This semester I’ve done a fair bit of light painting, and had so much fun learning about it! I hadn’t done much previous to this semester, but have always been intrigued by it, so when I was looking for activity ideas for the shutterbugs to do I was excited to take the opportunity to learn along with them! Trying new things while teaching sometimes leads to some fumbling and confusion, but I find that I learn best by teaching, and learning alongside the shutterbugs is always fun. If you don’t know, light painting uses a slow shutter speed, and either moving your light source, or moving your camera (often by zooming in or out) to create lines of light.
Moving your light source
When taking these type of light painting photos I set my camera up on a tripod, and set my shutter speed to around 5-7 seconds. Then I had shutterbugs members take their turns standing in front of the camera and painting with their flashlights, creating whatever they wanted. Some chose to have a subject be in the light painting, which created some really fun shots! The subject has to remain very still which can be hard, so make sure to pick someone who has good balance!
Moving your camera (zoom)
Another way to paint with light is by zooming your camera in and out while aimed at a light source of your choosing. This creates a great sense of motion as you can visually see the zoom, and it feels like a image out of star wars, traveling through hyperspace. For these images I used a shorter shutter speed than the last, and it was usually around a half second to two seconds. This still allows for the light painting to happen, but reduces camera shake in the absence of a tripod. I took these images in downtown scranton using various street lights, cars, and other ambient light from buildings.
Moving your camera (shutter drag)
A shutter drag is when you combine traditional light painting with flash. Flash, due to its fast nature, stops motion, while a slow shutter speed creates motion blur. The two of these things together work to create very interesting images. The flash that falls on your subject freezes it and captures a single moment, and the ambient light is slowly captured with the slow shutter speed. This type of photography is popular amongst some wedding photographers, especially for capturing dancers at receptions.
