PHOTOSbyJOHN.COM how to Paint with Light

PAINT WITH LIGHT TECHNIQUE

What is the 'paint with light' technique?

It is basically a still life subject photographed in a dark to semi dark room where the subject is lit with a flashlight. As you can see from the sample photos the result looks somewhat like a painting. I will show you the steps you need to take to achieve this look.

An important concept to grasp:

From about F11 on through F22 the camera is not very sensitive to low levels of light. At F16 in a semi dark room you can expose a subject for 30 seconds and the camera will hardly record any information. Because of this anything that is briefly in your picture without receiving any direct light will be invisible to your camera. The darker in color the truer this is. That is why I sometimes use black gloves when lighting my subjects.

Both photos below were taken in a semi dark room at F16 for 30 seconds. In the first photo no other light source was use, just limited ambient light. In the second photograph the subject was lit with a pen light type flashlight during the 30 second exposure. In the first photograph I actually waved my hand in front of the lens while the shutter was open. You can not see my hand in the photograph because there was not enough light present to record it.

WHAT YOU MUST HAVE TO USE THIS TECHNIQUE

A semi dark room. The darker the better, but it is nice to be able to see your way around if need be.
A sturdy tripod.
A flashlight. Usually a small 'Mini Maglite' or a penlight will do. More on flashlights later.

WHAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO HAVE, BUT REALLY SHOULD

A cable release to eliminate camera movement.
A digital camera. Sorry to say it but you really need the instant feedback of a digital camera and a viewing screen bigger than the one on the camera. Without that, this technique could take YEARS of trial and error to get a dozen good pictures. You could use a less expensive digital or a Polaroid for test shots and then finish with a film camera.
A flash unit you can bounce off the ceiling or wall. I use this with a -3 stop flash compensation to give a base exposure to areas I may not light with the flashlight.
A metronome set at sixty beats per minute. Helps you keep track of how much exposure time is left. This really comes in handy when lighting objects that very greatly in color (light to dark). White subjects will take less time to light than dark or black subjects.
A pair of black gloves and a long sleeved black shirt. These will let you get your hands and arms in the photo without being seen.
A hood or cover for your flashlight. I use rubber hydraulic hose from Bomgars or Tractor Supply. This hides the bulb of your flashlight from the camera and also narrows the beam of light. This helps you control exactly where you put the light. I cut one end at an angle so one side is longer than the other. I always keep the longer side towards the camera lens. I have cut a notch in the base of the longer side so I can feel in the dark which side is longer. Some hydraulic hose is shiny on the inside. You have to take off the shine with sandpaper or it will show in your picture.
Inova X1 LED flashlight. A Mini Maglite is also a good choice but not near as bright as the Inova and it is warmer, oranger light. A penlight is good for lighting small areas up close.

The photos below show a Mini Maglite and an Inova X1 LED shinning their beams on a black mat board. Notice the color difference? The Inova is close to daylight balanced while the Maglite is on the orange side. You can also see the difference in the size of each beam. The Inova X1 has a much smaller, more focused light pattern. It is hard to see, but in the first photo the Maglite casts a second, larger circle of light that almost covers the whole piece of mat board. You can see it just under and to the right of the Inova's main circle of light. The Inova has a similar second circle of light, but it only covers a few inches. In the second photo the hoods or covers are on the flashlights. Notice how the hoods eliminate the second circle of light from both flashlights. This really helps keep the stray light from falling on something you do not want in your photo. Like your hands.

Sometimes you can find the Inova X1 at TARGET stores. If you would like to help support this site you can use these links to purchase the Inova X1 and other flashlights through AMAZON.COM. It will not cost you any more and I would get a 2% to 5% commission.

GETTING STARTED

Any still life subject will do. Anything that moves easily could cause trouble. Larger subjects are more complicated to light and will take a longer exposure time.

Film speed / speed setting: I prefer 100 speed for less noise (digital).

Aperture: F16

Shutter speed: 30 seconds

Flash: Set at -3 stops compensation. Bounced off ceiling or wall.

Metronome: Set at sixty beats per minute. This equals one beat, or beep, per second.

These are all just recommended starting points. You need to shoot a photo and look at the results, then adjust settings where needed.

This photo was taken at F16 with a 30 second shutter speed. This photo was hand lit with a pen light. The cover was not used and the pen light was moved so close to the subject that the bulb actually shows up in the photo.

This photo was taken at F16 with a 30 second shutter speed. This photo was hand lit with a Mini Maglite. The cover was used so you will not see the bulb in this photo. The pen light and the Mini Maglite have a similar color balance.

This photo was taken at F16 with a 30 second shutter speed. This photo was hand lit with an Inova X1 LED flashlight. The cover was used so you will not see the bulb in this photo. The Inova X1 has a very different color balance from the other flashlights. It is much closer to daylight balanced. It is much brighter also.

