The Fotobug Guide to Light Painting - The Photo Shootout

70 Pages·2015·4.09 MB·English

The Fotobug Guide to Light Painting
First Edition

Copyright © 2013 James F Caldwell
All rights reserved.

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The Fotobug Guide to Light Painting

Photography is all about the light.

Sure, there are other photographic considerations, such as composition, but I personally
would rather capture a somewhat poorly-composed image that was fantastically lit rather
than a well-composed image that was lit flat and lifeless. (Actually, I would really prefer
a well-composed well-lit image!).

Good lighting is the subject of many photography workshops. In fact, the very word
‘photography’ comes from two Greek words photo, which translates as “light” and
graphy, which means “drawing”. So together, they mean the drawing of light. But you
already knew that, didn’t you!

When we take a photograph, we are essentially capturing light. When we aim our camera
and open the shutter, the light that is emitted from, reflected from, or transmitted through
an object is recorded onto a photosensitive sensor, which converts the light to electrical
signals, which are further processed as digital numbers and then stored.

That all sounds rather mundane, but that process is exactly the same for any digital
photograph, whether it is a prize-winning masterpiece or just a quick family snapshot.
Snap, convert, store.

Back in the very early days of photography, photographers were challenged just to get
enough light onto their photographic plates to make an image since the plates were so
insensitive to light. Light direction and aesthetics were not really a consideration, as long
as enough light struck the plate to form an image. As the photographic process began to
improve and the capture medium became more sensitive to light, photographers began to
think more about the quality of the light that was being captured.

Today we have light sensitive sensors that can record images with remarkably little light,
yet many new photographers don’t seem to be concerned or aware of light quality.
Nature and landscape photographers often have little recourse other than to wait patiently
for the ambient light to fall on subjects in a pleasing direction and quality. While we can,
to some extent, supplement the natural light with flash units, reflectors, and/or scrims, we
still don’t have total control over the light in the scene being photographed.

While luck and patience are certainly among virtues that can benefit a photographer,
consider an artist who paints landscapes. A painter has a big advantage in that he/she
determines how the light appears in the painting by applying the appropriate colors and
shades on the canvas. The painter has total control over the perceived light in the
finished painting. A good painter has learned how light reacts to surfaces and shapes and
textures and how to represent those values with paint on a two dimensional canvas.

Well, there is a technique that a photographer can use that can somewhat emulate the skill
of a painter. That technique is light painting. This introductory guide will demonstrate
how easy and inexpensive it is to get started with this technique and how amazing the
final images can look. While light painting is primarily restricted to still life and night-
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time landscapes, by playing around with the technique and experiencing first hand how
light reacts with an object, I guarantee you will become a better photographer! Just like a
painter, you will learn when and how the light best reflects from the objects in your
photograph to reveal their shape and texture in a two dimensional image, even when you
are just relying on the ambient light around you.

There are really two different forms of light painting. There is the method that I’m going
to discuss in this guide in which the photographer uses artificial lights to “paint” light
within the scene. The light is used to reveal the objects, as in a traditional photograph.
There is another method where the lights themselves become the subjects within the
images. This second method can produce some incredibly beautiful images containing
swirling patterns of light, sparks that streak across the image, glowing forests of flowers
and trees and abstract shapes that are produced by skilled manipulation of a light source
in front of the camera. In fact, the painter, Pablo Picasso made one of the earliest light
paintings using this second method for Life Magazine.

The author using a fiber optic wand to create a macro "light painting"

However, in this guide I’m going to discuss the method to use light in a more traditional
lighting sense. I also want to acknowledge those photographers that influenced me and I
learned from. Those photographers are David Black, Eric Curry and Harold Ross. More
information on these photographers, including websites, books and workshops, are at the
end of this publication.

Follow along and learn how to “paint” your photographs with light!
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EQUIPMENT

One of the big advantages of light painting is the fact you don’t need a lot of fancy
equipment. In fact, you can get by with very little cost with absolutely no compromise in
the final image quality. There are few techniques in photography where this is true!
Camera –

You do not need an expensive fancy camera in order to do light painting. The only
requirement is that the shutter must be able to remain open for at least 10 to 15 seconds in
manual (most DSLRs have shutters that can stay open for up to 30 seconds in manual
mode) and can be mounted to a tripod (or at least into a fixed position). If the camera has
a “bulb” mode, that is even better. In “bulb” mode, the shutter will stay open as long as
the shutter button is pressed. I also highly recommend a camera that can turn off auto
focus.

The camera can even be a simple “point and shoot” camera, as long as it meets the above
requirements and doesn't build up too much digital "noise" during long exposures or high
ISOs.

Nice to have, but not essential features, would be interchangeable lenses, the ability to
manually set the ISO (light sensitivity of the sensor), the ability to use a cable release, a
timer delay for the shutter, and the ability to shoot RAW images. I’m assuming most
cameras have some type of LCD viewer to see the images that have been recorded, but if
the camera has the ability to be connected to a larger, external LCD or viewer, even
better! Also nice to have is the ability to set the white balance, especially if your camera
doesn’t capture RAW images. Some lower-end cameras have white balance settings that
are marked as a sun (for daylight), and bulb (for tungsten lighting), etc.

I also recommend you turn any image stabilizing ability on your lenses OFF! I have had
some issues with some lenses mounted on a tripod causing double images and stacked
images that don’t line up properly with an image stabilizer!

Finally, I prefer using a shutter release or a remote release on the camera to make
absolutely sure that pressing the shutter button doesn’t accidentally move the camera.
Tripod –

The tripod is one item that is very important. The tripod needs to be as heavy and solid
as possible. You don’t want wind or even clumsy assistants moving the tripod during the
exposure, or between exposures if you are using a layering technique.

The tripod doesn’t need to be expensive, as long as it is solid and will hold the camera
absolutely motionless. You may add weights or sandbags to some tripods in order to keep
them from moving. Since you will be working in the dark, I cannot stress enough the
importance of a solid tripod.

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The tripod head, like the tripod, doesn’t need to be expensive as long as it can hold the
camera in place without slipping or drifting for long periods of time. I prefer to use a
nice solid ball head.

Also, if the tripod has a center column, I DO NOT recommend extending this column.
Mounting the camera on an extended column will make the tripod less stable.
ND Filters –

Neutral density, or ND, filters are a “nice to have” item, but are not essential. Since the
camera will be recording exposures at least 10 seconds long, there is a chance that stray
ambient light could intrude into your scene. So, placing an ND, or even a polarizer, filter
on the camera can help to reduce or perhaps eliminate the capture of the stray light. Keep
in mind if you use an ND filter, you will also be reducing the ability to capture the light
you will be painting with! You may have to move your lights closer to the objects, or
“paint” for a longer period of time.
Lights –
Strobes and lighting equipment for traditional photography can be very expensive. You
should be delighted to learn that for light painting, you can purchase an entire set of
lighting implements for less than the cost of a single inexpensive flash unit! In fact, you
may already have the instruments you need lying around your house!

For light painting, we are going to use simple flashlights! I prefer to use the newer LED
flashlights since most the bulbs are balanced close to daylight, but older style flashlights
can be used as well with the white balanced set for tungsten.

You may think of these lights as your paintbrushes. Just as an artist would not use a
single brush for every detail in his or her painting, the photographer needs to use different
light emitters for different purposes. Smaller objects require smaller lights and larger
objects may require larger lights. If you are going to include landscapes in your image,
then you will likely need even larger, more powerful lights and there is also no reason
why you cannot use your traditional flash units as well. So don’t throw away your flash
units just yet! The lights that I will be presenting here are all battery powered, but if you
have access to AC electric power, there is no reason why you can’t adapt table lights or
desk lamps for doing light paintings. There are no rules here, so don’t be afraid to
experiment.

I’m going to give a few examples of lights that I’m currently using, but any light that
resembles these lights are fine. I’m going to start with the smaller lights for lighting
small areas and work up to larger lights for “painting” landscapes and larger interiors.
My smallest flashlight is a Streamlight 65018 Stylus 6-1/4-Inch Penlight, which sells
on Amazon for around $13.50. This single LED penlight also comes with a glare guard
for aiming the light, runs on three AAAA batteries and runs about 60 hours before the
batteries need to be changed. It also has a pocket clip, like a pen that helps keep it handy.

A small light like this is ideal for use on small still objects and for highlighting details in
your image and is great for doing tabletop setups. I have discovered that the light
produced by this flashlight is bluer than daylight and doesn’t match my other LED lights.
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I haven’t found this to be a problem and have actually used the effect to add a small bit of
blue fill on some of my captures. The light also comes in red and blue bulb versions.

Streamlight 65018 Stylus without the glare guard

The next light I use is a Streamlight 66118 Stylus Pro, which is also a single LED
flashlight, but is larger and brighter than the Stylus. This light is under $20 and requires
two AA batteries. This light does not have a glare guard, but I will discuss light
accessories and snoots later.

