Light Painting is a fun way to make creative photos using only handheld lights like flashlights or glow sticks. In this three hour class, a mixture of lecture and hands on, guided, practice, we’ll learn how to set up a camera to make a light painting, and we’ll have a fun making our own photos.
Besides being a lot of fun, light painting is a great way to gain an understanding of how light works, how to master the manual mode on your camera, and how to mix natural and artificial light in a photo. Once mastered, it is a fun technique to take outdoors and light paint parks and buildings!
Required pre-class preparation:
In class we’ll learn how to select the best camera settings for light painting, but please know how to put your camera in manual mode and adjust the: f-stop, shutter speed, ISO, and focus. Also know how to turn off ‘Long Exposure Noise Reduction’, if your camera has that. Light painting needs a camera in Manual mode.
Required equipment:
- A camera attached to a tripod
- Please wear dark clothing like a long sleeved black shirt
- A hand held light, like a battery powered flashlight or glow stick
- An object to photograph, such as a vase of flowers, a small toy, or a travel souvenir, a friend
- Optional, but very useful: a cable release / remote trigger, to take a photo without being near the camera
If you want to just come to watch and listen, and not practice, that’s fine too.
“Before taking Ron’s class I had never heard of Light Painting, but because he made it sound fun, I signed up. The class was more than fun — it was also creative and educational. Ron is a very good teacher because his instructions are clear and he’s very patient. His objective is to create a learning opportunity for photographers at all levels, and while Light Painting is not something I will major in, I can now say I not only know what it is, but I have done it.” – Pam P.
