You can create all sorts of weird and wonderful images with a camera and a torch. Alfonso Calero shows you how to light up the night.
01 WHAT YOU NEED
You don't need much gear to paint with light, but it certainly helps if you have a few staples. A tripod, a good torch and a camera that lets you set a nice slow shutter speed – at least 30 seconds – are the essentials. All DSLR and most mirrorless cameras should be up to the task. Some high-end compacts are okay too – if there is a Bulb (B) option in the shutter speed settings it will do the job. As for the light source, strong LED torches work really well for illuminating subjects in the dark. Equally, a good off-camera flash can be great for lighting up large areas of a scene. If you want to create your own illuminated illustrations, small coloured LEDs lights work really well. I use LED finger lights (attach them to your fingers with a rubber band) for my images. A remote shutter release is useful as you don't need to be next to the camera to fire the shutter.
Photo by Alfonso Calero.
02 SETTINGS
Here are the settings that I've tried and had some success with when light painting:
• Focal length: between 24 and 70mm (35mm equivalent).
• Aperture: between f8 and f11 for optimal lens sharpness and good depth of field.
• ISO: As low as possible to minimise grain. Usually 100 or 200 ISO.
- Shutter speed: from 10 to 60 seconds
- For a shutter speed longer than 30 seconds turn off the noise filter if you want to speed up the processing time.
Photo by Alfonso Calero.
03 CREATIVE SETUP
Depending on the effect you're after I find that locations in complete darkness work best. Avoid street lights, unless that's a specific look you're after. Wear black clothes to reduce the chance that you will appear in the shot. Plan what you are going to paint and how you are going to do it. The best time to do this is often in daylight when you can see what you are doing!
Photo by Alfonso Calero.
04 ILLUMINATED ILLUSTRATIONS
To create an illustration, point your torch at the camera and start drawing. If it helps, try tracing around an object or a person. Check the results on your LCD and try to improve your technique. Don't change your aperture and ISO, simply vary your shutter speeds. To make a ball of light, attempt to spin your led flashlight on a long rope in a circle by keeping your axis point always in the centre.
Photo by Alfonso Calero.
05 ILLUMINATING THE SCENE
If your goal is to illuminate details in the landscape you can do that with a torch or by repeatedly firing an off-camera flash. In these images you need to be careful not to point the light source at the camera – the goal is to illuminate the objects around you. Experiment with different shutter speeds (20 to 60 seconds) and painting techniques to get the effect you're after.
Photo by Alfonso Calero.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Alfonso Calero moved to Australia at the age of 15. He graduated from the Sydney Institute of Technology with an Associate Diploma in Photography in 2001 and has been professionally photographing food, portraits, landscapes and travel subjects ever since. He started a travel education and tours company four years ago delivering workshops every Saturday morning in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Fremantle. He also takes groups of four people to Japan, Philippines, Spain and Tasmania once a year for 10-14 day photography workshops.