IN subject photography and when shooting still lifes, photographers quite often resort to such an interesting technique as the light brush technique. The essence of this technique is that the photographer, using a narrowly directed beam of constant light, highlights or “draws” with light the necessary areas and details of the image. Each object or detail is illuminated separately, with the light source constantly moving in the photographer's hands. As a result of this approach, the photograph acquires an original light pattern that cannot be reproduced by any other methods or software. From this article you will learn how to use this technique and what its main features are.
What you need to implement the light brush technique
First, let's determine what you will need to implement the photography technique using a light brush. The following main points can be highlighted here:
— Darkened room
You will need to paint with light in the dark, so any darkened room will be suitable for shooting. In a city apartment, this could be a bathroom if filming takes place in the summer, or an ordinary room if you photograph in winter. For indoor photography, it is best to use a table against the wall. It will be possible to place the corresponding objects or composition that you want to shoot on it. Any sheet of plywood will do to secure the background.
— Camera and tripod
When photographing various objects or still lifes, using a tripod is common. Shooting with a light brush is no exception in this case; a tripod will also be required here, since you will be working with long exposures of several seconds. As for the camera, the main requirement for it is the ability to use manual settings and manual focus.
Although you can shoot with an old film camera, it is still recommended to use a digital camera equipped with a good LCD display. After all, on the LCD screen you can visually view each captured frame immediately after shooting, so that you can immediately correct your mistakes and change settings to achieve more interesting results. If your digital camera has a USB port, you can connect it to your computer to view images on a much larger display, allowing you to see even the smallest details.
— Fast lens
Must have at your disposal fast lens, because we remind you that you will have to work with fairly long shutter speeds. Using a lens with a high aperture will save an extra second or seconds, which is important, because each such second can significantly add digital noise to the image. The focal length of the lens may vary, but most often for subject photography optics are selected with focal length 85 mm.
This is the most important tool you will use when photographing objects or still life. Professional light brushes are sold in photo stores today, but, unfortunately, they are not cheap. The undoubted advantages of such devices include the fact that they are characterized by a constant color temperature (around 5500 K), plus they provide the ability to use a variety of attachments and filters, providing the photographer with additional creative possibilities. However, again, special professional light brushes are expensive, and therefore there is no point in purchasing them for amateur photographers. Moreover, you can make the simplest light brush with your own hands at home.
An expensive device can be replaced with ordinary cheap flashlights, which are sold almost everywhere. Methods for making a light brush can be very diverse. For example, you take an ordinary LED flashlight, install it in a tube, and the output hole to limit the light beam can be adjusted using the aperture from the lens. The tube can be made from plain black paper, rolled into a tube. With such an improvised light brush of your own making, you can use, for example, color filters and other accessories.
It is important to choose the right flashlight for your light brush. It must be single-lamp or with one bright LED, since several LEDs can produce clearly visible light spots. You also need to keep in mind that flashlights can produce light with different color temperatures. In particular, daylight flashlights (DayLight), flashlights that produce yellow light or create hard shadows.
For different shooting situations, it is best to purchase a whole set of inexpensive flashlights that have different color temperatures of light. For example, flashlights with hard shadows will allow you to add more drama to your photo, and a flashlight with yellow light is beneficial to use in situations where the subject you are shooting needs to artificially age the image. By the way, to soften hard shadows and diffuse light, you can apply some colorless cream (for the face or body) directly to the flashlight when shooting.
You can shoot a wide variety of subjects using the light brush technique. Here you are absolutely free in your choice and at first, until you hone your skills, you can photograph everything that comes to hand - from a crystal vase to musical instruments.
Camera settings
Before you start shooting, you will need to understand the camera settings. Immediately switch the camera to manual mode(M). The optimal parameters will most likely have to be selected experimentally, since much will depend on the power of the flashlight you are using. The shutter speed value is determined based on many factors, including capabilities digital camera, lens aperture, etc. The shutter speed can be set within the range of approximately seven seconds to a minute. Do not forget that every extra second plays an important role and can lead to additional digital noise, which will completely ruin the photo.
Set the aperture based on the depth of field you need. When using very long shutter speeds, it is recommended to set the sensitivity to low, for example ISO 100. In any case, it is recommended not to set the sensitivity above 160 ISO so that unpleasant noise does not appear in the photo image.
If the maximum possible shutter speed on your camera is not enough to create a light pattern and implement a certain idea, then it makes sense to take a photo in several exposures, and then combine these frames into one using software. Use a shutter delay timer, or a cable release or remote control remote control. This way you will have time to approach the still life or the subject being photographed and pick up a light brush.
