Painting With Light

Simply put 'Painting with Light' is a technique used in photography to createlighting effects in-camera. It can be used to highlight subjects in an image,create ghost images, and make some other pretty cool effects.

This is a basic tutorial meant to give you an introduction to this technique. Theinstruction will be simple and brief in hopes that you will take it and run,experimenting and producing new and exciting images!

This instructable will present the technique then give examples withdescriptions of how they were made.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F32/5FON/FPQL8JQD/F325FONFPQL8JQD.LARGE.jpg)

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Painting with Light http://www.instructables.com/id/Painting-with-Light/?ALLSTEPS

1 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

Most importantly, go out and have some fun! Feel free to post your images inthe comments.

My respect and admiration go out to John Hill, who is an amazingphotographer, and who originally introduced me to this technique andcontinually encourages me.

All photographs in this insructable are unaltered. THERE HAS BEEN NOPHOTOSHOPING.

Related

See More (/tag/type-id/?q=)

How to Create a Light StopMotion Video (/id/How-to-Create-a-Light-Stop-Motion-Video/)

The Art of Black and WhiteDigital Photography(/id/The-Art-of-Black-and-White-Digital-

Neon Paint With Light(/id/Neon-Paint-With-Light/)by andrea biffi (/member

/andrea biffi/)

Long ExposurePhotography (/id/Long-Exposure-Photography/)by enero1170 (/member

Light Painting 101(/id/Light-Painting-101/)by Analogue-Chick (/member

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2 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

Step 1: What you'll need

Tools:CameraTripodLight SourceA Dark Location

A note on light sources: In this instructable I'll be using an LED flashlight,halogen spotlight, and green laser. These are just what I decided to play withtonight. Be inventive when choosing a light source. Consider LED andincandescent lights, glow-sticks, sparklers, etc. Be inventive and most importantHAVE FUN!

A note on dark places: While shooting for this instructable I was outside under afull moon. This is why my background is so illuminated and detailed. Had I shotduring a new moon (no moon) you would only see the tree. Again, play aroundwith the level of ambient light. Be aware though that too much will over-exposeyour image.

Step 2: Find a Subject

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FT8/T7WL/FPQL8JSI/FT8T7WLFPQL8JSI.LARGE.jpg)




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3 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

For this instructable I chose to shoot a wonderful tree native to my area, theJoshua Tree (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joshua_tree)Joshua Tree.

When selecting a subject consider what is around and behind it. The moreisolated your subject the better. When you 'paint with light' everything your lighttouches will be illuminated. If the light spills onto other objects around or behindyour subject they will be illuminated as well, distracting from the subject.

Also consider movement. When using the log exposures required for thistechnique any movement will blur, even slight ones you may not immediatelynotice.

Take note of this image as it represents the tree 'unpainted'. This image featuresthe same 30 second exposure as most of the following examples

Step 3: Set Up Your Camera

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F4K/7QI0/FPQL8JQJ/F4K7QI0FPQL8JQJ.LARGE.jpg)




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4 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

First off, you must use a tripod or other stable base. Like mentioned in thelast step, any movement will blur in a long exposure, be it the subject moving,or the camera.

Set your camera for a long exposure. How long depends on what you are tryingto accomplish. I like to give myself plenty of time to play and usually use a 20 or30 second exposure.

Many 'point and shoot' cameras do not have an adjustable exposure. However,you can trick your camera into a longer exposure by setting you camera to itslowest ISO and turning off the flash. This will probably only give you a fewseconds, but that's plenty of time to play. Consult your camera's instructionmanual or your get your kid to figure out how to adjust these settings

A note on focusing: When focusing on your subject illuminate it with a brightlight. It will make you focusing that much easier, and that much more precise. Ilearned this the hard way by trying to focus in low light. Many times I've beendisappointed in a great shot that turned out to be out of focus.

Step 4: Paint!

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F64/IRGV/FPQL8JSH/F64IRGVFPQL8JSH.LARGE.jpg)




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5 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

Once you have everything set up we can finally have some fun.

Press the button on your camera and start tracing and 'painting' your subjectwith your light source.

Literally think of your light as a brush that adds detail, brightness, and color.

The longer you illuminate and area the brighter it becomes. The same goes forareas that are illuminated more than once. Each pass of the light with cause thatarea to be brighter.

Play with the direction you paint from, strokes, turning your light on and off, etc.

Feel free to walk out into the frame of the image. As long as you are not directlyilluminated you won't show up in the image.