MAKE SURE YOU HAVE A GOOD BASE EXPOSURE

It is best to take some photos with just the flash bounced off of a wall or the ceiling and no hand lighting. This lets you see your base exposure first. Even though the flash only lasts a split second leave the shutter speed at 30 seconds. By doing this you will also record all of the ambient light in the room. This ambient light will make a difference in your final picture so you do want to see it here.

This photo shows too little light in the base exposure. The dark areasa are too dark.

The base exposure shows you what the different areas of your subject will look like if you do not light them with your flashlight. I like to leave some areas dark in my base exposure. The dark, detail-less areas create a sense of mystery and leave some things up to the viewer’s imagination. If you do not see many dark areas in your photograph you may have too much ambient light in the room or your flash is set too strong. Use flash compensation to lower the strength of your flash. Try to make the room darker and test your base exposure again. If you can not get the room any darker you may need to turn your flash off and just use the ambient light for your base exposure. Sometimes for smaller subjects this actually works better than using the flash.
The first photo below shows a good base exposure. The appature was changed form F16 to F11 and the angle of the flash was changed to get this better base exposeure. The shutter speed was left at 30 seconds. The second photo below is the same base exposure but it is also hand lit with the Inova LED flashlight.

WAVE YOUR FLASHLIGHT

Once you have a good base exposure hand light your subject with your flashlight. Your aperture setting will determine how sensitive your camera is to the light from your flashlight. At F11 if you hold the light still for a few seconds, pointed at a flat surface, you will see a round light spot in your photograph. For this reason it is best to constantly keep your flashlight moving. I also light the main subject from the side, at an angle that insures the shadow of my subject does not fall on the background of my photograph. You usually do not want the shadow to show up on the background of your photo. I usually light the background from the side also to give it some interest.

The best way to get started is to take a photo, look for ways to make improvements and shoot again. This photo is the same as the ones above but the backdrop was hand lit with the Maglight while the forground was lit with the Inova LED. More time was spent lighting the black camera too make it as visable as the other, lighter colored, items. This was also taken at F11 and a 30 second shutter speed.

Pay close attention to the areas that are dark and shadowed and the areas that are bright or over exposed. If you do not like the amount of light on a particular area you can adjust it by spending more or less time lighting that area. Dark colors will take more time to light than light colors. You can also adjust the amount of light and the feel of the light by moving farther away or closer to your subject. The farther you are from the subject the softer the light is. The closer you are to the subject the harsher the light is. If you are using a flashlight hood like I recommend, do not be afraid to move too close to your subject when lighting it. The hood will hide the flashlight from the camera and as long as there is not too much ambient light in the room, or you are wearing a black glove, your hand will not show up in the photo. Be careful not to touch the subject though. If you touch it and it moves it will look blurry in the photograph.
The best way to learn this technique is trial and error. Take the time to look at your photos and look for ways to improve or change them. Try those ideas out right away and look at your results. The instant feedback you get from a digital camera is priceless.

THINGS TO TRY

Light darker subject for longer and lighter subjects for shorter periods.
Light just the edge or over light some parts of the subject.
Over light the inside of the edge of the subject for a cartoon effect.
Light from many sides and angles.
Light from one side only.
Light without moving the flashlights position (single point light source).

SPECIAL EFFECTS

Movement: I like to use the rear curtain flash setting for this effect. Use your black gloves and start by moving one of your subjects while lighting part of it. Be careful not to light your hand. Do this for about one third of the exposure then leave the subject in one place and light the rest of the subjects. Make sure you do not have your hands in the photo when the flash goes off. You can do this without rear curtain sink, just start with the object where it should look like it stooped, then move it as you light it. There are many many ways to show movement. You can light something as you move it to create streaks. You can move something in small increments, stooping and lighting parts of it before moving again. You can light something stationary, then remove it and light what is behind it. This makes it look transparent or ghost like.

Backlighting: You can do this with a lit background or a black unlit background to be more dramatic. You have to be able to see with the flashlight off to do this. After the shutter has opened take the flashlight, turned off, and place it behind the subject. Turn the flashlight on and shine it through the subject. Flowers work great for this. Make sure the subject completely hides the flashlight from the camera and make sure not to move the subject by touching it. Do this for a few seconds, longer for less opaque subjects, turn the light off and remove the flashlight.

Black background: Do not use the flash and do not light the background with flashlight. This looks good with smaller subjects like single flowers. It also works well with extreme sidelighting.

Colored background. Use full size sheets of colored matte board for background. Use Christmas lights or a colored gel on your flashlight to color a matte board or a curtain.
Soft focus. After lighting part of the subject turn the focus ring so your picture is out of focus. This can give a soft paining like effect or even a ‘glow’. You may have to go way out of focus at F16.