Fundamentals of Photography Series

The

basics
of Light Painting

Darwin Wiggett
&
Samantha Chrysanthou

The Basics of Light Painting

What is Quite simply, light painting is when you illuminate
an object with a light source other than the ambient light

light painting? around you. Usually, this means you bring an artificial light
source with you to deliberately shine on an object that you
wish to photograph.

What do I need to light paint?

There are some basic equipment requirements to make your
light painting venture a success. You will be making longer
exposures than those during normal daylight hours. Your
camera’s shutter might be open for minutes depending on
the amount of light around you and the capabilities of your
camera. Here are some basic gear requirements to get the
most out of your time:

• a camera that has a bulb setting will let you light paint
longer than 30 seconds.
• a tripod is a must! Nothing will be sharp if you hand-hold
your camera beyond 1/60th of a second.
• a cable release or remote timer will also prevent minute
vibrations caused when you trip the shutter button.
• you need a light source. Generally, a flashlight offers the
most versatility when light painting. But you can use any
source of light on hand including car headlights, a candle
or special strobes.

The Basics of Light Painting


When Can I Shoot?
Before you can light paint, you need
to scout a good subject to be painted.
Make sure you return in plenty of time
before it is dark so that you can set up
your composition and fine-tune your
focus in the daylight! The best time
to shoot is, surprisingly, before it gets
dark (or before it gets really light, if
you are shooting before dawn). So,
pre-dawn and dusk work very well for
light painting. In order to light paint,
you will need an exposure time long
enough to allow you time to paint
the amount of light you want on your
subject. Small objects require less time
and large objects will need more time.
We avoid math like the plague, so we
have invented a handy rule of thumb.
First we set our cameras to aperture
prioritiy mode. (If you are unsure what
The Basics of Light Painting
we mean by aperture priority mode,
you may want to check out our e-book
“Aperture: 3 Simple Rules”).
Second we usually select a middle
aperture, like f8, to get a reading in
the dim ambient light. If our camera’s
meter tells us that, at f8, our shutter
speed will be 15 seconds or longer, it is
time to light paint! You can start light
painting earlier if you keep your ISO to
low settings like 100 or 200 ISO.
There are two kinds of light we need to think about
when we light paint: the background and the light painted
How Does It
on our subject. Just like when we take any photograph, we
want to make sure that our background is properly exposed,
and proper exposure for the entire image will be based on
Work?
the overall, ambient light in the scene. We don’t factor in to
our exposure the light being painted on an object because it
is not as important as the overall light in the scene. We just
paint light on the object until it looks good to our eye.

The First Painting...

For our first attempt, we’ll skim the flashlight over our
subject in several strokes making sure we try to get the whole
subject covered. Once the camera has finished exposing,
head back to your camera and look at your LCD. If your
light painted object looks too dark, then you need to spend
more time painting the object with the flashlight. The object
may be too dark if you did not have enough exposure time to
pass the light of the flashlight over the entire object. If that is
the case, then you may have to wait until your camera gives
you a longer exposure reading time like 30 seconds at f8.

If, on the other hand, your subject is lit like a nuclear

explosion, then you need to spend less time light painting
your subject. You get to control how bright the object looks!

The Basics of Light Painting

 One or two strokes of light across
the object may be enough, especially
if the object is made of a reflective
material like glass or metal. Keep
in mind that, while you may only
need 4 or 5 seconds to light paint the
object, the background will need the
full 15 seconds to properly expose.
The point is that you control how
bright the object is based on how
long you paint it with the flashlight
even as the background continues to
expose. If your background is too
bright, try changing your exposure
compensation to -1 EV. If the
background is too dark, try changing
your exposure compensation to +1
EV.
The Basics of Light Painting
It won’t take long in the dimming
dusk until your camera’s exposure
is at 30 seconds and soon thereafter
your camera will flash a warning
about underexposure. What if you
want to keep shooting? Simply set
your camera to Bulb mode (refer
to your camera manual if you are
unsure how to do this), set your
aperture at f8 and then use your cable
release to lock open the shutter for
one minute while you continue light
painting. Some camera releases can
be programmed to give precisely
timed long exposures, but you can get
by with an old fashioned model —
counting in your head!
As it gets darker and darker, you will
need to double your exposure time
to properly expose the background.
So, for example, if you started out
on Bulb setting at 1 minute, and
your background is looking too
dark, double your exposure time to 2
minutes, then 4 minutes etc.
It’s All in the
Wrist

Avoid hot spots that happen when

you hold the light source too long
in one spot while light painting.
The trick to an evenly lit object is
to wiggle your wrist in small circles
while you move your arm. We also
like to paint from the side to give the
object some texture.

