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Lights at Concert
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Light Painting

LT: I can paint with light. I can create an interesting composition using different types of lights

Let's get creative!

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Light painting is a creative photography technique using lights and the manual settings on your camera.  In this lesson, you will draw, write and move to create different effects and images in your photos.​

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How To Create this Effect

I have created a short presentation on how to set up your camera with the proper ISO, f/stop and Shutter speed.  I have also included examples of simple and more advanced drawings and effects.

Light Trail

Famous Light Painter Tutorial

The video below is by @dariustwin from Instagram.  His work is amazing.  You can check out his work by clicking on his name above.  Below is a short tutorial

he created on how to set up your camera for a basic light painting photo.

Taking Photos

Experiment with the following:

 

  • Different shutter speeds over 8 seconds

  • Movement

  • People

  • Lighting up people briefly

  • Spell words

  • Light up objects briefly

  • Try different lights

  • Cover lights at different times

  • Have fun, play with it. 

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Tips

  • Don’t stand between the camera and your light source – you will show up as a silhouetted ghost in the final photo!

  • Keep your light moving – Move the beam in slow strokes for strong light/ make faster strokes for less light 

  • Paint in up-and-down or side-to-side strokes, just like you’d work with real paint.

  • Be conscious of where your light is pointing, shining the light onto people will result in ghostly figures in the final image

  • Always review the shots on the back of the camera, adjust settings as needed to correct the exposure and effect

  • The closer the light is to the subject the smaller the spread and more intense the light. For smooth even light stand further back and paint the light onto the subject with slow even sweeping motion

  • Know where the frame ends, don’t paint  light outside the frame, use markers on the floor s

  • Wear dark, non-reflective clothing and keep moving – Again, you do not want to appear as a ghost in your image!

  • Don’t shine the light source back at the camera – Otherwise, you’ll create a bright spot in the image

  • You probably won’t get the shot you want on the first try – It may take multiple attempts to get an image that you’re satisfied with. Practice, Practice, Practice and try again

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Final Project

#1 Take a minimum of 20 photos of you drawing - another person can press the shutter

  • Keep track of shutter speed, ISO, and f/stop on the document so you can use them for poster.

  • Create a contact sheet of the 20 photos

 

#2 Choose your 6 best photos to edit: 

  • Make the background darker, add tints and color, crop, etc

 

#3 Make your poster using the template and the 6 best shots you edited. 

  • Record your shutter speed, ISO, and f/stop as we have before

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More Advance Light Painting

Lights at Concert
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How To use an iPhone

You can use an app like Lightroom or Night Cap

Rubric

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More Info

Here are a few articles and ideas to help you light paint

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Turn in to Classroom

When finished with the assignment, save it as a JPEG and turn it in to the Padlet attached to the assignment in Google Classroom. 

 

Then complete the self-reflection assignment
Answer the following.
1. What new techniques or skills did you learn for this project?
2. What is the most successful part of your project? Explain why
3. Did you encounter any difficulties during this project? Explain
4. What do you wish you knew more about?

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