For the image below I used a 30 second exposure and 'painted' with an LEDflashlight. I 'painted' each side of the tree by standing about 10 feet from the treeon each side

Step 5: Example: Blue Spot

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F2H/5FML/FPQL8JQM/F2H5FMLFPQL8JQM.LARGE.jpg)




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6 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

For this image I used my spotlight with a blue lens. Instead of using strokes Iwould 'pop' the light on for just a second on different parts of the tree.

Step 6: Example: Red Spot

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FMI/Y1D6/FPQL8JQN/FMIY1D6FPQL8JQN.LARGE.jpg)




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7 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

I used the same technique as in the previous example, but used a red filterinstead of blue.

Step 7: Example: Red and Blue Spot

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FDU/F13U/FPQL8JQI/FDUF13UFPQL8JQI.LARGE.jpg)




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8 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

Again I 'popped' the tree with light for a second from my spot light, but switchedbetween the red and blue filters.

Step 8: Example: Green Laser

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F32/5FON/FPQL8JQD/F325FONFPQL8JQD.LARGE.jpg)




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9 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

For this image I used an 86 second exposure and traced/scribbled on the treewith a green laser pointer.

Notice how much brighter the background is in this image because theexposure was 56 seconds longer than the others.

Camera was set to 'Bulb' exposure at ISO 400 and f/6.3.

See the photo larger here (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3329/3184556116_ddc3daeb90_b.jpg)

Step 9: Example: Ghost Images

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FTZ/E68W/FPQL8JQL/FTZE68WFPQL8JQL.LARGE.jpg)




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10 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

This image took a bit more planning than the tree.

To get this shot I started with the flash to capture the detail in the ground. Then Istood my model in front of the camera and 'painted' her from the sides with mylight. then I had her move back and traced her once again.

Camera was set to a 30 sec exposure at ISO 800 and f/9

Special thanks to Amanda for being my lovely model.

See the photo larger here (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3346/3179271534_42dfe89399_b.jpg)

Step 10: Example: Drawing with Light

To achieve this effect you use the same set up as though you were going to'paint' wit the light, but sand in front of the camera and point you light at thecamera instead.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F44/RU77/FPQL8XIU/F44RU77FPQL8XIU.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F4C/0HOD/FPW98Z56/F4C0HODFPW98Z56.LARGE.jpg)




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11 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

For this image I set up two of my models as though they were holding animaginary rope. I then had the third model stand between them and jump. Whenshe was mid air I snapped the flash. Then I had her step out of the image and I'drew' in the rope with the flashlight.

Camera was set to a 10 sec exposure at ISO800 and f/5.6

Special thanks to Matt, Leah, and Kim for being my models

See the photo larger here (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3343/3192866573_faa3d8bde3_b.jpg)

Step 11: Example: Highlighting

This is a much more subtle example of painting with light. For this image I'painted' only the wooden power pole. I painted it from three different angles.This is what causes the pole to pop out at you.

I specifically did not 'paint' the shoes with light, as they are white they werebright enough o their own and I really like the contrast their motion blur added tothe image.

Camera was set to a 30 sec exposure at ISO800 and f/6.3

See the photo larger here (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/3180930487_8b5bb8858d_b.jpg)

Step 12: Example: Highlighting 2

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F1A/H6PD/FPQL8XJ0/F1AH6PDFPQL8XJ0.LARGE.jpg)




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12 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

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(/member/marthajennn/)

8 months ago Reply (CGZ0MHYHIGFFMMC)

This image uses the the same idea as the last example in that the 'painting'done here is to highlight the subject of the image. In this case it was the stopsign. I turned the white balance on my camera as low as it would go to make theyellow streetlights seem white and to suck the colors out of the background. Ithen used my flashlight to illuminate the stop sign for about two seconds. Notethe texture of the reflection from the sign having graffiti scrubbed off of it.

Camera was set to a 15 sec exposure at ISO 200 and f/5.6

See the photo larger here (http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3120/3193716020_f30472a4db_b.jpg)

marthajennn (/member/marthajennn/)

Painting with light is really an art. There are lots of techniques for creating thiskind of art. I think photography means knowledge and creativity. You can takeexcellent photo if you have knowledge about the technique and if you arecreative. You need to learn and practice a lot if you want to take breathtakingphotographs and amaze people with your skills. This is actually how I improvedmyself. If you want learn this technique more, you can read this article aboutphotography techniques. (http://www.makeusknow.com/categories/arts&entertainment/photography-tricks-and-techniques-learn-advanced-photography.html)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F2U/MTIN/FPQL8XJ6/F2UMTINFPQL8XJ6.LARGE.jpg)




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13 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

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(http://cdn.instructables.com/FC2/WEJ7/HIGIKZKQ/FC2WEJ7HIGIKZKQ.LARGE.jpg)

unklstuart (/member/unklstuart/)

Good work. Joshua trees are a great subject in themselves. The laser paintingreally pops. I'm looking for plants to paint myself. Here's one from my backyard. .

