Task 1c
My experience with light painting
(ISO
100/F3.5/32sec/tripod)
The only way I can describe how this shoot went is by
getting you to imaging jumping head first into the deep end of a pool, without
knowing how to swim. I went into this style of photography totally blind
folded. The only knowledge I had to go by was to keep the ISO low with the
f-stop wide and to use ‘Bulb’ in manual mode. It didn’t turn out as top quality
work, but it was a learning experience. One of the things I found the hardest
was getting the camera to focus in the dark, as a result these two images I’ve
chosen to talk about a slightly blurry. The first image shows the effect having
white pants has when doing light painting. I only realised this one my friend
spelt my name and I couldn’t see her at all. It was only then I linked darker
clothing with staying invisible to the camera. No matter how much you move if you’re
wearing white you will show up as a ghost in your images (this is because white
reflects light back to the camera). I
will defiantly rectify my inerrancy by doing some research and re-shooting at a
later point. A least you’ll be able to tell the difference knowing how to do it
properly makes.

(ISO
100/F3.5/43sec/tripod)
Research on How to paint with Light
(Image by Darren Pearson)
After going out and trying night time photographer for
myself, I decided that I should probably do some research on how to do it properly
(as my images sucked). The most important thing that you need is a DSLR camera,
with manual setting that includes the ‘Bulb’ function. As long as camera has
the ability to use ‘Bulb’ then for now you’re good. To get quality images the
camera will need to be ability to use raw format for shooting light at night.
This option should be found in the settings. A sturdy tripod is always a good
thing to have as it is less likely to blow over in the wind. Things that I
would like to have, but don’t got the money, is a remote trigger with locking
mechanism or timer, but because I just have a basic trigger release my digital
camera will have to be operated by a friend that loves me enough to stand in
the cold and press the shutter. One
thing that is very important when taking night photographs is an extra battery
because long exposures and cold temperature eat the power. Having a lens hood
or lens shade this will help block out light that is coming into the lens and
causing light flare. The last but not least item needed is a powerful light or
phone to paint with.
If the weather ant being your buddy, then take precautions
to protected your camera by having a rain cover. Take a friend with you at
night is probably a must as there are safety in numbers and it keeps your
equipment safe if you are the one making the light painting.
Camera settings
In your camera settings have the file format Raw that you
should use when shooting light at night. Next is to set your white balance
should too tungsten or incandescent to compensate for the manmade light. Focusing
is hard at night and the camera will ‘hunt’ constant (If you can’t see in the dark
then neither can the camera), so use a light to find focus or have a friend to
shine the light in front of the camera. Ones you found your focus lock with
manual focus and don't touch it.
In manual mode exposures longer than 30 seconds you need to
use ‘Bulb’, with the trigger release to keep the lens open manually. If alone
you should use 30 seconds and have the camera delay by a couple of seconds to
get into position. The ISO on the camera
should be set to its lowest possible setting to get as minimum noise as
possible.
Finding subject tips
Good objects to shoot light photography with are old barns
and abandoned motor vehicles that can be illuminated, without having any other
light taking focus (if there in a field).
With anything that involves entering other peoples land, make sure you
get permission first. Trespassing and getting arrested are not good things. As
I am a beginner the site says I should start small objects that can be light up
in one exposure and work my way up to bigger ones.
Getting set up
Step one is to set up the camera onto the tripod with the
remote trigger attached. Then turn off any image stabilisation and turn off
long explosion noise reduction in the camera settings. Next put the ISO to its
lowest setting and set the aperture to around an F-stop of 5.6 or lower. You
can adjust to alter the depth of field, but each stop down doubles the amount
of time the image needs to be exposed as you paint. In terms of shutter speed
it say to start around 60 seconds. This is subjectable as you may need less of
an exposure for nights with a full moon.
How to light paint
Try to place the right amount of light in places you want to
show up and try not to be in the image. Before you start painting set up a
basic exposure test shot without any additional and review that image to make
sure you have a good overall exposure. If you're happy with the image adjust
settings so you have a long explosion and long enough shutter speed to easily
get in the scene to light the subject.
Flashlight tips
Always try to keep invisible and make sure the flashlight is
aimed at the subject and not yourself. It is useful to ‘definitely’ wear darker(if
not black) clothing because the dark clothing will absorb the light rather than
reflect it(I found out after going out and making the mistake of wearing white
pants). Make sure you don’t stand in one place for more than a couple of
seconds or you’ll show up as a ghost. Only aim the flashlight back towards the
camera if you wish to outline the subject or are painting shapes to make an
image. It is helpful to keep the light moving the whole time as to avoid harsh
lines.
You can building up a multiple layered image by shooting
multiple images of the same subject(with different areas light up) and then
merge the images in photo shop later, this is useful for lighting up a larger
object like a truck. There was a part two on the website below explaining how
to do this in photo shop, but I don’t have time to try it out in this unit.
After research shoot images
(ISO
100/F4.5/20sec/tripod)

So, this is my second shoot doing light photography at
night. I decided to take the advice of the website and try illuminating an
object. The object I chose was my favourite teddy bear Bailey the dog. Both of these images were done using the same
settings, but the top one is my favourite with the only downside being her tag
showing. I chose to take a second image hiding Bailey's tag from view. Both are
equally good, but I think the amount of light shone in the first image is
really good as it looks like electricity pulsing though the bear. Almost like
the current is trying to escape Baileys body. I re-shoot using the settings I
found out from my research so these images are in raw format with all the other
setting mentioned in place to create this type of image. I used a lens hood and
focused with the light of before locking it in manual focus and turning the
light off. You'll find that these images are far more in focus then the previous
shoots images that are ant very focus at all. This time I was wearing all black
clothing and continue to move so I would not appear in the images I think this
worked very well and I hope I can move on to bigger objects, but I think it
will take some practice. For these images are, what I think, are the best I
took, whiles trying this technique.

(ISO
100/F6.3/20sec/tripod)
This picture was taken using almost the same settings as
before, but I increased the f-stop to F6.3. I wanted the light to have a more
electric current effect, which by making the aperture smaller allowed the light
to be less intense and create a much sharper image (my light at the time was
doing the hole, I’m a dim light to OMG look how bright I am thing as I moved
it). I would recommend researching
before trying out something new, as I intend to do in future projects (as it makes
life easy). I think my images turned out really well and I enjoyed playing
around with the light. The only downside to this image is you can just slightly
see me on one side. I think it's just a little part of my hands up on the right
hand side of the image or it could just be the way the camera had captured the
light at the time. I hope in the future I can try with a much bigger object.
Doing light photography is not as easy as it looks and I really admire those
artistic people who create amazing pieces of work using this technique.