Summary: /* Prepping Your Camera */
[[Image:LightPainting.jpg|630px|thumb|left|View painting in a new light. Photo from [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Light_painting_gnangarra-1.jpg Wikimedia Commons]]]
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If you’ve ever seen a shot in which car lights seem to leave an ethereal trail behind them, or sparklers spell out a message in midair before the holder, you’ve seen a light painting. Light painting involves leaving a camera’s shutter wide open and overexposing it to moving objects that emit light, creating a continuous capture until the shutter closes. This can be done on any kind of camera that has an adjustable exposure time (props to those of you still sporting analog equipment). And even if you don't have access to any of these cameras, not all hope is lost — there's an app for it!
Thinking of some bright ideas for cool pictures yet? Read on to get illuminated to the methods of DIY light painting.
''This article was written by [http://twitter.com/jyakku Jack Donovan], a computer programmer with a secret love for film photography and puns.''
==Prepping Your Camera==
Your camera’s ability to capture light painting is all about the shutter speed. This is either found on a dial on the top of the camera or on the shot settings screen of your DSLR. For the best light paintings, you want an exposure time of at least one second (maybe longer, depending on your subject). Some light painters even use a continuous exposure time and manually stop it when their painting is complete, but the longer the exposure time, the greater the risk of blur in your final image.
Speaking of blur, one of the most important things to remember is keeping the camera still. A long exposure will capture any movement in the image, so even the slightest jostle will displace the backdrop in your scene and give it a ghost-like melted or faded look. Stand your camera up on a tripod or brace it against a table so that nothing can disturb it while you’re shooting, and consider investing in a shutter remote so you don’t knock the camera around when you first press the shutter button.
==Light as the Brush==
The most common way to create a light painting is to get a small glowing object like a flashlight or sparkler and use it as a “brush.” Find a nice dark backdrop at night (overexposed daylight will completely wash out your picture) and get into position while you trigger the camera.
As you paint, don’t worry too much about your body showing up; as long as the backdrop is dark and you move quickly, the camera won’t have enough time to capture the small amount of light reflecting off your body. If you choose to use a continuous exposure, stop the shot as soon as you finish painting so it doesn’t capture any additional movement as you move out of the scene.
You can also capture moving lights like nighttime traffic or spotlights using this same technique — just make sure the non-glowing subjects look okay blurry because you’re bound to have more light in a populated scene.
==Your Camera as the Brush==
[[Image:CameraPainting.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo by [http://www.lightpaintings.com.au Sean Diamond]/CC]]
Waving an object around in front of your lens isn’t the only way to create a gem of a light painting. What if you want to capture lights that you can’t move, like stars in the sky? If you’re very careful about it, you can slowly move your camera while your shutter is open to create a similar trail-like effect.
While preparing for your shot, take note of the brightness of your subject and be prepared to adjust your movement speed accordingly. Something bright like a streetlight or the moon will capture at any speed, but if there’s a lot of light pollution obscuring your view of the stars, you’ll have to move more slowly to get a visible amount of light.
'''PRO TIP:''' If you’ve ever tried photographing the night sky and have been unsatisfied with the result, try capturing a still image of the sky with an exposure time of one second or more. Giving your camera more time to absorb the light can create some truly stunning star shots.
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==Your iPhone as the Brush==
In the event that you've opted out of toting around a camera and solely rely on your iPhone for your photography needs, M::R::I Lightpainting has created an app called [http://www.mrilightpainting.com/lightbomber/ LightBomber] to quench all your light-painting impulses. The app lets you customize your iPhone camera with long-exposure settings perfect for capturing light paintings, and provides you with a bright light to paint with. Pair up with a friend who also has the app, and the light-painting possibilities become infinite.
==Admire Your Creation==
Once you’ve played around with light painting, develop or upload your photos and see what you can do to improve them. Experiment with other glowing objects like glowsticks, bike lights, and cellphones, or see what effect different exposure times have on your images. You could even create a self-portrait with light painting for a truly epic profile picture, or [http://www.mrilightpainting.com/ share your creations] with other artists on the LightBomber website.
