Arts & Culture

The Art of Light Painting

Light painting doesn’t use any sort of brush, paint or otherwise, contrary to what the name might suggest.  Light painting is a form of photography where the world is your canvas, any source of light is your paint-filled brush, and a camera is your stage.  Essentially, a light painting is created by using a camera with an extended exposure to capture light or create an image with light in a dark setting.  This might sound a little complicated at first, but once the basics are understood it is quite easy to begin practicing to create your own stunning images. 

Motion is extremely important in this art form.  Taking a fun photo at night in the city is one thing, but what about when the lights behind the subject are moving?  Or what if a halo of light surrounded the person in the photo?  What if the subject was a car sitting at a stop light while all the other cars around it were moving, their head and tail lights blurred and streaked across the background as they flew by?  These are only a mere sprinkling of questions a light painting artist might consider.  Using light, the photographer can take an ordinary scene and turn it into something extraordinary. 

So how do you create your own light painting?  The first step to creating a stunning photo is changing your camera settings.  This is usually done in the manual setting.  Your ISO, which refers to your camera’s light sensitivity, should be set to 100.  Depending on what your source of light is, your shutter speed time will vary accordingly.  Some images only require five seconds while others can get to upwards of one-hundred fifty seconds.  However, the fundamental principle to understand is that the lower your shutter speed time is, the longer your shutter will be open, allowing more light in (and more time to create the image).  Because the process the camera goes through to actually take the image will be longer than usual, any shakiness or movement the camera experiences will cause the photos to come out completely blurry.  Some photographers simply balance their arm on their knee, a wall, a railing, or some other stable object, but most prefer to use a tripod.  While not required for this art form, it is recommended. 

The next step is to decide what your light source will be.  Colored lights are the most common, but anything can be used–car headlights, flashlights, glowsticks, or even plastic lightsabers.  Indirect sources of light are also an interesting option.  For example, car headlights could be used out of frame to light up snow as it falls from the sky.  

Now to actually take the image; if you are using handheld lights or are creating the image instead of just using your surroundings, it is important that you act very quickly.  To illustrate, I am going to use the photo below which is perfect for beginners. 

To start off, the person is backlit so that we can see the surroundings and more of the person.  When it came time to take the photo, the model posed but then had to hold extremely still to avoid blurry lines.  As is, her hands look a little fuzzy.  To create the white streaks around the subject, a flashlight or some other small, handheld light was most likely used.  After pressing the button to take the photo, the artist would turn on the light and run around the model, squiggling the light as he or she saw fit.  In the process, the subject would have more light shed on her, illuminating her figure further.  However, you might notice something interesting in this image.  There is no sign of the person who used the flashlight around the model.  The reason is, if you move quickly enough, you will not be caught in the photo.  For photos taken in the dark, people in the frame have to stand for a longer time than normal so that they show up fully in the image.  If they only pose for a moment, they could end up looking transparent or not show up at all.  It’s sort of the same idea as when someone moves their hand in a photo and it turns out blurry.  Their hand wasn’t in the same position long enough for the camera to capture it completely. 

Bruce Wunderlich, a photographer, explained light painting perfectly.  He wrote, “When light painting, you, the photographer, become an entirely different kind of artist.  Instead of just capturing an image as it’s presented, you create the image that the camera is capturing.”  This is similar in idea to setting up a still life either for an interesting photograph or as a reference for a drawing or painting.  Light painting and other forms of photography are very similar and vastly different at the same time.  It’s a way of using creative freedom to change, enhance, or add to something to an already impressive photo opportunity. 

 

Works Cited: 

Wunderlich, Bruce. “Beginner’s Guide to Light Painting.” Digital Photography School, digital-photography-school.com/beginners-guide-to-light-painting/, Accessed Jan 17, 2022. 

Jenks, Benjamin. “5 Easy But Amazing Light Painting Experiments for Beginners.” Photodoto, photodoto.com/light-painting-experiments/, Accessed January 18, 2022. 

Cooper, Tim. “Staying Invisible While Light Painting–the Art of Not Being Seen.” National Parks at Night, September 27, 2016,  www.nationalparksatnight.com/blog/2016/9/27/staying-invisible-while-light-paintingthe-art-of-not-being-seen

 

Image Credits:

pixabay.com/photos/sparks-steel-wool-light-painting-1632115/ 

www.hongkiat.com/blog/light-painting-artworks/ 

www.pinterest.com/pin/25473554115590629/ 

www.nationalparksatnight.com/blog/2016/9/27/staying-invisible-while-light-paintingthe-art-of-not-being-seen 

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