The basic steps for shooting indoors or outdoors
are simple: Just set the camera up on a tripod so it
doesn’t move, aim it at the subject, and adjust
your camera settings (with your best guess). Then
open the shutter and use a light to paint in the
subject. The real challenge with this type of pho-
tography is working without a safety net. I know
that when shooting regular images, I can always
set my camera to one of the automatic modes and
probably get a good image, with average exposure,
good focus, and a workable white balance. None
of that is possible when it comes to light painting.
It is a very primitive type of photography that all
takes place manually. I created the image in
Figure 9-9 by placing the flower against a black
background and then painting in the areas using
a small LED flashlight. It can take a while to get
right. I would be embarrassed to show some of my
earlier attempts, but suffice to say that it can takePainting with Light
To take the actual photograph, you need to set the
subject up in an area that is very dark because any
ambient light will be picked up by the camera’s
sensor and will appear in your photo. For small
subjects, you can photograph them inside any
room that can be made dark. The best time for this
is at night, where the ambient light is minimized.
To make a room as dark as possible, I use black
matte foam board in the windows to block out
light from passing cars or neighbors’ homes.
When photographing outside and painting with
light, you have to take into account the ambient
light that may be present from the moon or any
other light source. In these situations, you might
need to work faster or with a more powerful light
so that the shutter does not stay open for too long.
ABOUT THIS PHOTO
Drawing in the air can be a
challenge, but this heart came
out just right. Taken at 5 sec-
onds, f/10, and ISO 100.9-8