Light Painting


littlemissmassacre

New Member
May 17, 2010
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Hey guys, i know that there are many of these threads around but spare some advice again please! I am using a Canon EOS 550D with lens 18-55mm. After reading the manual I still do not understand what does prolonged exposure means and also after reading the threads I'm still kinda clueless. Does anyone know which mode am I suppose to use and what are the settings? Lets say I want to write the word "Taylor", how long should the shutter speed be? :confused: please help if you can! Thanks in advance;)
 

After reading the manual I still do not understand what does prolonged exposure means and also after reading the threads I'm still kinda clueless.

Prolonged exposure just means an exposure that is made with a long shutter speed. Generally, 1s or more should fall into that group.

Does anyone know which mode am I suppose to use and what are the settings? Lets say I want to write the word "Taylor", how long should the shutter speed be? :confused: please help if you can! Thanks in advance;)

I would try out manual mode if I were you.

To get the word, it will depend on a lot of factors. How bright is your light? Consequently, how fast will you be moving the light? etc etc.

There is no hard and fast rule but to try try and try.

Good luck!
 

Prolonged exposure just means an exposure that is made with a long shutter speed. Generally, 1s or more should fall into that group.



I would try out manual mode if I were you.

To get the word, it will depend on a lot of factors. How bright is your light? Consequently, how fast will you be moving the light? etc etc.

There is no hard and fast rule but to try try and try.

Good luck!

Hey. Have you tried doing this yet? Mind telling me your settings please! :)
 

Hey. Have you tried doing this yet? Mind telling me your settings please! :)

Why don't you just try? Tripod, Manual Mode, 1s shutter, f/5.6, ISO 100. Take a snap and see how the exposure of the background is. Then do the same, add your 'painting'. Check results, change the parameters as required. Read the basics of exposure to understand how your camera works. Plenty of details in the Newbies Guide, to be found in sticky threads on top of the thread list here. Happy reading :)
Btw: no point asking for settings, they are only valid for the conditions that somebody else had. We don't know anything about your setup.
 

Hi LITTLEMISSMASSACRE

Here's what I did (bear in mind I'm no expert, just sharing experience with you)

1) GET A TRIPOD!!! Crucial
2) Set your camera to manual focus
3) Set to Shutter Priority (That would be T on the dial)
4) With the lights on, decide where you will stand while doing your light painting. You can get someone to stand there, or place an object there. Then go to your camera and manually focus on that spot. This is very important.
5) Set the exposure to 10 seconds or more. Check your manual how to do this.
6) If you don't have someone to trigger the camera for you, then set the countdown timer . Typically I give myself 5 or 10 seconds to trigger the camera, turn off the lights, and run to the predefined spot (step #4 above)
7) Once the camera triggers, you can do your painting :) Just remember to write it in mirror-image if you are facing your camera, otherwise your TAYLOR will come out reversed !! hahahaha...

Have fun! Don't worry if it turns out weird, keep trying!

Here's one that I asked my son to paint ... (first time linking a picture here..hope it works)

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/R3f8a97DZU6-8XxXhO-ddw?feat=directlink
 

Hey. Have you tried doing this yet? Mind telling me your settings please! :)

I've not done it, but I can do it if there is a good concept, props and "assistant". :bsmilie:

It'd be fun to try really, but I usually don't shoot with others so I have not had the chance to do it.

And to repeat what I've said and Octarine also agrees: there are no magic settings.
 

Hey guys, i know that there are many of these threads around but spare some advice again please! I am using a Canon EOS 550D with lens 18-55mm. After reading the manual I still do not understand what does prolonged exposure means and also after reading the threads I'm still kinda clueless. Does anyone know which mode am I suppose to use and what are the settings? Lets say I want to write the word "Taylor", how long should the shutter speed be? :confused: please help if you can! Thanks in advance;)

1) use bulb mode, or manual mode. bulb mode is more advisable because if you made a mistake, you can just stop it. manual mode will give you a time limit.

2) if you want to write taylor, depends on how good you are at it lor..

3) try and think how light works.
 

How long does it take you to write "Taylor"?
Hahaha ya lor. I was thinking that too.

If I write my name (kev), maybe 6 or 10s enough.
So I recommend my "magic settings" and TS gets "Tay"

:bsmilie:

shows what magic settings can do right?
 

use bulb mode. and make sure the background or surrounding is dark enough.
for inspiration, check out light painting in Youtube.
 

Hi LITTLEMISSMASSACRE

Here's what I did (bear in mind I'm no expert, just sharing experience with you)

1) GET A TRIPOD!!! Crucial
2) Set your camera to manual focus
3) Set to Shutter Priority (That would be T on the dial)
4) With the lights on, decide where you will stand while doing your light painting. You can get someone to stand there, or place an object there. Then go to your camera and manually focus on that spot. This is very important.
5) Set the exposure to 10 seconds or more. Check your manual how to do this.
6) If you don't have someone to trigger the camera for you, then set the countdown timer . Typically I give myself 5 or 10 seconds to trigger the camera, turn off the lights, and run to the predefined spot (step #4 above)
7) Once the camera triggers, you can do your painting :) Just remember to write it in mirror-image if you are facing your camera, otherwise your TAYLOR will come out reversed !! hahahaha...

Have fun! Don't worry if it turns out weird, keep trying!

Here's one that I asked my son to paint ... (first time linking a picture here..hope it works)

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/R3f8a97DZU6-8XxXhO-ddw?feat=directlink

Hey! Thanks ;) I tried it but it appeared really really fuzzy. Like too diffused. Experimenting with the light source and using photoshop to edit now. Thanks ;) Btw no tripod, I place on my pillow with my books as the base. Thanks!:lovegrin:
 

Hey! Thanks ;) I tried it but it appeared really really fuzzy. Like too diffused. Experimenting with the light source and using photoshop to edit now. Thanks ;) Btw no tripod, I place on my pillow with my books as the base. Thanks!:lovegrin:

I assume you are using a torchlight?

If so, you'll get better results by narrowing it. Just paste a piece of cardboard over the lamp and poke a hole. You may need to experiment using different size hole...about 3-5 mm seems to work for me. :)

keep trying :thumbsup:
 

I would tell you to set your camera on bulb mode if you have a shutter trigger or a timed shutter in manual mode. Set your camera manual focus too, if not it will never take a picture. haha.

If you are working on manual mode, You have to try a few times, get a feel of how long it takes to paint the name taylor. Do remember to paint in a mirror image fashion too.

But with all said, its better you trail and error to learn. :bsmilie: