Night Photography Class

Like the title says, you can use just about just any light source to “paint” light into your scene. I use Mag-Lite brand flashlights because they allow me to adjust the width of the beam and they’re compact and powerful. Some people also use high powered spotlights which can be useful when painting distant subjects.

Personally, I like to perform this technique at dusk which adds some nice ambient light to the scene. Dusk is also your best bet if your camera doesn’t offer a bulb mode since your exposure length will be limited. The exposure time for this technique will vary depending on the available light but generally 15 seconds to 2 minutes is sufficient for most scenes. However, if it’s completely dark, longer exposure times may be necessary.

There are a couple of ways to approach light painting. One way is to expose for the ambient light in a scene and use your flashlight or other light source to highlight certain objects or areas during the exposure. With this method, the ambient light is the main light source and you’re filling in the “painted” areas with your flashlight. The easiest way to do this without having to use a very long shutter speed is to perform your light painting at dusk.

I like to use aperture priority mode for this technique because I like to control how much light is coming through the lens. Place your camera on a tripod and meter the scene.  This can be done in Bulb mode with a shutter release or with a timed exposure. If  it’s dusk or early evening, you can let your camera’s meter determine the proper exposure for the scene. Once it’s dark, you’ll need to experiment a little to determine the best settings. If your camera doesn’t offer a bulb mode try shooting at the longest shutter speed available and increase the ISO and aperture size if necessary so that the scene is exposed to your liking.

Be aware of your ISO and aperture settings. The higher the ISO and the wider the aperture, the less time you need to spend painting a particular object or scene. This technique requires a lot of experimentation and practice. Once you’re familiar with how much painting is enough for different objects within your scene while using a certain ISO/aperture combination you may want to stick with that combination for future shoots.

With the shutter open, move your flashlight in broad sweeping motions across the scene. You can try to paint the entire scene or use the flashlight to highlight certain elements. The amount of time required to illuminate a particular scene or element depends on the strength of the light and the effect desired. To highlight a particular object, keep the light on it a bit longer than the rest of the painted area.

The image above is a 30 second exposure at f/5.6 and ISO 400. It was taken at night instead of dusk which resulted in the colorless sky. I used broad, sweeping strokes of the flashlight to expose the majority of the scene and then used a narrow beam to highlight certain elements like the current on the right. Because of the low amount of ambient light, only the areas highlighted by the flashlight were exposed in the final image with the exception of the trees in the background that were lit by a floodlight located off frame.

Because of the low light levels present and the long exposures used during light painting, it’s often possible to walk through the scene during the exposure and not show up in the final image. It’s best to wear dark, non-reflective clothing and you want to keep moving. Standing in one place too long will result in a ghostly shadow. Of course, you may like this effect. Walking through your scene during the exposure allows you to create trails of light by pointing your flashlight at the ground while you move. Be careful not to point the light at the camera or you’ll end up with large streaks of white that can ruin the shot.

The image above is an 87 second exposure at f/7.1 and ISO 400. It was taken at dusk in a shallow pool of water with a waterfall in the background. I used my flashlight to paint the waterfall and the fallen tree. Then, with the flashlight held low and pointed down, I walked through the foreground to create the light trails on the river bottom. It’s important not to place yourself between the light and the camera while doing this or you’ll have gaps in your light trails and remember to never point the light directly at the camera. The long exposure time and high ISO setting allowed the ambient light to expose the areas of the scene that weren’t directly lit by the flashlight just enough so there’s detail throughout the entire scene.

The image above is an example of selective painting. Instead of making broad, sweeping strokes with the flashlight, I chose to highlight the various elements of the scene with a narrow beam. It’s a 30 second exposure at f/4.5 and ISO 100. Although it was shot at dusk, the low ISO kept the ambient light exposure to a minimum so only the painted elements were exposed in the image.

The image on the left is a 92 second exposure at f/5.6 and ISO 400. It was taken in complete darkness so the only illumination is from the flashlight.

With a narrow beam, I traced the outline of the metal circles and used a wide beam to briefly illuminate the rest of the image so there was detail throughout.

It’s amazing what you can do with only a flashlight. What was a pile of rusted junk has been transformed into a work of art! (at least in my opinion)

In case you’re wondering about how I determined the exposure time, the camera was in Bulb mode and I left the shutter open for what I considered to be an appropriate amount of time based on experimentation and experience. I took several shots prior to this one before I finally got it right. Light painting is a lot of fun and, while if requires a lot of practice, you’ll enjoy doing it. Try experimenting with different scenes and objects. Cars, people, trees, water, buildings, flowers, and rocks all provide different challenges and creative opportunities. You can also combine light painting with different types of scenes.

For instance, if you’re shooting a cityscape and there happens to be a tree in the foreground, try painting it while making the exposure.

Written by Andy on October 15, 2009 under Painting with Light.

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