Pages

Monday, April 16, 2018

"How to Paint Light" by Justin Q.


Being a photographer for about almost 6 years has taught me some interesting photography tips and tricks. With that being said I believe it is now time to teach some of you a very cool and simple thing called “Light Painting”.  Light Painting is a type of photography where in the picture being taken you illuminate a object with a light and the final result is a sweet looking picture with only that single object being lit up and everything else in the background isn’t.

What you will need is:
      A DSLR Camera 
      Tripod
      LED Bar
            - Optional: A cover of some sorts for the LED Bar (In my case I use a Nike Gym Sack)
      The object you want to light paint
      Time

Direction to set up your camera settings:

      Step 1: Turn on your camera
      Step 2: Turn you ISO all the way down to the lowest # (Mine being 50)
-       Your ISO is basically your exposure, The lower your ISO is the less grain your picture has and the higher the ISO, the more grain your picture will have.
      Step 3: Set your F/ (Your aperture) to again the lowest it can go (Mine being F/1.4)
-       Your F/ (F Stop) which is your aperture is the control to how much light you are letting in through the lens. The lower your F/ is, the more light your are letting in and vise versa with the higher your F/ is,the less light you are letting in.
      Step 4: Set your shutter speed to ~20 or 25 or 30 seconds
-       Your shutter speed is how fast or how long you take a picture for, both your aperture and shutter speed control how much light you let in. Faster shutter speed = Less Light / Slower shutter speed = More light.
      Step 5: Set your camera to manual focus (Switch will be either on your lens or your camera)
-       You want to use manual focus for light painting because autofocus won't be able to focus on the subject due to it being night time and dark.

Now that you have your camera setup, lets get into the actual light painting part.

Directions for painting:

      Step 1: Get your camera on the tripod
      Step 2: Setup your object or subject you want to light paint
      Step 3: Make sure your subject is infocus, you don't want a blurry picture
      Step 4: Turn on your LED Bar (make sure the light isn’t pointed at the subject / object yet)
      Step 5: Whenever you're ready click down on your shutter button to start taking the picture
-       Note: you only have that certain amount of time you set to paint the subject.
      Step 6: With the LED Bar go to the subject and slowly sweeping over or across the object once or twice with the light emitting from the LED Bar.
-       Note: If your picture ends up with streaks from the LED Bar use a cover to prevent that from happening.
      Step 7: After going over the subject with the LED bar turn it off and run out of frame and wait till the long exposure finishes.

Example of finished product: 




And with step #7 being the last step, your picture should of came out nice and crispy if you did everything correctly. If you don’t get it right the first time try, try, and try again until you get the perfect picture. Have fun out there at night light painting things!






21 comments:

  1. This is a very unique and informative how-to. Although I don't own a camera, it is interesting to learn about the different photography techniques, especially this one. Great job!

    ReplyDelete
  2. This "How To" was super helpful for me because of my newest interest in creating videos. I also love how you explained where each general or common setting is on a camera. I will be trying this out soon!
    DIEGO ARMANDO CARRILLO P.1

    ReplyDelete
  3. I've always seen pictures that have this effect, but never knew the process that was behind it. Your tutorial was extremely informative and made me feel like I could do this, despite being a terrible photographer. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  4. I too have a love for photography. This is a technique I have been wanting to try, but have never gotten around to. Your how-to explains the steps perfectly and seems so easy to follow. I will most definitely be trying this out soon!

    ReplyDelete
  5. This "How-To" was very unique. I never knew that when taking pictures, making paint light will allow me to have a more high quality picture. This has taught me a lot about photography and I can't wait to try it myself. -Erick Gutierrez per.4

    ReplyDelete
  6. I loved this because I also love photography. I may not be as into as you are but I do have a hobby for it and when I do, do it I have such a great time. I also like this entry a lot because you were very informative and made it easy for me to understand.

    ReplyDelete
  7. This is so awesome! I didn't know there was an actual process like that to produce that kind of picture. This was so interesting to read. Even though I'm not a great photographer, I like photography and I really want to do this now.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Great post. Knowing your skill as a photographer makes me verily believe your instructions will lead to an outstanding image. Thanks again!

    ReplyDelete
  9. Glad to see your blog post is about something you care so much about! Great tutorial, I can't wait to try and follow it using my camera (and mess it up horribly somehow).

    ReplyDelete
  10. I love the way these pictures come out and wonder how they got it this beautiful. I can't wait to try it out myself!

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is so cool! I love the way you incorporated a little back story about you being a photographer and made the directions easy enough to understand. It's crazy seeing your skills grow since we were young. Through this blog entry I can tell you have a true heart for photography. Keep up the good work and awesome post! - Sabrina Wilkerson Per. 1

    ReplyDelete
  12. This was a nice, informative how-to. It's always nice reading a post written by someone so passionate about what they do. I think you struck a nice balance of explaining photography jargon without getting too off-topic.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I've seen pictures with this effect and I've always thought they've looked amazing. The steps you made are very easy to follow even for someone who has very little photography knowledge like me. You're a really good photographer and I can really sense the passion you have for photography. Great Job!

    ReplyDelete
  14. This is a very interesting piece. I love looking at different types of photography and have always wondered how people do it. Your tutorial seems easy to follow along given the short detailed descriptions. Amazing shot by the way and Good job!
    -Mia Tolliver
    Period 1

    ReplyDelete
  15. Justin I know how much you love photography and I could clearly tell from your post that you are so passionate about taking professional style photos. Hopefully one day I can take pictures as nice as you and even use your How To and take some amazing pictures. Thanks for sharing!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Thank you for your detailed guide on how to manipulate light in photography! My mom loves to take pictures and she knows how to work her camera much better than I do, so this guide is a good way to start learning how to take professional photos. Your steps were very clear and easy to follow, and the concise definitions you included for each camera term was helpful.

    ReplyDelete
  17. This "how to" was very interesting and informative, on how to take really nice pictures. Personally i'm terrible at taking photos but my mom goes crazy over photography, and i'll be sure to inform her about this technique.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Thank you for sharing this! As one who wants to get more into photography, this really motivated me to do so. The steps were so simple and easy to follow. I can see the passion you have for this by reading it!
    - Jennifer Kirksey (per. 5)

    ReplyDelete
  19. I have never heard about this before, so thank you for introducing a new little idea to me! This was a very creative idea, and I like how you expressed your passion for photography without being confusing and over the top. I can say after reading this I will definitely be trying this technique out. Good job!

    ReplyDelete
  20. i am not a photographer in any way but this is a great tip to know. I actually cosplay as a hobby, and the next time i get a photoshoot i'll let the photographer know about this trick. (unless they know it already)

    ReplyDelete
  21. This is such an interesting technique! I have heard a little bit about this idea before but you explained it very well. I can't wait to try it out one day. Your blog post is a perfect match for you because I know how passionate you are about photography and you're so talented! Great job. :)

    ReplyDelete

Remember, make your comment positive, supportive, and specific to the piece you're commenting on. No anonymous comments! :)