christopherhibbert's avatar

christopherhibbert

Photography & Light Painting
106 Watchers289 Deviations
21.5K
Pageviews

Camerapixo

1 min read
Light painting from the "Light is Life" series were published in the latest issue of the photography magazine Camerapixo. Be sure to check it out as there are many great photographers to discover ! camerapixo.com/magazines/diffe…

I also invite you to browse the photographs I shoot using my smartphone ! Follow me on Instagram : followgram.me/christopher_hibb…

See you there !
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
You can now browse my whole updated portfolio on Google+. Christopher Hibbert
Direct link : www.gplus.to/lightpainting

See you !
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
:wave: Hello there !

Just wanted to share with you this great new: I am the 2nd place winner of the V-Day contest organized by the #unknown-artists-club :) Thanks a lot to the people who made this happen !

The photograph who got me the prize is the light painting called "Love".
Check it out ! Love by christopherhibbert

Thanks again to the #unknown-artists-club
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
This tutorial is also available, in french, in my book "Light painter, histoires lumineuses" (LME)
Further information on my website -> www.christopher-hibbert.com

THE TOOLS
The lenses
Of course the lens is chosen regarding the scene. Note that you don t need lenses with big aperture like 2.8 because you will need time to paint and therefore a very low shutter speed = small aperture. I started doing light painting with a 18-70mm 3.5-4.5 and I often use it at F/9, F/16.
*Keep in mind that since you may be alone while doing light painting, you shouldn’t go too far from your camera using a 200mm lens for example. You don’t want your stuff to be stolen ;)

The flash
The flash fixes people and objects on the scene so they are clearly visible even for long exposure photographs. For example, on “Light soccer”, I was flashed at the beginning of the shooting.


Torches and lights
You can use any kind of light. It really depends on the color, the thickness, the brightness you need. I did my first light painting using the flashlight of my mobile. Actually, I use the mini light of a keychain and different sizes of Maglite. It is also interesting and fun to integrate uncontrolled moving lights in the process. (Lights from cars, trains, stars...)
   
Colors
To obtain colored lights, you can use colored bulbs with your torches or use filters. I use colored corks from soda bottles… they fit perfectly on my small Maglite. Easier than having many torches in your bag and also cheaper! Plus, the red cork comes with a soda which boosts you for the night ;)

Other tools
Well you will need a tripod of course. Be sure to get one that supports the weight of your camera + lens and that is high enough for you.
Another great tool to reduce camera shake and blurry photographs is a remote shutter release that allows you to block the shutter opened as long as you want.
*Wear dark clothes! That will decrease the chance of you being visible on the image if you stay at the same spot while painting.

THE TECHNIQUE
It is important to start, shooting at the scene without painting to setup the camera as best as you can in order to get a well exposed, well framed scene and a shutter speed slow enough.
All you have to think about is pointing the light to the lens. Don’t worry if you need lasers, they won’t damage your camera’s captor! If you want to integrate lights from a car for example, start the shooting when the car is about to appear on the scene. By the way, you can use lights from cars to light the scene.
   

SUBJECTS
Light painting is about fun and creativity. Words, calligraphy, abstract shapes, characters, objects: use your imagination to add elements to scenes, create scenes, write words, names…
   
THE SETTINGS
White balance
In urban scene, the light is often yellow… that is why all my first light paintings are yellow. In order to get the right white balance, you can use a compact grey chart like the one from TrueColors.
Focus
It can be difficult to setup the focus in a dark place. Use one of your torches to light an area of the scene and make the camera focus on it. Once done, put the focus on manual so it won’t change while shooting.
*You can play with the zoom of your lens during the shooting to get nice effects like "Liquor Shop"

Slow shutter speed
Different settings have to be setup in order to get the shutter speed you need. Low ISO decreases the sensibility and the noise on long exposure photographs. The aperture changes the depth of field and a small aperture means slower shutter speed when shooting dark scenes.
The shutter speed can be as low as you want. Just be sure that the scene is well exposed.
“Sunny night” 's exposure time is around 16minutes. There were no lights at all in the streets. The scene lightning comes from the moon.

Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
All the photographs from the "Light is Life" series are available in a book called "Light painter, histoires lumineuses" (LME).
It can be shipped signed/dedicated worldwide.
Contact me for further information or visit my personal website
www.christopher-hibbert.com
Join the community to add your comment. Already a deviant? Log In
Featured

Camerapixo by christopherhibbert, journal

Devious Journal Entry by christopherhibbert, journal

#unknown-artists-club by christopherhibbert, journal

Light painting tutorial by christopherhibbert, journal

'Light painter, histoires lumineuses' by christopherhibbert, journal