Photos from students in News Photography, COMM 1316. Featured photo by Paxton Crist-Hovley.
Photography students recently put their “bright ideas” to the test with their light painting project.
Light “painting” is all about leaving a camera’s shutter open long enough for a light source to streak across the front of the camera’s lens. It’s not hard to capture, but it takes a lot of trial and error to get the look you want.
A lot depends on what light source is being used as the “paint brush”.
This semester students tried experimenting with something new.
They fired up a box full of children’s Halloween light wands and “painted” in a darkened TV studio. (These wands are not expensive, and for added fun value, they make three “magic sounds”.)
Sometimes students swirled random patterns.
One swirl turned out looking like a dotted line because the children’s wands could flash multiple colors on and off.
Sometimes students drew pictures. For these shots, students had to leave their shutters open for up to 5 seconds, long enough to finish whatever they were drawing. It was a group effort.
Another option for this project was to use Christmas tree lights. Students have tried this method in semesters past. A multi-colored strand swung behind a model’s head created a bright circle. But it’s not easy for the model to sit perfectly still.
A purple light strand that twinkled created broken lines.
Students also tried using more professional light wands which are meant for “light painting” in photography.
These can create brighter and bigger patterns than the children’s wands. Students seemed to have fun comparing their results. Sometimes students opted for ribbon swirls.
Others created an arc or over a student’s head. When the arc is cropped out of the shot, the model’s silhouette underneath looks almost ghostly.
Whatever the method, the lesson behind the “light painting” project is the same. It’s mostly about adjusting the shutter speed.
Oh, and, having fun trying.
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