Paint with Light using a LONG shutter speed
Painting with light is a fun technique that gives great results. It is called painting with light because this is what you are actually doing while taking the shot - painting with light.You don't need much to experiment with this kind of shot, just make sure you have the following items:
· A camera capable of long exposures. I will demonstrate in class how to set your camera up. The advantage of using a digital camera is you will be able to see the results in "real time" and make corrections as you go.
· A nice tripod. Since you will be doing some long exposures you want to make sure your camera sits still.
· A flash light
· A dark location. This one is tricky. If the location is to dark you camera will have a hard time focusing, so in this case you will need to have someone turn on the flashlight while so you can set up the shot prior to taking it.
Here is how it's done:
1. Set your camera on the tripod and take a sample shot with flash / lights on. This will help you verify that your composition is OK.
2. Set the exposure to a relatively long value. Stop down the aperture as much as you need. If you are outside do nothing. If you are inside - this is the time to turn off the lights.
3. Make the click. Once the shutter is open use your flashlight to light the stuff that you want to "paint". You can use the flashlight as a brush, and "smear" the light, just like you would have done with brush and paper. Or, you can use the light as a pen, and do precise work. Areas where you go slowly will be more lit then others. DO NOT hold the flashlight facing the camera for a long period of time. IT WILL DAMAGE (burn) the camera lens!!!
REMEMBER - Once the shutter closes, you are a free person again. Inspect your image and make corrections.
Here are some great ideas to use this technique with:
Glow-sticks
Sparklers
Location shot - find a location with some ambient light. Find an object that is less "hit" by that light. now you can use the ambient light to capture the background, while painting the object with light. You will get a nice effect - with some surreal foreground and a "normal" background. Also the white balance will be different on ambient and painted - another cool side affect.
Finding objects with lights – just set up the tripod and shot
I will use this post as a place to upload homework shooting assignments for the class. If you lose or forget what the assignment is please refer to this post!
-Thanks,
Ms. Lewis
