Chicago Families! Have You Tried Light Painting Photography?
Summer holidays are upon us!
Want a a fun and creative activity to do together as a family? Maybe one of your older kids is a budding photographer? This will keep the teens entertained and occupied.
Consider Light Painting photography! My daughter and I had a blast experimenting with this concept the other night. Give it a try!
WHAT IS LIGHT PAINTING? This is a way to create an image by creatively painting light onto an underexposed scene. You might want to add light to a subject or create your own subject using moving light. You create these images with long exposures in dark environments. In the following examples, my daughter and I were creating various lighting patterns with our lighting tools.
Canada Day and 4th of July are a perfect time to experiment and add some creative images to your family albums! Take some sparklers, flashlights, fiber optic wands or glow sticks to have some fun with your family and friends.
WHAT YOU NEED
DSLR camera, or a camera that can be placed on Manual.
Tri-pod or sturdy surface to place camera.
Remote control trigger (not necessary, but very helpful).
Lights - flashlights, lanterns, sparklers, glow sticks, fiber optic glow wands. The fiber optic wands are great because they give consistent light and they are safe for young kids. I ordered off of Amazon.
Here is the link: https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B00O2D6IFC/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_x2u9Eb8JPGR1B
HOW TO CREATE THE SHOT
1. Create a dark environment - no light to minimal light. This is why nighttime is a perfect setting.
2. Place your camera on a sturdy surface. Tri-pod would be best. You will be using extremely long exposures and any tiny moment to the camera will cause blur.
3. Try to use a remote control shutter release. This will allow you, the photographer, to be in the scene with your friends or family. In addition, using a remote shutter release, will reduce any camera shake - Yes, depressing the shutter button during long exposures can cause your image to blur.
4. Camera Settings:
Manual or Bulb (Both will allow you to capture these types of images. The Bulb setting gives you more flexibility and time when creating your lighting pattern, as you can have exposure times longer than 30 sec).
Aperture: f/8-f/16
ISO: 100-200
5. Prepare your lighting tools and have them ready to start creating!
6. Press the shutter button to take the shot.
7. Once you hear the sound of the shutter opening, start creating your lighting pattern. When you hear the second click, that is the shutter closing and your exposure is complete.
8. Check out your creation, evaluate, experiment and try something new.
Check out this short video to get you started!
This is the image she created in the video. It is a much brighter environment compared to the other examples above, because the flashlight was shinning on her throughout the entire exposure.