Light Painting Mike Hall Jeremy Broome-Smith

Basic Principles of Light Painting 1Size of Light directly affects softness, texture and colour saturation: Larger light is softer,flatter(less texture) and has less colour saturation Smaller light is harder(shadows and highlights have harder edges and transitions),yields more texture and has higher colour saturation

2. Longer exposure to light = more brightness 3. Distance of light to subject affects brightness (closer light brighter exposure) 4. Angle of light to subject affects brightness (more acute light= less brightness)

5. However angle of light to subject GREATLY affects texture and dimension. 6. Moving light during the exposure time increases its effective size(and therefore softness). It also controls the size and shape of highlights.

Advantages to Painting with Light 1.Fine control of light is easier Easy to move lighting direction-just move your hand Compensate for dark areas or dark objects by – adding more exposure (either increase time or decrease time)

2. Colour saturation is increased due to smaller light source, but due to the ability to move the light around during the exposure, shadows are softened, so you get the best saturation and texture without hard shadows 3. Raking the light adds a great amount of texture

4. Dimension of objects is enhanced by more control of direction for each area of the image 5. Look and feel of light painting can give pictures that resemble paintings 6. Highlights can be placed exactly where you want them.

7. You don't need a complicated set, no need for multiple lights, reflectors etc. Greatly simplifies the workflow and it is easier to move around the set and make lighting adjustments.

A short Photoshop demonstration