In LiveView mode, focus on the desired point, then be sure to turn off autofocus. If you use the autofocus system, the camera in the dark will begin to search for a target for a long time, will try to aim, which, ultimately, will simply kill an interesting shot. Once you have decided on the settings and prepared the camera, you can actually start shooting.
Shooting
The shooting process begins with the fact that you turn off all the lights in the room. It is necessary to completely eliminate the influence of extraneous sources, making the room truly dark. Cover any objects with glare that are nearby, as the reflected light from the brush may be reflected from them into the photo. Next, you pick up a light brush and, as the exposure begins, you begin to “draw” the necessary details with light. Moreover, it is advisable to first illuminate the background and, in general, use more rear-side light.
Then you can move on to the objects themselves, drawing with a brush individual objects, details and plot important elements compositions. When lighting from the front, it is recommended to use a wider beam of light by simply sliding the tube on the flashlight. Light what you want to appear brighter in the photograph for longer. By moving the light brush further away from the object, you will get a dim, blurry spot. And, conversely, to get a bright spot with sharp boundaries in a photograph, you need to bring the light brush closer to the subject.
The main thing when operating with a light brush is not to stagnate for too long and not to hold the light beam at one point for too long. The light brush should move. You can return to the desired places several times to better draw them. At the end of the exposure, you can give a little fill light by moving the brush over the object so that the light spot covers the entire object, or, conversely, give hard shadows by holding the brush in the same position motionless.
It is clear that the exposure time is very limited and you will have to act as quickly and clearly as possible. Sometimes, even in a few tens of seconds, it is simply not possible to draw the composition as you originally intended. But, firstly, you can do an unlimited number of takes, noting errors on the screen and trying to repeat the brush movements again. Secondly, since the camera is mounted on a tripod, you can shoot several frames, carefully working through the areas of the image you need, and then take the most successful places from each frame in a graphics editor.
The great thing about the light brush technique is that it provides the photographer with unlimited creative possibilities. You can experiment with camera settings, choose a wide variety of subjects for shooting and, of course, use various manipulations with a light brush to realize the most daring, unexpected ideas. For beginner photography enthusiasts, this technique is good because it does not require the use of expensive studio equipment. You can create interesting and bright photographs at home by making your own light brushes from improvised materials. For beginners, the main thing is to be patient, since the first few shots will most likely turn out to be unsuccessful. But gradually, by analyzing your mistakes and viewing each frame in detail, you can significantly improve your results and, in the end, learn to create unique, unusual compositions.
Learn to create stunning photos using the light brush technique! The OPEN FOTO master class will take place on January 26, 2019 at the VDNH Crafts Library.
The “light brush” technique produces an unusual light pattern that cannot be achieved using other shooting methods. A light brush is a point beam of light that the photographer controls during shooting in order to highlight the objects he needs in the frame and place accents on the photo as required by the plan. The light brush is used primarily for creating still lifes and product photography.
This technique is available to everyone. To take a photo using the light brush technique, you will need a camera that has a manual shooting mode, a tripod and a flashlight. Of course, there are specialized devices - professional light brushes, which are very expensive. But believe me, a flashlight will allow you to achieve an amazing effect. And how much pleasure the shooting process itself brings!
Program of the practical master class “An Ordinary Miracle of Photography, or the Light Brush”
- Basic principles of creating photographs using the light brush technique.
- Demonstration of the technology for creating such images.
- Analysis of common errors.
- How to do without a tripod when shooting using the light brush technique if you don’t have one.
- How to use a light brush for technical shooting of an “object” in cases where other shooting methods are too complex.
- Practice shooting using the light brush technique in the studio.
To participate in the practical part of the master class, you must bring with you:
- camera,
- tripod,
- pocket flashlight (if you don’t have a flashlight, a flashlight built into your smartphone will do; it’s less convenient, but possible),
- several small objects that you will shoot; You can make a composition out of them or shoot each one separately - at your discretion.
The master class is held as part of the VDNH Winter Educational Program.
Master class date: January 26, 2019.
Start: at 18.00.
Duration: 3 hours.
Location: VDNKh Crafts Library (119 Mira Ave., building 47, pavilion 47 – House of Crafts).
Author and presenter of the master class:, founder of the OPEN FOTO School of Photography.
Library of crafts on the VDNKh map
Registration for the master class is closed. We invite you to the upcoming events of the OPEN FOTO School of Photography!
If you have any questions, please contact e-mail or by phone +7 977 835-93-53.
All photographs in this material were created using the “light brush” technique. The author of the photographs is , founder of the OPEN FOTO School of Photography.
Not many people know that the word “photography” means “painting with light.” Using a light brush makes this expression literal.
A light brush is a tool that is small in size and can emit a constant beam of light with a clear focus. The technique of photography is to convey in a photograph an image outlined by light.
