In-Class Exercise No. 6: Light Painting
In the sixth class of my ten-week course at the Delaware Art Museum, we darken the room and use flashlights to paint light onto our subjects.
Light painting is a terrific way to light a non-moving subject. In the hands of photographers like Harold Ross, it becomes an art form. Harold can take 20 or more images at a session, lighting one small part of the scene with each shot, then bringing all the images into Photoshop and layering them together to get the final image.
In class, we do it all in a single go. We start with cameras on tripods in Manual (M) Mode, ISO at 100, shutter speed at 20 seconds, and aperture at f/16. Then, with the shutter delay set to 10 seconds, we release the shutter and begin painting the subject with our flashlights. Then we take more photos — adjusting our exposures, re-arranging the objects, and refining our painting techniques.
Light painting teaches us that the way things look is very dependent on how they are lit.
See all of Danny’s “Make Better Photos” posts.
See Danny’s light-paintings of scarfs, hats, shawls, and more on The Village Knitiot website.
IN-CLASS PHOTOS OF STUDENTS LIGHT PAINTING. Click on any thumbnail image below to see it larger in a slide show. To return here, click on the “x” in the upper right of the slide show, or press the ESC key of your keyboard.
