Frequently Asked Questions | Light Painting Photography - light-paint.com

There are a few questions about light painting that I'm asked a lot, so here are a few of them with answers.  I'm not answering the most common question I'm asked, which is "What the hell are you doing" as I assume you will already know what light painting is.

Why don't you show up in your images?

I wear dark clothing while I'm light painting, and the locations I choose are usually pretty dark too.  A camera works by collecting light in the sensor, but dark clothing in a dark location doesn't reflect any light and therefore isn't picked up by the camera.

If it's dark, how can you take photos?

As long as there is at least a tiny bit of light you can take a photo using long exposures, but most of my images are photos of light sources I have moved around in front of the camera or items I have lit using an off-camera flash or torch.

How many attempts does each shot take?

It varies quite a bit. I'll usually fire off a test shot to ensure that my settings, zoom, focus etc. are all ok then I'll crack on.  I'll often get it right first time, but sometimes it can take many shots before I'm happy - usually when various elements need to be lined up perfectly.

What equipment and light sources do you use?

I use a range of homemade light sources incorporating coloured LEDs. Check out my Light Painting Tools pages for full details.

What does [Explored] mean, I have seen this tag on some images in your gallery?

This is a reference to the Explore pages on Flickr.  From the 5 million uploads Flickr receives each day, the top 500 most interesting photos are featured in Explore.  The [Explored] tag on my images means the image has been featured in Explore.

Can I use your images for my website/publication/desktop wallpaper?

I don't mind my images being used for anything personal such as your desktop wallpaper, however if you would like to publish my images in print or on the internet please contact me first. I'm usually happy to give permission for my images to be used as long as credit is given.