The professional grade light brush has a light temperature of 5500 Kelvin. It allows you to use various attachments. The light of this brush matches flash light or daylight. Attachments and filters provide additional space for creativity.
A professional light brush is not cheap. In addition, for digital photography The temperature of the light is not as important as for film. Nozzles and filters are not used very often. That is why you can use a regular flashlight to get acquainted. The main thing is that the spot of light from the flashlight is not too wide. This will allow you to clearly outline objects. Flashlights with white LEDs are best.
How to start photography
It is best to shoot with a digital camera. It allows you to view the result after each frame taken. It's hard to see details on a small display, so it's better to immediately connect the camera to your computer. Almost all DSLRs and many compacts can display images directly on a computer monitor. After each frame, you should carefully study the image and, if necessary, make corrections. If it is not possible to view every frame, then you should make short series and view several frames at a time, studying them in detail.
Photographs should be taken using long exposures using a cable release or remote control. This will prevent the camera from shaking when pressing the shutter button. If you do not have this ability to control the camera, you should use the shutter release by timer.
Sometimes it happens that the camera is not able to shoot with a long enough shutter speed, which is necessary to create a normal shot. In this case, you can take several photographs with different exposures and then combine them in a graphics editor.
How to take photographs with a light brush? After installing the camera on a tripod, you should switch it to manual mode. Automatic focus should be turned off. Manually focus. Turn off bright lights. If the subject you are shooting has a reflective surface, you should move other objects away from it, as they may get reflected.
Technique for shooting with a light brush
When working with a light brush, the exposure has to be selected experimentally. The aperture is set to obtain sufficient depth of field. Most often, a shutter speed of 1 minute is enough. To prevent noise, it is better to set the light sensitivity lower. After the first frame, it will be possible to determine the shutter speed adjustment. Sometimes it needs to be reduced or increased.
To illuminate an object, you need to know some rules. You can highlight an object with light by holding a beam of light on it. To get a clear and bright spot of light, you need to shine from a closer distance. To obtain a more blurred spot of a large size, you need to highlight from a further distance. At the very end, you should fill the scene a little with light. This can be done by illuminating the picture from such a distance that the beam of light illuminates the entire frame. If you move the brush in a circle, the shadows will be blurry or absent altogether. To obtain clear shadows, the brush must be held motionless for some time. You can also add backlighting at the end. This will make the contours clearer.
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When shooting with a light brush, you need to learn one rule. Before releasing the shutter, you need to clearly imagine the future photograph. This habit will help not only when shooting with a light brush. Even before shooting, you need to clearly imagine what will be illuminated and how. You can even draw a lighting diagram on paper and indicate the duration of the brush delay at each point. It is much easier to draw using this scheme with a stopwatch.
Tricks for shooting with a light brush
A very interesting effect can be achieved using two different light brushes. One should be with an LED, and the second with an incandescent lamp. As you know, an incandescent lamp has a yellowish light. Thus, by setting the white balance to a value between incandescent (2800K) and daylight (5500K), the photo will have yellow and bluish spots of light, which looks very beautiful. As you know, yellow and blue are complementary colors.
Using light filters for a light brush, you can create drawings of different colors. without limiting yourself to just yellow and blue.
Light filters can be made from almost anything. These can be filters from lenses, color polymer film, which is used as a filter for studio light and for interior decoration. It can be found in craft stores and stationery stores. Unnoticed film produces a pleasant amber light. It can also be used.
Separately, it should be said about shooting objects with a glare surface. There must be highlights on such objects, because they convey the main shape. But it is very important to remember that glare often overexposes, so you need to look at such objects without delaying the beam of light on them. In addition, you need to remember the rule that the angle of incidence of the beam is equal to the angle of reflection. Make sure that the reflected light does not hit the lens directly. You can do it differently. Shoot a scene with virtually no glare and overlay them separately in Photoshop.
Photographing with a light brush is not an easy process, but the results can be amazing. Everything will not work out right away, so you need to be patient. Carefully study the shots taken, find errors and correct them. This is the way to get great results.
As you know, the word “photography” means “painting with light.” The light brush gives this word its literal meaning.
A light brush is a tool and a photography technique in which this tool is used. The instrument is a small-sized constant light source that produces a well-focused narrow beam. The shooting technique is that each object is illuminated separately, “drawn” in the photograph with a moving light brush. The result is a unique light pattern that cannot be reproduced by other methods.
The professional light brush has a constant color temperature of approximately 5500 K and allows the use of various attachments and filters. Light of a strictly specified color temperature, corresponding to daylight or flash light, allows you to shoot with such a light brush on film without color-correcting filters. Attachments expand the capabilities of the tool, giving the photographer additional visual possibilities.
