography & Video | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff