Beginner's Guide to Light Painting

Light painting, at it's best, is modern magic that illuminates the landscape, highlights a subject, and transforms a photograph into a visual feast for the viewer, no AI necessary!

This photography technique is accessible and easy to start, all you'll need is a camera, tripod and a light. If you don't have a camera handy, there are apps you can download on your phone that will do the trick as well.

In this article, I'll go over everything you need to try out light painting photography for yourself. I will share the best camera settings to use for dynamic environmental conditions like: moon phases, blue hour, starry nights, urban areas, and even the Milky Way. In addition, I will be going over gear recommendations and several light art techniques to try. At the end of reading this you should have a firm grasp on the basics of light painting to get you into a whole other realm of creative photography.

What is Light Painting?

Light painting photography is a long exposure technique where the camera is set on a tripod in a dark location, and while the shutter is open, the photographer can illustrate with light directed towards the lens. Anywhere the light moves will be captured in the photograph.

What makes this technique different from other photography techniques is that the photographer is not just capturing a moment, they are actively creating in the long moment so the resulting image is a visual story of all the actions that went on during the exposure. This can be done in a multitude of ways: casting light, directing light, projecting light, drones, lasers, scanning, and strobing are all methods of light painting to be mastered through practice and experience.

The Yin and Yang of Light Painting Techniques

The two main types of light painting are casting light and directing light. Casting light refers to highlighting a scene or coloring in shadows at night using a light source (often gelled with colors): 

Directing light towards the lens is often used for making shapes, designs, and neon like freehand drawings: 

Just because there are two main schools of light painting, doesn't mean you can't mix them! Here is an example of casting light and directing light. For this image I've lit the scene from behind the lens using an orange light, then illustrated in the center of frame in front of the lens using a blue light. The result is a contrasting image that pulls in the viewer like some sort of Warner Brothers cartoon:

Another form of light painting, that is a portrait variant, is called the 'light scanning' technique. For this, the LED tool used is a thin bar of light that is dragged a few inches away from the model from head to toe as they stand still. It can be combined with other methods like directed light, as in the example below: 

The main reason you would use a scanner light is that it exposes the model evenly as it is dragged from head to toe (or vice versa). This way, it appears clear and never blurry even if the model moves slightly during the long exposure in the eye of the camera lens.

Tools for light painting

Before you get started here are all the tools you need:

1. Camera: Many cameras with manual settings will work, but, if you're wanting the best and not to be limited to the usual 30 second mark, you will need a camera capable of 'bulb mode'. For the more pro-oriented, I'd suggest a mirrorless full frame camera. If you're just starting out, you can download a long exposure or slow shutter camera app for most smartphone brands including iPhone, Samsung, Google, etc.
2. Tripod: This is one of the most important tools of the light painting trade. If you're just starting, I'd go with something on the cheaper but sturdy side, but if you are using an expensive camera, I'd suggest pairing it with a relatively expensive tripod. I personally go for the carbon fiber travel tripods, as I like to hike out to areas without the tripod weighing me down along the way. If you're using a phone, there are plenty of budget options that would work, just be wary of the wind - you don't want it to tip over the top heavy camera when it is on the tripod.
3. Wireless Remote: This is essential to trigger the opening and shutting of your camera during bulb mode and not be holding the trigger or moving your camera as you do it. A wireless remote is one of the cheapest and important things in light painting, so I like to buy a few and have one extra for whenever the other runs out of battery or stops working for whatever reason. They make these for almost every camera brand (links for Sony, Canon, Nikon wireless remotes). The third party brands are mostly as good as branded ones in terms of function.
4. Light Source: Depending on what you intend to create, you would want a variety of light sources to choose from for the best results. I mentioned casting light. and for this you might need a high-powered flashlight, something in the realm of 1000 lumens plus is a good mark to look for, a nice rechargeable tactical light would do the trick for most cases and you'd probably need it for hiking at night and getting a focus in the dark anyways. Aside from that, I would use a momentary switch for any light drawing. I'd go for something like my 'Night-Writer' design for that sort of work. There are many other types of RGB lights that all produce different results as well as light toys that create fun and useful effects, keep an open mind and always be on the lookout for things that might work best for your style! 
5. Colored Gels: If you want a very specific color, and you're not sure how to create it, I love the translucent gel packs to get an idea for exactly the right type of color. You can put it over a white light or tape it to a flash or flashlight and get great color effects during a long exposure. The important thing to note is that color casting works best on the shadows, so you'll need to know that the color may not show up on the areas that are not dark enough or are being lit already.

Best Camera Settings for Light Painting

Once you've got all your gear set, you'll need to know what settings are gonna produce the best results for a dynamic night time environment. Here are some of the most common camera settings I've used for some of my captures under different environmental lighting conditions.

Camera Mode: You're gonna want to choose a manual mode for this. It's usually marked by 'M' or even 'B' in some cases. This is a setting where you can adjust manually and see just how low your camera can go in terms of exposure setting, as well as adjusting your ISO and Aperture. We mentioned 'bulb mode' before, and this is exactly where you'll want to find it.

Image Quality: Depending on what kind of camera you have, or what results you are after, I'd suggest capturing in 'RAW' for the photographer type that would like to edit after capturing, or 'High Res JPG' for those that would like minimal or nothing to do with editing.

White Balance: This is an important feature that you'll want to adjust before heading into a certain type of environmental lighting. You'll want to change it if your camera is set to 'AUTO' as the casting or directed light can alter the natural look of an image easily and usually in an undesirable way. I personally set mine to around 5200K which is more or less a neutral daylight look for most lighting conditions. This can be adjusted in post editing if you are capturing in RAW format.

ISO: The myth about ISO is that it has to be set super low so that the image does not appear to have much noise. This is not always the case, in fact some lighting conditions require your camera to be cranked to a very high ISO just to see what the heck is going on. To see the stars in a dark sky environment you'll need an ISO of at least 1600 and often 6400 to see the Milky Way Galaxy. There are other factors that contribute to noise such as heat, exposure time, and brand of camera that play important roles. The general consensus is that in bright environments you'll want a low ISO and in very dark environments you'll want a very high ISO, it's a balancing act with special attention to exposure time and F-Stop.

F-Stop / Aperture: As I mentioned above, "it's a balancing act", you should be using F-Stop / Aperture as a means of controlling the amount of light entering your camera's sensor. If it's relatively bright like Blue Hour or you're in a city and you want to light paint, you'd want to use a pretty high F-Stop (maybe F8-22), but if it's dark like with a new Moon and you have no ambient light present you'd want to open up your F-Stop to something like F2.8-5.6.

Shutter Speed: Since we're talking about light painting I'm assuming we are capturing in bulb mode, but we've got to be wary of how much time the shutter is open for because if it's open for too long and there is too much light casted or directed, an image can become over-exposed or 'blown out' in certain areas, that is a deficit of information in the image and something you'd want to minimize / avoid. This is especially common for blue hour, among city lights, or even a full moon if your settings are not correct or ISO too high / F-Stop too low.

Long Exposure Noise Reduction: Here is a setting that would be the bane of all light painting photographers if it is not turned off. The way this works is that for every long exposure you capture, the camera automatically captures an equally long exposure of just black so that the noise can be reduced. I feel like this is not necessary and will result in a photographer missing photos and wishing they didn't have to wait around while this occurs. 

How to: Light Painting Photography 101

Once you've got all your gear and you understand the basics of camera settings etc. it's time to begin with the best part, the actual light painting! I'll go through my initial work process here and I recommend it to others that might want to do something similar:

Step 1: Scout first, set up your tripod & camera, do a test shot.

The first thing I do before anything is scout a location to make sure it would be good for a light painting, the next thing I do is set up a test shot at night and get the focus and exposure generally accurate. Once I have these, I can get into the nitty gritty of light painting.

For my test shot I'm usually capturing at something like ISO 800-1600 and F-Stop 5.6 or more open if it is a darker environment. This is to get a sense of composition and to make sure the focus in on point. Sometimes I place a rock or a small light in the area that I'd like to do the light painting so that I have an idea of where to go and where the focus needs to be. The focus itself should always be set from 'Auto' to 'Manual' during this phase because otherwise it will always reset to a blurry and out of focus image. I use a high-powered light to ensure the focus is accurate.

Once you've got your scene set and the focus and composition look good, it's time to get into the actual light painting attempts, this is the best part!

Step 2: Remote trigger the shutter and light up the night!

So now you've got your scene and general idea for exposure settings, it's time to set your ISO a little lower than the test shot.

Let's try ISO 160-800 depending on how dark it is and an F-Stop of 5.6-9 for these. Trigger the remote and hop in front of the lens, go to your mark (remember where the rock was or the small light was) and start your light painting. When you're done trigger the remote one more time and end your exposure. Rinse and repeat if you don't like what you see, be patient and enjoy the journey!

Step 3: Quick Reference Camera Settings For Different Conditions

Tips and pointers for best light painting practices

1. Wear dark clothing: If you wear bright clothing, you will appear in the image more easily, so I tend to wear black so that I can blend with the dark environment and not appear in the final image.
2. Stay in motion: If you stay in motion you won't appear in the image, but if you stand still for too long you will begin to ghost into the frame. This is especially true for brighter environments such as blue hour or when lit by street lights.
3. Beware of where the lens is and where your body is blocking in relation to it: If the lens can't see the light, it's not capturing the way you're seeing the light.
4. Check the weather: Light painting is a lot of fun when the weather is good, but if it's bad, dress accordingly, make sure the wind doesn't blow over your camera and tripod if it's gusting over 18mph. I tend to forego capturing outdoors if the wind hits over around 14mph.
5. Practice makes perfect: Try to be patient with yourself, it takes time to get good and learning this technique is a lot like learning how to draw all over again (but in a 3D environment!).
6. Sketch the idea on paper: If you have a good idea, sometimes it helps to sketch it out on paper before going out at night, take a picture of it on your phone so you can reference it for later!
7. Slap the bag after capturing outdoors at night: Where I live there are a lot of creatures that end up hanging around my camera bag during my photo sessions, I try to do the spider tap before putting it back on my back!

A Beginner's Guide to Light Painting: Final Thoughts

This should set you off on a lifetime of adventure into the night, I hope you feel inspired to create and I hope you see the world in a different way as I did when I first began light painting back in 2007 (Ex: my first light painting image below). If there's something I didn't cover or a technique you'd like to know more about, drop me a line and comment below. I'll do my best to answer it in written or video format. Until then, stay bright!