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Light Painting..
i have seen some amazing examples where the photographer used a flashlight or a led to paint in the light that he was wanting for the exposure.. does anyone know of any link that would help me to figure this out alil more?? i know the concept and prob would figure it out but any and all help is greatly apprecaited..  thanks chris Jan 29 06 09:32 pm Link I'm curious on this as well Jan 29 06 09:34 pm Link I just did several time exposures last night...not light painting, but the beginning of the idea. If you want to see an EXPERT at the art, check out marksora. He has been doing it for years. Basically, you get one or several flashlights with different colored gels, or penlights, or other light emitting object. You put yourself and your subject in a dark room. You set your camera to either manual exposure or 15-25 sec exposure (you will have to screw with it) It is better if you shoot in RAW, because then you can see an amazing array of exposures in the one image, and pick which ones to highlight. You click the shutter, and 'paint, the subject with the different colored flashlights by turning them on and off. Also, if you have a white backdrop, you can 'paint' the background too.... If the subject moves, then you will get several different looks. If the subject tries to stay still, it will not be dramatic in that way, but you can do other things with light. It just requires a lot of practice like any other kind of art. Jan 29 06 09:41 pm Link You can also do it like this http://www.chipwillis.com/images/9sm.jpg Photo is 18+ I used a large mag light, camera set to ISO 100 on tripod with cable release, and a total of 8 second exposure, and since its digital, it just takes a few frames to get the speed of moving the light. Hope that helps. Chip Jan 29 06 09:48 pm Link You create a perfectly dark place, and manually operate the shutter on the "bulb" setting or a shutter release cable. Open the shutter, and shine a light on the subject, or shine the light as the object itself. You can move the light, or leave it stationary depending on what you want. Once done, close the shutter, and most likely repeat 5 more times until you get it right. hehe. Think of it as sorta the shutter replacement. Leave the light on however long will properly expose it. Here are some examples of what I have done:  With this one, I had the model stay in one position, and lit her with a white light. I then stepped into the shot and quickly turned on and off a white LED to get the spots. Then I had her move into the second position, and lit her with a blue light, and again stepped into the shot to put in the white spots.  This is just a normal still life, where I moved a blue LED while on from inside to outside of the glass several times, then put spots of white dots with the white LED. I also shown a white light for a few seconds on the glass to get it to properly expose. Jan 29 06 09:51 pm Link Krista wrote: i totally agree and i am wanting to learn the basics to try and figure out what i am going to do with it.. i have a few ideas.. daveMC from the uk.. has been doing this also for a while.. and he has been a great inspiration in trin gto figure this out.. lol.. i am hoping to catch him later this week and pin him down for a lil bit.. lol.. any tips i get will be shared here as well.. Jan 29 06 09:53 pm Link I once painted the Alamo with port flash 20 feet from the wall. Camera was set on Bulb at over 250 feet away. Just do it as if u are painting with paint ... small areas evenly built up to cover the enire wall. Even and convetional is tuff and takes skill. Or for creative use multi colored lights and uneven light ... Faux Painting with Light. Try with different lights and expousre intensity. This is easy compared to doing a real estate inside shot for a mainsteam ad. E L Jan 29 06 10:01 pm Link Chris Oakley wrote: Try This Link Jan 29 06 10:09 pm Link quickshots wrote: Cool vid. Jan 29 06 10:17 pm Link Jan 29 06 10:21 pm Link The most famous photo of painting with light is Mili's photo of Picasso drawing in the air with a flashlight. You can see it at http://dsc.gc.cuny.edu/part/part8/articles/gross.html Jan 29 06 10:22 pm Link Jan 29 06 10:25 pm Link Fredd Hatt uses lightpainting in amazingly beautiful and creative ways... http://www.eroplay.com/feature/fredhatt … paint.html Main site http://www.eroplay.com/feature/fredhatt/fredhatt.html Enjoy... Jan 29 06 10:31 pm Link There is one master, and luckily, he teaches (shares info on his website). It's who I learned from. His name is Emil, and he lives in Denmark: http://vraahojskole.dk/emil/A-SIDEN.htm Regards, ~Joel Belmont www.joelbelmont.com Jan 29 06 10:32 pm Link Jan 29 06 10:38 pm Link Joel Belmont wrote: I second this advice. I am gaining quite a reputation for my light painting photography, but I learned it originally from Emil. I can't add much to what he instructs. I usually use a 25 watt bulb in a shop light with a cone over it, but have also used a variety of flashlights and even a laser pointer: Jan 29 06 11:13 pm Link i worked in the 90s with a photographer named aaron jones, i googled his name and this is what i came up with, his work was state of the art as he invented his own machine to paint with light, the hosemaster, check out his work http://www.repertoireart.com/jones.htm Jan 30 06 12:46 am Link This is one shot - NO PhotoShop. Exposure -1 min F22 ISO 50 I used the flash for this shot. Model and I was moving during the shot from one place to another. I fire the the flash manualy (in my hand) on the lowest power few times per our stop. http://chapa.smugmug.com/photos/37739174-L.jpg Jan 30 06 01:43 am Link Nice Scott!!!!!!!!!!! Jan 30 06 04:17 am Link If you go into a room that is fairly dark (but perhaps a curtained window, etc). Set your camera on manual and the flash on manual and work out what the appropriate shutter and manual flash setting is to get the best "regular" exposure. Then you can "mulitiply" your exposure time by dropping the ISO and multiply/divide the flash to work out to a balanced exposure. For example, set up the shot at ISO 400 and if you flash requires 1/4 power on manual for a good exposure, by dropping down to ISO 100, you are going to lenthen the exposure time and multiply the number of pops. Obviously, you want to do this at a small aperature to give you a long shutter time. Mark Jan 30 06 11:50 am Link Thanks for the great advice everyone, I just found out about Light Painting yesterday and was desperately looking for info on it! Jan 30 06 12:03 pm Link Check out Aaron Jones ( made the Hose Master and Turbo Filter System in the 90's) great looking work. I have a Hose Master and a Light Brush system that's been collecting dust for a few years. I'm just now getting back into it the D2x has a noise reducing filter with long exposures and good results. If your shooting film shoot plenty of poloraids...... Jan 30 06 01:10 pm Link I have three examples in my portfolio "Remembering" "Angellic" "Fallen Angel" These are all 20-30 second exposures. using a high f-stop to prevent light blur. As was previously mentioed, RAW is a must, but if you prefer jpg and your camera has it, use the long exposure "noise reduction". I just used a camping 6v flashlight. Remember to turn it off before switching sides, or you'll leave a light trail through the image. The poses are long and the model will move, so it's best to prop the model against a wall or chair. A master of this Technique is Emil Schildt. You can find him on Photo.net Jan 30 06 01:22 pm Link Jan 30 06 01:25 pm Link Thanks for the Great examples, the 3rd one is my favorite!! Jan 30 06 02:32 pm Link Technically, I would say there is a difference between light painting and multiple pop flashes (as described by Odessit & Gunfitr). Multiple pop flashes can give you a multiple exposure look, but it looks much different than using one light on throughout the whole exposure, and moving that light around. Certainly some very artistic images can be created with multiple flash pops, but don't confuse that with light painting. Jan 30 06 08:05 pm Link one thing i've tried is to put a layer of diffusion in front of the lens....anything will work: panty hose, an piece of glass or plastic with a layer of hairspray on it.....while light painting areas of the photo other than the main subject. try this while light painting just the background, or the areas that you don't want to receive as much exposure as the primary subject. wearing dark clothing and long sleeves helps too.... good luck! Jan 30 06 08:10 pm Link This is another thread from a long time ago on the subject. https://www.modelmayhem.com/posts.php?thread_id=2568 Jan 30 06 08:11 pm Link Some good advice here. I can see that some see a difference in techniques but to me it is all light painting. I do like to use both portable flashes and flashlight type units. Even the use of slide projectors is light painting to me. F8 on bulb is a good place to start. The apeture can have an effect on the amount of light let in and the appearence of the light itself. Wear black, vacumm well, and I like to often set up then rest then shoot. I taught myself and I used to be over protective of the technique. It still comes down to the image made and if it says anything to the viewer. I went to college with someone who used a similiar technique as mine. A teacher gave me a great quick critique in the hallway once when I asked about it. He stated that we both shot different subjects with different meaning so why compare. Some images can be victim of the desire to use a cool techinique. Both Scott and Joel are great at what they do. The other examples are great also. Jan 30 06 09:16 pm Link What a timely subject! I will be photographing the model on the left this Feb 1, and planned on using some 'painting with light' techniques. Thanks for the tips, I will post some of the results in a few days. Jan 30 06 10:42 pm Link I've shot a massive amount of lightpainting (lots of examples in my portfolio). I use f/16. My work is based on the work of Emil Schildt. Jan 30 06 10:46 pm Link I'll have to chime in and say that I do lightpainting, too. My style is pretty much something I developed on my own, although now that I discovered others doing it, I've been exchanging ideas. I really tend to think that lightpainting is like real painting. I can suggest a brush to use and paint colors, but a lot of learning how to paint is learning the "feel" of pushing paint around a canvas. I would suggest that you concentrate your exposure metering on the aperature and how fast you move the light. The time the shutter remains open is mostly irrelevant, just that you get more time to paint. My light sources are custom bits of circuitry with a tiny computer inside and some LEDs for lights. Jan 31 06 02:46 pm Link It's an amazing technique. Lightpainting is a great way to generate studio images with out lights. I added an image to my section, I learned about it from a friend. Patrick Koslo, who now teaches at Langara College here in Van. His stuff is pretty wild. I use a mag light as well, large and small. Make a holder for gels that will slip on the front. Feb 01 06 11:22 am Link Somewhere around here I have some samples of using a flashlight. I shot at 15 seconds for a still life. I will try to find the image. Jul 13 08 12:36 pm Link Did you see that was a two and a half year old thread you replied to? Jul 13 08 01:15 pm Link I see this was an old thread too. But as long as it got "bumped" TWO more years later................. I played with this the other day. You can a see shot I did using the bathroom as a darkroom! I did all the set up with the lights on, then went totaly black and used a 15 to 20 sec exposure stopped down to f/11 or f/16. Tell me what you think while your at it. I'd like to see what you do if you try it. Jul 13 08 02:55 pm Link Chris Oakley wrote: PhotoMechanic is one of the best I've seen on MM for light painting. Jul 13 08 04:43 pm Link Oct 13 08 08:52 pm Link  Jan 14 09 02:38 pm Link Joel Belmont wrote: Seconded for Emile. Brilliant work. He posts on http://www.apug.org a lot (as Gandolfini) and is exceptionally open and free (and humble!) with his wisdom. I was inspired by his work years ago but never followed through with it for long. Jan 14 09 02:44 pm Link |
