Light Painting: Second Attempt

Sko77y

Sko77y

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Scott
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Here is my second attempt at light painting, tried using multiple flashes instead of the usual walking with a torch (I think its still light painting? :shrug:). A couple of things wrong with them but I was itching to try out the new kit, one of the flashes broke so there are a few images merged here.


Audi Light Painting 1 by Sko77y, on Flickr


Audi Light Painting 2 by Sko77y, on Flickr

All comments welcome, I'm here to learn after all.
Cheers
Scott
 
like the second one but the rear of the car looks a little out of focus? from flickr it says it was shot at F3.5, try a higher F stop to keep it all in focus. Nice shot tho mate
 
Dunno if it's just me and my monitor but the colour looks a bit muted. Have you tried adjusting the white balance at all? Only ask as i tried light painting my old Golf, same colour and got different results messing about with the white balance.
 
Cheers for the comment, no havent touched the white balance in pp, will try give it a shot. I editted a shot in raw so will post that up later, got a less dramatic effect.

Apart from the wrong fstop is the position of the lights ok?

Thanks
Scott
 
OK, instead of "lighting the car" try to walk a smaller light along the length, "highlighting" the curves and angles

Like this


Aston V8 Vantage by V a s s, on Flickr
 
willbaroo said:
Needs more layers/exposure...
Click to expand...

This.

If you're focusing on flash photography you need more frames with more power per flash from further away, so the light spreads better. Try to get light all around the car to prevent unlit parts of the car merging with the background; either that or light the background so at least you've got some definition of the car's form.

Lightpainting using a continuous light is all about using the the reflected highlights to emphasise the car's lines. With flash, you want to try and avoid reflected highlights as they have the appearance of hotspots, for instance just below the door mirror in your second shot. Try and position your flashes so the hotspots are concealed by a shutline or within the wheelarches.
 
willbaroo said:
Needs more layers/exposure...
Click to expand...

Vass said:
OK, instead of "lighting the car" try to walk a smaller light along the length, "highlighting" the curves and angles

Like this


Aston V8 Vantage by V a s s, on Flickr
Click to expand...

AndWhyNot said:
This.

If you're focusing on flash photography you need more frames with more power per flash from further away, so the light spreads better. Try to get light all around the car to prevent unlit parts of the car merging with the background; either that or light the background so at least you've got some definition of the car's form.

Lightpainting using a continuous light is all about using the the reflected highlights to emphasise the car's lines. With flash, you want to try and avoid reflected highlights as they have the appearance of hotspots, for instance just below the door mirror in your second shot. Try and position your flashes so the hotspots are concealed by a shutline or within the wheelarches.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the advice guys, I have 3 flashes I can use so would it be say three exposures? one side on, front left and front right? possibly another for the background? I struggled with hotspots being reflected, my pp skills don't stretch to getting some of the larger ones removed.

As for using a torch, I tried that last time and got inconsistent lighting on panels so shall try again.

So things to look out for:

- Correct f-stop.
- More exposures with stronger lighting.
- tactical positioning of hotspots.
 
to be fair, my photo was assisted greatly by AndWhyNot :)

Ta And :)
 
Here is the RAW file edit above the previous JPEG, you can see more detail in the background, does it make much difference?


Audi Edit 3 RAW by Sko77y, on Flickr

Audi Light Painting 2 by Sko77y, on Flickr

On another note could someone with experience give me some pointers on what exposures to take and how many lights I should really be using?

Cheers
Scott

Edit: after reading through umpteen blogs I now realise my image is seriously flat and hot spots are not reflections, I'll be off out to wash the car and try again soon (once the weather eases off!)
 
Last edited:
If you're shooting multiple frames to merge in PS you only need one flash. With three flashes you have the option of nailing the lighting in a single frame.

Each shot will be different depending on the car's size, colour, composition, ambient light and the effect you're trying to achieve so it's difficult to give general advice that covers all eventualities- but if you decide which parts of the car/ scene you want to light and address how to achieve that, you're most of the way there.

In particular, think front & rear corners of the car; A-pillar; and roofline. In the background, try to avoid sharp fade from light to dark areas. And personal preference of mine is to see the headlights on- it's night, after all.
 
I'm new to photography and I really can't work if you are using torches floodlights or just computer trickery,
 
Number 2 is nice. Although I think the shots would work better with a backdrop? Something a bit more creative?
 
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