![]() ![]() That’s it! Two light sources and two modifiers. Most of my images are created with a small LED flashlight, (with a simple diffuser of my own design that can be easily made by you, or purchased on my Etsy store: ), a small 4”圆” LED panel, and a scrim (diffusion panel). Light painting doesn’t require expensive or elaborate tools. On the other hand, simply pointing the light at a subject does nothing but illuminate it, which leaves me (and the subject) a little flat! Direction creates shape, skimming creates texture, and movement creates softness. There is thought in the direction of light, intention in the skimming of light, and movement in the blending and softening of light. The term painting suggests thought and intention. There is an important differentiation to be made between “painting” light and “pointing” light. In this way, we reveal what is normally beyond the eye’s scope. In light painting, the light is built up over time (in a relatively dark environment), and used in such a way as to optimize the shape, texture and dimension of subjects. ![]() Of course, light painting was much more difficult when the final product was a 4×5 or 8×10 transparency! Digital technology has made things much easier (there’s an understatement for you!). I was able to use light painting in my commercial work thanks to the confidence and inspiration his work gave me. His work made me realize that I could put down my strobes and pick up a small flashlight for every photograph I made. I was light painting before I knew of his work, but Aaron showed us things that we simply had never seen before (Remember, this is pre-Photoshop!). This article (and future follow-up articles) will be dealing specifically with lighting and post production methods as a way to put forward one’s vision using light painting.įirst, though, I must credit Aaron Jones, a terrific photographer who made amazing images, for being a great influence. Many years ago, I discovered that light painting was not only a great tool for solving problems (which was initially the reason I started experimented with it), but it also was a way to enhance, reveal and celebrate certain aspects of subjects that weren’t visible to me under normal lighting conditions! There is a transformational quality to the light, and ordinary objects can become extraordinary when seen in this “new” light.įor a fun animation showing the lighting of this image, click HERE And so, if content is the most important thing in a photograph, how can lighting, the thing which breathes the very life into a subject, be less so?įor 35 years, I’ve been a fine art and commercial studio photographer and for 24 of those years, I’ve used Light Painting (I like to refer to it as “Sculpting with Light”) as my method of lighting subjects. I sometimes think (and this may sound quite strange to some of you) that it’s every bit as important as subject matter and composition! I’m saying this with a wink and a nod, but subjects, even mundane ones, with the right lighting, take on a life and presence beyond that which we expect. For me, it’s next in importance only to content and composition. As Alan Briot points out, it is one of 8 pillars that support one’s photographic vision (practically speaking). Like most photographers, I believe that lighting is extremely important. This image is of one of the huge generators that powered the pully system that lowered men and mules into the mines in Butte, Montana. ![]()
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