The Basics of Light Painting

How Do I Compose?
First, as we mentioned before, pre-
scout your location before it gets too
dark to see well. You will want to look
for an object that is fairly clean or
separated from its background. This
will help the light painted object stand
out in the final image. A low point
of view often helps isolate an object
against the sky. Objects that we like to
light paint include old, rusty vehicles or
machinery, abandoned houses or sheds,
or single natural elements like trees.
Next, walk around your subject of
choice to select the best viewpoint that
will be light painted in the final image.
When you are satisfied you have the
object’s best side, set up your camera on
The Basics of Light Painting
a tripod and focus carefully. You will
want to turn your auto focus off if you
used it to focus on the object or it will
hunt for focus during each exposure.
Back at your computer, you may
eventually wish to blend in different
parts of each light painted image
together into a final, light painted
image so be sure not to bump or move
your tripod during the light painting
sessions!
There are so many things that
you can light paint. Use your car
headlights to light the edges of tree
trunks by the road. Or isolate a
scraggly pine against a twilight sky
and capture the movement of clouds
as they race through the frame. Or
recreate the glow of the day’s sun
on warm rock by brushing warm,
tungsten light from your flashlight
The Basics of Light Painting
on a unique formation. Be creative!
There are no rules about what
can be light painted, so use your
imaginations and see what happens.
Summary 1 Get the right equipment! You’ll need
a tripod, cable release or remote timer
and a flashlight with lots of juice to
light paint.

2 Pre-scout your subject and location.

Set up well before it gets dark (or come
back the next day before dawn).

3 Set up your composition. Look for

objects that you can easily isolate
against their background so that they
will stand out cleanly against a darker
background.

4 Take time to focus before you start

painting. Turn off auto focus when you
have achieved focus.

5 Set your camera to aperture priority

mode and your aperture to f8 as a
general rule of thumb.

6 Wait until your camera gives you a

shutter speed of 15 seconds (at aperture
of f8) and then try your first painting!

The Basics of Light Painting

 7 Cover the areas you want lit with even,
wiggly strokes.

8 Check your exposure to ensure your

background is properly exposed and
you are happy with the amount of light
on your subject. Repeat painting as
desired.

9 If your background is beginning to be

underexposed, double your time of
exposure. Keep doubling as needed
(switch to Bulb mode after 30s) to
properly expose with the ambient light.
But only light paint the same amount
of time to avoid burnt out spots on
your subject.

10 Light paint until the ambient light

is gone. Back at home, play with
blending different parts of your
composition together to get the
most interesting combination of the
exposures you made in the field.

The Basics of Light Painting

 Text Copyright © 2010 Samantha Chrysanthou and Darwin Wiggett
All Images Copyright © 2010 by the Photographer. Detailed Copyright information on images
is found on the Thumbnails Page.

Published by Samantha Chrysanthou and Darwin Wiggett

Design & Layout by Samantha Chrysanthou

www.darwinwiggett.com www.chrysalizz.smugmug.com

Notice of Rights: All rights reserved. No part of this ebook may be reproduced, copied or
transmitted by any means and in any form without the prior written permission of the authors.

Bio:
A
long, long time ago, in a land far,
far away…. There lived a handsome
Prince who had a way with a camera....”
Darwin: “Hey! it wasn’t that long ago.”
Sam: “Oh, sorry; I’ll try again.”
have you been taking pictures, anyway?”
Darwin: “Almost 25 years. We should
probably put in this Bio that I’m a
professional, been published around the
world, award-winning yada yada yada.”
Darwin: “Right, but usually we shoot
nature and natural subjects.”
Sam: “Exactly. And when you met me,
you were smitten, hard!”
Darwin: “Or was that bitten...?”

A semi-long time ago, but not so

long as to diminish the sheen on
the Prince’s golden locks.… ”
Darwin: “I dunno about that either. I
don’t really have many ‘locks’ left. Grass
doesn’t grow on a busy street you know!”
Sam: “Sheesh, you’re kind of sensitive
about your age, aren’t you? How long
Bio Photo Copyright © 2010 Wayne Simpson
Sam: “Well, you’ve got a few years’
experience on me! I did win an award
once though.”
Darwin: “And we’re both in stock, such
as it is.”
Sam: “Yup. And sometimes we work
together, and sometimes we do our own
thing.”
O nce apon a time, in a land pretty
much like Alberta, Canada, a
handsome Prince who was super
talented but follicly challenged met
a smart and sassy Princess and was
instantly bitten by Love! And they
lived happily ever after.
The End.

The Basics of Light Painting

Darwin’s Equipment Sam’s Equipment
Canon Rebel T2i Nikon D300s
Canon EOS-1ds Mark III Slik 700 DX tripod

Gitzo GT3541XLS tripod Nikon 17-55mm F2.8 lens

Gitzo GT2541L tripod Nikon 70-300mm F4.5-5.6 lens
Nikon 60mm F2.8 lens
Sigma 8-16mm F4.5-5.6 lens
Singh-Ray Filters
Sigma 17-50mm F2.8 lens
Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 lens
Sigma 120-400mm F4.5-5.6 lens Tamrac Velocity 9x camera bag
Sigma 150mm F2.8 Macro lens

Singh-Ray Filters

The Basics of Light Painting

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The Basics of Light Painting