How to Light Paint in Photography

Light painting is something I have begun to experiment with lately! I just think it is so fun and unique. Light painting is fairly simple, and just requires some trial and error.

What you will need:

In addition to your camera you will need a tripod.  A tripod is absolutely necessary if you want crisp clear images.  Another thing you might want to try is using an off-camera flash.  You will also need a completely dark setting. No ambient light in the room at all, or it will show up in your picture. (which is another option-see below).   

Settings:

Start with a low ISO around 100-500. Then adjust your aperture.  If this is a self portrait it is best to close down and have a higher f-stop.  This will give you a wider range of focus. Next step is to pick your shutter speed.  Depending on what kind of light painting you are doing you can go anywhere from 1 second to about 30 or 60 seconds.  If you want a lot of light painting and you have a separate subject, I have found the best setting is bulb, and then you can hold open your shutter as long as you’d like.  Try out your settings and adjust accordingly. 

Experiments:

To freeze motion, you can use flash.  For the following pictures I used an off-camera flash and set it to go off once.  (If you have a fancy camera and flash you can set it to go off multiple times which will freeze your subject many times in one frame.)  I then had my subject walk around with glow sticks, or wave them around.  Consider where you are painting.  Make sure you are not putting the light right where your face would show up in the picture. (Unless you want that.)  For me, I wanted the face to be the focus.  Depending on how long you keep your shutter open for will affect how much light you will be taking in. I have found moving the light slowly also makes the light trail much brighter than if you move around quickly.

Slower Light Painting Image:

Faster Light Painting Image:

I had to hold the shutter speed open longer for the bottom one, and it is a much more blurry light trail than the previous image.

For this next two pictures I set my camera up for 1- 2 second shutter speed.  This is a self-portrait, so I used the self-timer on my camera.  I also left a lamp on a few feet away from me so that my camera would pick up the ambient light. This effect is much blurrier.  The light was pretty orange because my lamp gave off that color. I love it against the blue background.  

Types of light you can use:

You can use any type you want! For this image below I used my book light.  I have also used glow sticks, and sparklers.  You can use a flashlight, or phone light. Try out lots of things! Please feel free to share your light painting images with me! I’d love to see them! Light painting is such a fun experiment.  Here are a few other sources to reference for more information about light painting:  

https://petapixel.com/2016/07/25/basic-guide-light-painting-photography/

https://ericpare.com/light-painting-tutorials

https://digital-photography-school.com/light-painting-part-one-the-photography/

Thanks for reading!

Early Morning Family photos At Muscatatuck Wild Life Refuge

So it was early in the morning and the weather was perfect!! No Really. It was perfect. It had been soooo hot the week before, even in the morning. But this special morning the temperature was in the high 60’s low 70’s. And you guys, I cannot say enough good things about this family. They are so sweet!! They drove out of their way to come and get their pictures done, and it was such a treat! Being from Missouri they trusted me with the location. They are the type of people that are just seem so laid back. Billie is a photographer as well, so that’s like a super honor for another photographer to trust you with their own family photos. Hope you enjoy these!

Thanks for looking!!

Why should I book a full session?

There are many reasons to book a full session.  Here are some thoughts you might be struggling with.

Opposing thought 1: “Hey, I only need one nice family picture!” Honestly, said no one ever.  It never works this way! By the time you’ve put all that work into hiring the right photographer, picking out clothes, getting yourself ready and your family ready, getting to that perfect location on time, you’re not going to want just one photo! You will want cute pictures of the children, and fun family shots!  This takes time, and you have already invested so much!

Opposing thought 2: “It doesn’t take that long to get a good picture.”  That might be right for older children who will look at the camera and smile for that perfect traditional portrait.  But what about all those interactions in between that perfect shot?! What about your actual real-life family dynamics? I am telling you that it takes time to get used to being in front of the camera.  A quick 15-minute session is going to deprive you of genuine reactions and interactions. And just like you need warm up time, so does your photographer.  Sure, we can do everything to get those perfect shots quickly, but the more time you allow the more time the photographer can get those creative and emotionally deep shots! 

Opposing thought 3: “I don’t have the time for a full session.”  Look, you’ve spent a ton of time getting ready. Getting your family ready.  You’ve bought the outfits, you’ve done your make up, and hair, you showed up on time.  This is no small feat! Make it worth it!

Opposing thought 4: “A whole hour of taking pictures sounds so painful.”  Oh man, I hear you on this one! I would hate to spend a whole hour in front of the camera forcing smiles and poses.  However, full sessions aren’t like this.  Of course, I want to capture that one perfect, over the mantle, everyone looking and smiling photo.  But sometimes the best ones come from forgetting the camera is there. With a full session you will have time to do an activity together.  Genuine real-life moments only come with time.  While mini sessions are great for getting that one perfect traditional photo, full sessions are invaluable for the candid moments.  If you or your children need time to warm up to the camera, a full session might be for you!

Opposing thought 5: “I don’t have the money for a full session”.  I get that, photography is an investment. But honestly, it all depends on what is important to you.  If you want an awesome experience and timeless photos that you will remember and love, then I would encourage you to make it a priority.  You can book as far in advance as you need. For me, I require 50% at the time of booking, so if you pay half now, you can pay the rest when your session is.  If that is a full year out, then you can start saving and getting excited for this important day! For example, you know you will want fall family photos or maybe you go pick out your own tree every Christmas.  Maybe there is a tradition you will want to document so that you can be fully present! If so, then I would encourage you to make a photo session your goal!     

Opposing thought 6: “I don’t need a full session, it’s just not necessary.”  Honestly, I am going to just encourage you to think about it! There is a lot of value in a full session.  It is an experience! The time, attention, details and storytelling are going to be that much better in a full session!  Artful photography is an investment. To book your session go to my contact page and reach out to me today! Thanks for reading!