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10/07/2005 01:04:36 AM · #1 |
okay, i am noticing that i LOVE these pictures that use a "painting with light" technique, or taking the shot in complete darkness with long exposures and mini mags for lighting.
time to fess up! what's your technique for doing this? i long to experiment with this method...
thanks! |
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10/07/2005 01:06:03 AM · #2 |
Originally posted by tpoc:
i long to experiment with this method...
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The experimentation is the technique :) |
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10/07/2005 01:21:16 AM · #3 |
It's really very simple. You just turn off the lights, open the camera's shutter, and then light the object with the light of your choice.
You can use a long exposure setting, or, if available, you can hold the shutter open indefinitely using the 'Bulb' setting on your camera.
I've done some exposures that lasted several minutes. It's really a fun technique. Play with it, and have some fun.
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10/07/2005 01:24:06 AM · #4 |
I used a mini-mag and a fiber optic snork for this shot
I've also seen much larger things done with a million candlepower spotlight. Just depends on the scale.
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10/07/2005 01:24:44 AM · #5 |
so, when you use the light on your subject, do you hold it straight there, swish it about, or do whatever feels right for the shot? (...as she probably answers her own question.)
(sorry, my ignorance is showing again!)
; ) |
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10/07/2005 02:42:52 AM · #6 |
Originally posted by tpoc:
so, when you use the light on your subject, do you hold it straight there, swish it about, or do whatever feels right for the shot? (...as she probably answers her own question.)
(sorry, my ignorance is showing again!)
; ) |
Whatever you want, but in general you'd want to keep it moving, or why bother? You might want to light from one position (stationary) for part the exposure time then move the light all around for the other part; this would have the effect of "filling the shadows". There's so many ways to go with this...
Robt.
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10/07/2005 03:57:47 AM · #7 |
Originally posted by tpoc:
so, when you use the light on your subject, do you hold it straight there, swish it about, or do whatever feels right for the shot? (...as she probably answers her own question.)
(sorry, my ignorance is showing again!)
; ) |
You can control exposure by controlling how long the light is "painting" any one area. In my shot of the lily, I made the lighter areas of the petals by "painting" more light onto those areas. It took a lot of tries to get it how I wanted it.
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10/07/2005 06:38:34 AM · #8 |
You asked for advice from those who know what they are doing -- hope you don't mind some basic observations about light from someone who as never tried painting with it.
- To determine how long to keep the light on the subject, use the light you will be painting with as a stationary light source placed at the distance you will be painting from and take a meter reading with the camera at the desired aperture. This will tell you how long the light needs to be on the subject. For instance, if the meter says 2 sec. at f4, so when painting with the light any area the light is on for 2 sec. will be exposed as if it was lit be the same light when stationary.
- it doesn't matter at all if the light is on the subject all at once or a little now and a little more later, as long as the total time lit is correct.
- The light doesn't have to be aimed directly at the subject to light it somewhat. This is where it is most important to develope a feel for it -- after some experimentation you should get to know what the fall-off of you light is. A tight beam of light will have less fade-off, but will require more control while moving to light the subject evenly.
- The different areas of the subject don't have to be exposed exactly the same -- that is (in my opinion) the entire point of this technique. Exposure is contolled by how long you have the light on a given subject, half as long will drop the exposure by a full stop while twice as long will increase exposure by a full stop.
Have fun experimenting.
David
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10/07/2005 07:49:23 AM · #9 |
I used a mini flashlight with a blue bottle taped to it for this shot:
I have the rest of the explanation with the photo. :)
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10/07/2005 07:58:06 AM · #10 |
First choose an apeture you think will work best and do some ambient light test shots. With your focus already set, switch to manual focus to lock your focus. Set camera to manual and dial in the shutter speed you think you'll need. Turn out the lights and experiment with different shutter durations until you get what you are looking for. Keep your ISO as low as is possible also to keep noise levels low.
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10/07/2005 08:20:27 AM · #11 |
Set a suitable aperture and then work with the shutter timing. Mostly it is a trial and error sort of thing. YOu don't want a really stopped down aperture as the exposure times will be long anyway. If you can get times in the several minutes range that gives you more time to control the light.
I mostly use a flashlight and either aluminum foil or my hands as modification tools to control how the light hits the subject. If you want hard point light sources, you can get the bulb in the shot, pointing at the camera, but most of the time you'll probably want a softer light, with it just bouncing from the subject.
Low ISO is good, and a tripod is essential. Play around with it until you get a feel for how much light in what places is appropriate. Also try modifying your light sources with coloured gels/ coloured plastic wrappers, translucent bottles etc to tint the light. The flashlight is a brush - so learn to paint with it and how you can modify those brush strokes.
 
Message edited by author 2005-10-07 08:21:43. |
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10/07/2005 10:16:06 AM · #12 |
this is just awesome information, and the photos are stunning. sounds like it's time to pick myself up a mini-mag and just go for it!
...and it sounds like i need to pick up a membership so i can show you what i end up doing!
: )
keep those tips coming! |
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10/07/2005 11:17:03 AM · #13 |
I have had a lot of fun with this technique.
Here are my challenge entries which were painted.
This image uses PwL to create an effect which I could not otherwise have achieved. I could thus have a pure black background, and cards lighted from almost every angle. The problem: since my sister is not an immobile object, the long exposure along with some slight movement resulted in the Quasimodo look. Here is a fixed version (illegal editing).
In this image, my other sister is lying, so there's very little risk of movement. The PwL had a double effect on this shot. I used a very small buld which I covered with the back of my hand. I moved it around in circles. The bit of light shining through my hand created the ghost.
Notice that the white balance is of. I find it is very difficult to conrol in these situations. Shooting in RAW would definately have been an advantage here.
This image shows how things can go terribly wrong. Since you have to rely your timing entirely on your feeling, it is very hard to control the amount of light that reaches the sensor, especially in bulb shots over three minutes. The pieces of fruit are all blown out.
PwL is a good technique to create a spooky mood. The effects of the technique are obvious on the couch, however the irregular effect adds to the image.
I use a MagLite. I surround it with a black sheet of paper, which forms a cone around the light source. This prevents the light to shine directly into the camera (which is another, interesting effect, see Imagineer's 'Last Breath'). If I want very soft light, I cover the flashlight with translucent paper.
I hope this was helpful?
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10/07/2005 04:12:56 PM · #14 |
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10/07/2005 06:49:23 PM · #15 |
I was reading this thread today at work and since I was bored out of my mind tonight I thought I'd give it a try on some left over bubble stuff from the bubble challenge...kind of wish I'd tried this for the challenge, might have done better...maybe not.
I did some minor shadow and lighting adjustments in the raw conversion. Anyone got comments?
Message edited by author 2005-10-07 19:15:38.
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10/08/2005 12:53:20 AM · #16 |
gloda-
just had to tell you that your nightmare image is one of my all-time favorites on this site.
jeannel |
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