Guest Post: How to Take Creative Photographs – Painting with Light

By Robert Lobitz

Photographers are by nature gifted with creativity and imagination. They can ‘see’ beauty and uniqueness in objects or people, and capture that elusive image in a photograph for the rest of us to marvel at and enjoy.

Painting with Light

Because photographers have this ‘creative streak’ their imagination and innovativeness can create outstanding effects in regular photographs. Recently photographers have discovered ‘light painting’ or ‘painting with light’.

Light painting can be a photo in itself, can be used to highlight an object or subject, or to create a visual effect that enhances a photograph.

This type of photography is actually very easy to accomplish, and the cost to produce a light painting photograph is inexpensive. All you need is a camera with adjustable shutter speed, a stationary object to place the camera on, and some type of light source that can be easily moved. A flashlight or sparkler will work, but led lights can give a better-focused light and you have the option of color.

How it works:

Cameras take pictures by gathering available light. The ‘light gathering’ takes place when the shutter is in the open

Painting with Light

position. The longer the shutter is open, the more light is gathered. For taking photographs that show the lights movement, you need to set the shutter speed for as long as it takes you to create your masterpiece.

Experimentation will eventually lead to the correct shutter time, and the colors of led lights that will best give the image you are looking for.

The camera will also need a timer, or a trip wire for ‘snapping’ the picture.

The picture to the right is an example of using the light painting technique to give a photograph a visual effect of a glowing beach ball under a pier, or (depending on how you see it), the moon sitting under the pier!

Light painting is a wonderful technique that can be used by amateurs and professionals alike. It is fun and can produce some award winning photographs!

Get your camera and led lights to enter the world of fun photography.

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