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FFY/3JXN/FPWWTNLH/FFY3JXNFPWWTNLH.LARGE.jpg)

mrscake (/member/mrscake/) unklstuart

that is breath taking.

lancylen (/member/lancylen/)

That's really imaginative, the pics are great.

kristofvagyok (/member/kristofvagyok/)

Why not stacking the pictures? Make completely different pictures with differentlight and stack the into one picture like this:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-should-be-a-hi-res-photo-taken-from-one-view-w/

CYNICALifornia (/member/CYNICALifornia/) (author) kristofvagyok

That's a very neat technique.

What draws me to painting with lightis you become very much involvedwith the creation of the image, not justthe capture of it. You are able tointeract with it in real time.

jjuttup (/member/jjuttup/)

http://www.solness.com.au/example-stories.php

this guy came to my school a year or 2 ago and showed us his works and how hedoes it too..... he's huge down under....




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14 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM


1 year ago Reply (CGEBYDTH130PC7I)

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3 years ago Reply (CRMEXUIGB5HDMSC)

also for the record in no way does a phone substitute a torch for this type ofphotography.... no matter how close the subject is.... :P i tried.....

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FGE/4P4K/GX10CN2L

/FGE4P4KGX10CN2L.LARGE.jpg) (http://cdn.instructables.com/FLW/0U56/GX1N80XE/FLW0U56GX1N80XE.LARGE.jpg)

CYNICALifornia (/member/CYNICALifornia/) (author) jjuttup

Very cool! Thanks for sharing.

imbigman (/member/imbigman/)

Now i didn't read every coment, so I hope that I didn't repeat this, However doesanyone else see the red dragon head towards the botom of the tree? Not thetrunk of the tree, just the botom branches.

Cool 'ible! I am going to give this a try.

MJDick (/member/MJDick/)

ok, this is what I miss, awesome pics.

I have to know from someone who knows more then me. I do extended exposurelike you, but I hit 8 to 20 minutes. but film is to hard to have developed anymore,and haven't found a digital that can handle this. if anyone knows, please let me inon the models. TIA

jncohen.net (/member/jncohen.net/)

I would like to introduce you all to a totally different form of "Painting with Light"photography as described in Wikipedia.

Discovered by John N. Cohen amazing pictures without a computer, darkroom,or any expensive equipment.

John won many top international awards and had over 20 one-man exhibitions inUSA and in Europe.

Please have a look at: - http://www.jncohen.net/Painting_with_Light/index.htm(http://www.jncohen.net/Painting_with_Light/index.htm )

Reference: - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_painting#Technique_and_equipment (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Light_painting#Technique_and_equipment )




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15 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

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5 years ago Reply (C3CBMRQFRD80I6C)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FMJ/20XN/GB5HDMS7/FMJ20XNGB5HDMS7.LARGE.jpg)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F8M/7XM1/GB5HDMS4

/F8M7XM1GB5HDMS4.LARGE.jpg) (http://cdn.instructables.com/F6W/JXF2/GB5HDMS5/F6WJXF2GB5HDMS5.LARGE.jpg)

brawns214 (/member/brawns214/)

I really like the thoroughness of this instructable. Way to present a lot ofinformation to be digested at ones own pace. My friend and I ended up in a darktunnel, and though I didn't have a tripod, we made it work pretty well. These arejust a few of the pictures. Most of them revolve around the idea of the sameperson in the shot repeated many times.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FJY/AWMR/FRD80I64

/FJYAWMRFRD80I64.LARGE.jpg) (http://cdn.instructables.com/FB9/Q6EL

/FRD80I65/FB9Q6ELFRD80I65.LARGE.jpg) (http://cdn.instructables.com/FHR/UFCQ/FRD80I63/FHRUFCQFRD80I63.LARGE.jpg)

CYNICALifornia (/member/CYNICALifornia/) (author) brawns214

Tripod or not I like yours much better than my own. Very creative. Thanksfor sharing them.




