The technique is often used today in advertising, art and performance using a data projector. This was extremely popular in the art world in the 1960s using slide projectors. Weaving light in and out of trees for instance. To achieve this effect, you would project light into the scene you are photographing – but you would not directly see the source of the light in the image, only the light it produces. This is less about lines of light and more about lighting up areas of an otherwise dark scene.
However, rather than showing the light source directly by showing it’s movements, this technique is all about showing the light created but not the source.
This technique is achieved using a tripod. Light painting with on camera light source.You can paint simple words – or kinetic light painting of love hearts and other symbols are also fun. Move the camera quickly or slowly and the effects differ. The moon shining out of an otherwise dark sky, or a candle and a dark background would be a great starting point. For an effective kinetic light painting, it’s best to try to avoid other light sources when photographing, other than the one you’re concentrating on. You could use any light source to try this: a candle, a street lamp or the moon. The important part of this technique is that it is ‘kinetic’ – this relates to the movement of the camera, not the light. By kinetic light painting, we mean you keep the camera moving with a long exposure, exposing from a fixed light source. This is the easiest light painting technique to try out. Some may require a tripod and some other accessories – but all should be relatively inexpensive. So by the end of this guide, you will be able to go out and try light painting tomorrow, if you’d like to! Creative Light Painting Techniquesįirst off, four basic light painting set-ups you can use. Some require you to create light – others use ambient or natural light.Īll are easily accessible and achievable for anyone with a camera (or even a phone!). So from here we look at light painting set-ups, techniques and tips. You can also use ambient light from street lamps or the headlights of passing traffic at night.
However, you don’t need to create the light yourself. From sparklers, LED strings or headlights to purpose-made ‘light sticks’. Moving a light in front of a camera is only the start – try moving the camera or have the subject move – and there are so many light sources you can use for light painting photographs. From the 1940s onwards, even Pablo Picasso experimented with an electric light pen – see Gjon Mili’s renowned photographs of Picasso’s light painting. We should remember that the word ‘photography’ means ‘drawing’ (graphe) with ‘light’ (photo). Emphasising the link between photography and art the moving light is often called a ‘brush’.Īs far back as the 1930s, Surrealist Man Ray was scribble-writing with light over a self-portrait and the great American dance photographer Barbara Morgan produced some of the first abstract light painting photographs using black and white film. It is used to describe an image created by ‘drawing’ or ‘painting’ with a moving light and capturing it on camera, usually with a long exposure.
Light painting is incredibly varied and goes by several different names – ‘light drawing’, ‘painting with light’, ‘light art’ – but ‘Light Painting’ is the most commonly used term in photography.
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