This light is a nice all-purpose light that can be used for moderately sized objects as well
as revealing textures and medium details in larger objects. It also comes with a nice
canvas pocket protector.

The Emissive Energy Corp. BLT-2L Bolt is my primary flashlight and I tend to use it
the most. It is a bit more expensive than the previous lights, but is still less than $40. It is
also a single LED bulb, but is quite bright. There are three versions of this flashlight.
One uses 123A lithium batteries (that’s the one I use), another uses AA batteries and a
third model uses AAA batteries. I prefer the lithium, as they tend to last longer.

Emissive Energy Corp. BLT-2L Bolt
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All of these lights have aluminum bodies, are quite rugged and are somewhat weather
proof. LED bulbs can last for tens of thousands of hours, so these flashlights should last
you a good long time and can also come in handy for general illumination when you just
need a good flashlight!

Harold Ross likes to use the SureFire E1L Outdoorsman Dual-Output LED. This is
an expensive flashlight at $139, but it will likely last a lifetime! This light contains a
single LED bulb and has two output settings, which could come in handy. It runs on a
single lithium 123A battery and is quite compact.

Flashlights similar to these will be used for the majority of your photographs. Again,
shop around and don’t be afraid to substitute another brand or model. No one is going to
fault you for the flashlight you use! As you will discover later, it is only important how
you use them!

The next type of light I use is actually intended for video cameras. This is a multiple
LED flat panel light and is available from Amazon starting about $30. Many of these
type lights also have a rotating dimmer switch and can take AA batteries or video camera
batteries. These panel lights put out nice soft, even lighting and often come with various
filters. There are larger and more expensive versions of flat panel LED lights for motion
picture use that can also be used, but they can cost hundreds of dollars.

3” x 5” multi LED Light panel
The next step up is the larger and more powerful floodlights for use on large interiors or
landscapes. These lights usually run on 12 volts and often come with cords that allow
you to plug them into an automobile accessory plug. The price of these lights can run
from $30 on up to $60 or $70 and can found in your local automobile supply store as well
as Sears or Wal-Mart. These lights are normally tungsten balanced, unlike the LED
lights, but you can either change the white balance on your camera or use daylight gel
filters on the lights.
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Brinkmann 12 volt spotlight

Before you rush out and spend a lot of money on flashlights and/or spotlights, I
recommend you start small with tabletop still life images and then work your way up to
larger scenes and landscapes. Therefore, first purchase a couple of the smaller lights I
listed and as you become more proficient, then consider adding to your lighting arsenal.

Finally, you can also use camera flash units and even studio strobes, especially to light up
larger areas. There are lots of homemade and commercial light modifiers for these units
and they are especially useful for recording people in your scene since the flash duration
is so fast. Many of these units also have the ability to manually change the duration of
the light in order to control the amount of light they put out.
Ipad, Touch, iPhone or Smart Phone or any Tablet

I’m not kidding! The LCD screens on these devices can produce nice soft lighting effects
that can be used to light difficult surfaces, such as bottles, glasses, etc. There is even an
app for the Apple IOS systems called LightKit that allows you to use your iPad
creatively to produce nice reflections on miniatures and shiny objects.

The light from the screens can even function as limited flashlights to help you navigate
around the set!

You could also simply create some JPG files with white and black patterns (like a
window pattern) and display those on your iPad or tablet for surface reflections.

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LIGHTING MODIFIERS

PVC

Harold Ross uses simple PVC pipes to create modifiers for his medium size flashlight.
The Bolt flashlight that I listed has a diameter of around 1”, which will nicely fit inside a
thin-wall 1” PVC pipe. A ten-foot length of 1” PVC can be purchased for only a couple
dollars and will provide dozens of light modifiers! Simply cut the PVC into short pieces,
paint it flat black on the outside, cut some at 45-degree angles and cut some at 90
degrees. These will help you to direct the beam of light and prevent it from spilling on
other objects in the scene and help keep it hidden from the camera.

Harold also uses a PVC 90 degree elbow on some of the PVC light modifiers, which will
produce a nice even, soft light effect.

Also, you can buy theatrical colored gels (and you may be able find a Rosco sample gel
pack for free!) that can be used over your lights to add color or use frosted gels to help
soften the light. A piece of black cardboard or poster board can even be used as a “flag”
to help shield the light from the camera.

One of the advantages of light painting is the fact you can easily mix hard and soft light
in your scene as necessary, which could be difficult to accomplish in reality.

Homemade PVC Light modifiers (yes, this image is a "light painting"!)
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