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16 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

4 years ago Reply (CML7R2XG3E2CMHR)


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tech123456789 (/member/tech123456789/)

looks like a 3d picture

idealist (/member/idealist/)

shes cute

mjfdl (/member/mjfdl/)

Long exposure on a dashboard...on a rainy night.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FOH/6D1J/FT3K6U95/FOH6D1JFT3K6U95.LARGE.jpg)

hibou (/member/hibou/)

My favorite photographer who uses this technique would be Chuen-Li Chan:

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FDG/G42M/FQ6EF7YE/FDGG42MFQ6EF7YE.LARGE.jpg)

cdogjune (/member/cdogjune/)

A hand held flash works great for this too. It takes a little more visualization. Aflash is directional just like a flashlight, the only difference is it is brighter and acloser to white light.

podup365.com (/member/podup365.com/)

I would like to make the suggestion that you remove the strap from your camerawhile on the tripod. Leaving the neck strap on your camera for this process couldleave your pictures susceptible to motion if any wind catches the strap. Plus, itcould get caught on your hands or your clothes.

Weissensteinburg (/member/Weissensteinburg/)

I've never seen that ghosting idea before,very cool! I once shadowed a foodphotographer. He had a fiberoptic halogen




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17 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

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5 years ago Reply (C0SZD0TFPWWW68Q)

light that he used to paint the dark spots of a photo (like the mint leaf in a cup ofvanilla ice cream). That was probably one of the coolest things I'd seen.

didibemi (/member/didibemi/)

Really nice! I'm sure i'll try it. kisses

Ezara (/member/Ezara/)

Really beautiful photographs and a very interesting instructable! Definitely fivestars!

Hustlerzlife (/member/Hustlerzlife/)

There is a photographer, Eric Curry, that is doing some new stuff like painting withlight. <a rel="nofollow"href="http://www.americanprideandpassion.com">American Pride andPassion</a> Most of his stuff is cool machines and vehicles. <br/>

elduderino (/member/elduderino/)

Yeah, but this is ten times more artistic and creative than photoshop - this takestime, effort, planning and actually going outside ;-)

DanNukesAll (/member/DanNukesAll/)

wow that is prety sweet. im definately gonna have to try this sometinme and ihave to say you are an amazing photographer

pau.cc (/member/pau.cc/)

This is a great technique, I like a lot to play with light and long exposures too. Ialways have with me like 4 different light sources. You can check out some flickrshots here:http://www.flickr.com/photos/paucc/sets/72157603266607871/(http://www.flickr.com/photos/paucc/sets/72157603266607871/)

(http://cdn.instructables.com/FSC/W5DT/FPWWQOZ3/FSCW5DTFPWWQOZ3.LARGE.jpg)

Notbob (/member/Notbob/)

I've always enjoyed playing with lighting in photographs. *bookmarks page*

dviz (/member/dviz/)

This can be done using photoshop......just lower the opacity and duplicate theimage.....lol




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18 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

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mainecoonmaniac (/member/mainecoonmaniac/)

I remember close to 20 years ago aninnovative photographer Aaron Jonescreating a light painting craze incommercial photography. He created thislight painting gadget that used a xenonbulb, fiber optics and a shutter system topaint light. It's a beautiful technique, but atone point was over used.

JakeTobak (/member/JakeTobak/)

Very awesome idea and very well made Instructable. I'm not into photographyreally, but I still find the ideas very interesting.

kelseymh (/member/kelseymh/)

This is really excellent! Thank you for laying out the technique so clearly.

There is a German photographer, Peter Ginter (http://www.peterginter.de/index1.html) who uses this technique for many of his "high tech" series, includingthose at SLAC (http://www.peterginter.de/01technology/slac_01.html) (c.f. myavatar, at left).

PKM (/member/PKM/)

This is a fantastic Instructable! It's a technique I have played with a fair amountwith other photography-inclined friends- my first Instructable(http://www.instructables.com/id/Minty-Strobe/) could be considered a similaridea, and one night after a lot of messing around with 1,000,000 candle powerspotlights and long exposures we took this beautifully weird shot (of one person).

I think I'm going to have to experiment with this a bit more while it's still dark allthe time.

(http://cdn.instructables.com/F76/SC21/FPW9B80E/F76SC21FPW9B80E.LARGE.jpg)

Decepticon (/member/Decepticon/)

That's really neat! I have seen long exposure photography, but not really used asif it were a canvas and light was the paint. Nice 'able!

stupid winter...




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19 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

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20 of 20 3/8/2014 5:35 AM

Painting With Light

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