[[Image:SparklerName.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Yours truly, painting my name and withstanding a horrible sparkler burn.]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Intel]]
[[Category:Art]]
{{#shtml:Template:IntelLogo}}
If you’ve ever seen a shot in which car lights seem to leave an ethereal trail behind them, or sparklers spell out a message in midair before the holder, you’ve seen a light painting. Light painting involves leaving a camera’s shutter wide open and overexposing it to moving objects that emit light, creating a continuous capture until the shutter closes. This can be done on any kind of camera that has an adjustable exposure time (props to those of you still sporting analog equipment). And even if you don't have access to any of these cameras, not all hope is lost — there's an app for it!
Thinking of some bright ideas for cool pictures yet? Read on to get illuminated to the methods of DIY light painting.
''This article was written by [http://twitter.com/jyakku Jack Donovan], a computer programmer with a secret love for film photography and puns.''
==Prepping Your Camera==
Your camera’s ability to capture light painting is all about the shutter speed. This is either found on a dial on the top of the camera or on the shot settings screen of your DSLR. For the best light paintings, you want an exposure time of at least one second (maybe longer, depending on your subject). Some light painters even use a continuous exposure time and manually stop it when their painting is complete, but the longer the exposure time, the greater the risk of blur in your final image.
Speaking of blur, one of the most important things to remember is keeping the camera still. A long exposure will capture any movement in the image, so even the slightest jostle will displace the backdrop in your scene and give it a ghost-like melted or faded look. Stand your camera up on a tripod or brace it against a table so that nothing can disturb it while you’re shooting, and consider investing in a shutter remote so you don’t knock the camera around when you first press the shutter button.
==Light as the Brush==
The most common way to create a light painting is to get a small glowing object like a flashlight or sparkler and use it as a “brush.” Find a nice dark backdrop at night (overexposed daylight will completely wash out your picture) and get into position while you trigger the camera.
As you paint, don’t worry too much about your body showing up; as long as the backdrop is dark and you move quickly, the camera won’t have enough time to capture the small amount of light reflecting off your body. If you choose to use a continuous exposure, stop the shot as soon as you finish painting so it doesn’t capture any additional movement as you move out of the scene.
You can also capture moving lights like nighttime traffic or spotlights using this same technique — just make sure the non-glowing subjects look okay blurry because you’re bound to have more light in a populated scene.
==Your Camera as the Brush==
[[Image:CameraPainting.jpg|200px|thumb|right|Photo by [http://www.lightpaintings.com.au Sean Diamond]/CC]]
Waving an object around in front of your lens isn’t the only way to create a gem of a light painting. What if you want to capture lights that you can’t move, like stars in the sky? If you’re very careful about it, you can slowly move your camera while your shutter is open to create a similar trail-like effect.
While preparing for your shot, take note of the brightness of your subject and be prepared to adjust your movement speed accordingly. Something bright like a streetlight or the moon will capture at any speed, but if there’s a lot of light pollution obscuring your view of the stars, you’ll have to move more slowly to get a visible amount of light.
'''PRO TIP:''' If you’ve ever tried photographing the night sky and have been unsatisfied with the result, try capturing a still image of the sky with an exposure time of one second or more. Giving your camera more time to absorb the light can create some truly stunning star shots.
<br clear="all" />
==Your iPhone as the Brush==
In the event that you've opted out of toting around a camera and solely rely on your iPhone for your photography needs, M::R::I Lightpainting has created an app called [http://www.mrilightpainting.com/lightbomber/ LightBomber] to quench all your light-painting impulses. The app lets you customize your iPhone camera with long-exposure settings perfect for capturing light paintings, and provides you with a bright light to paint with. Pair up with a friend who also has the app, and the light-painting possibilities become infinite.
==Admire Your Creation==
Once you’ve played around with light painting, develop or upload your photos and see what you can do to improve them. Experiment with other glowing objects like glowsticks, bike lights, and cellphones, or see what effect different exposure times have on your images. You could even create a self-portrait with light painting for a truly epic profile picture, or [http://www.mrilightpainting.com/ share your creations] with other artists on the LightBomber website.
[[Image:SparklerName.jpg|630px|thumb|left|Yours truly, painting my name and withstanding a horrible sparkler burn.]]
[[Category:Photography]]
[[Category:Intel]]
[[Category:Art]]
Source: http://feeds.wired.com/~r/howtowiki/~3/QmKELyhDMLI/Use_Camera_Tricks_to_Paint_Light_in_the_Sky
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