Prepare to paint

GET SET UP FOR LONG-EXPOSURE LIGHT PAINTING IN A DARK ROOM

Tripod 1

Whether light painting a person or any other object, you need to use an exposure that lasts at least a few seconds in order to give you time to move the torch through the scene. As such, a tripod is vital to keep the camera still throughout the long exposure.

Self timer 2

Keep in mind that any stray light from the fibre-optic brush will show up in your exposure, so be in position with the brush on the face before you press the shutter. If you’re shooting this alone, use the camera’s self timer or a wireless release to trigger the shutter.

Fibre-optic brush 3

You can use any kind of torch for light painting, but a fibre-optic brush lets you create a wonderful array of glowing dots and lines over your portrait. As previously stated, experimenting with how you apply the brush is a great way to get lots of different effects.

Dark room 4

Light painting must be done in a dark environment. It needn’t be pitch black, but it should be dark enough so that the ambient light has no bearing on the exposure. To check for this, after choosing your exposure settings take a test shot without the torch – it should be completely black.

Black backdrop 5

A black backdrop is ideal for this portrait effect, as it allows the light trails to be shown clearly. It will also help to keep the ambient light from fogging the exposure. We used the black side of a pop-up reflector for our backdrop here, however any dark material will do.

Manual focus 6

You don’t need a special lens for this project, any medium-length lens will do just fine. We used a zoom lens set to 70mm, which is a good focal length for portraiture generally. After focusing on the subject, switch to manual focus to prevent it from hunting around in the dark room.