But a professional light brush is an expensive device. When shooting with a digital camera, color temperature is not of fundamental importance, and attachments are not always useful. Therefore, it is quite possible to use a simple flashlight as a light brush for educational and educational purposes. It is advisable that the light of this flashlight be focused by a lens, then the spot of light will not be too wide, and you will be able to accurately highlight small objects. It is best to use a flashlight with a white LED as a light source. Its light almost exactly matches daylight in color temperature, and it uses battery energy very economically.
WHAT IS NECESSARY
Shooting with a light brush is not as difficult as it may seem. If you do not have the skills to do this kind of photography, then you will need a digital camera. It will give you the opportunity to immediately view the results and adjust your actions. It is very important to carefully review each frame immediately after shooting, while you still remember exactly the order of your actions with the light brush. The camera's small display is not enough to study all the details of a photograph, so it is advisable to connect the camera to a computer and take photographs with the captured frame automatically displayed on the monitor. All DSLRs and many compact ones digital cameras have this opportunity. This requires the camera to have a connector for connecting to a computer (usually USB, sometimes FireWire) and a special program, which is most often included in the kit. If you do not have this opportunity, it is recommended to shoot in small series with control on the camera display, and then transfer them to a computer for more detailed study.
If you do not have a cable release (remote control) for your camera, then use the timer delay release mode. If there is, then set the shutter speed to manual control mode (Bulb), and use the shutter button lock on the remote control for the duration of the shutter speed. There are remote controls with their own timer (for example, Canon TC-80N3), which allow you to set the long exposure time and work it out automatically.
What to do if the maximum shutter speed of your camera is not sufficient to realize your idea, there is no release cable and there is no way to set the required shutter speed in the program that controls shooting from a computer? In this case, you can take a photograph in several exposures, and then combine the frames into one using a graphic editor.
Place the camera on a tripod and turn on manual shooting mode. Point and focus the lens. If you were using autofocus, turn it off. Turn off bright lights. Leave it just low enough to clearly see the subject you are photographing. If you are photographing an object with a smooth, shiny surface, such as glass or metal, then try to remove or cover any objects with glare surfaces nearby - the light from the light brush may hit them and you will get their reflections in the photo.
SHOOTING
When working with a light brush, the exposure has to be selected experimentally. Set the aperture based on the depth of field you need. A shutter speed of 1 minute will be enough to illuminate a small object or a composition of several objects. To avoid noise at such a long shutter speed, use a low sensitivity, such as 100 ISO. If during the shooting process you find that the shutter speed is not enough to create the intended light pattern, or, conversely, it is too long, adjust it as you require.
The principle of creating lighting is simple. First you need to highlight the necessary fragments of the object. Light what you want to make brighter for longer. If you want a bright spot of light that is small and has sharp edges, then keep the light brush closer to the subject. On the contrary, if you want a blurry, dim spot, then hold the light brush further. At the end of the exposure, give a little fill light - move along an imaginary hemisphere above the object at such a distance that the entire object falls into the spot of light. You can simply hold the light brush motionless at this distance - then you will get shadows. You can also create backlight - illuminate the object from the back, then the light will clearly outline the contours.
It should be especially noted that before opening the camera shutter, you need to clearly imagine the future photograph. This is generally a useful habit, and when shooting with a light brush, it is simply necessary. You must decide what and how you want to cover, and have an idea of how to do it. For convenience, you can sketch a sketch of the future photograph and indicate on it the movement pattern of the light brush with the duration of illumination in each area. When shooting, it will be much easier for you to accurately practice all the movements according to this scheme and with a stopwatch in your hands than from memory and guided by your internal sense of time. Plus, you won't forget anything and will do fewer takes.
Tricks
An interesting effect is obtained by using two different flashlights: LED and incandescent. An incandescent lamp produces light with a low color temperature (in other words, yellow). There are flashlights with a halogen bulb, their light has a higher color temperature (such flashlights are produced under famous brands Phillips, Energizer, etc.). The light from a white LED flashlight is practically indistinguishable from daylight. If you set the white balance on the camera (or for a ready-made photo, in a graphics editor) in intermediate value between incandescent light (approximately 2800 K) and daylight (5500 K), then in the picture you will get a light pattern with a combination of yellow and blue colors. This combination looks beautiful because blue and yellow are complementary colors.
Instead of flashlights with different types light sources, you can simply use light filters. Then you will not be limited only to yellow and blue colors, but will be able to choose almost any color combination.
Colored lens filters can be used as light filters. For example, red, orange, green and others. You can use colored polymer film. This film is used as a light filter for studio lighting sources, as well as for design purposes. You can look for it in art supply stores, stationery stores, and packaging departments. A piece of unexposed and developed color photographic film can also be used as a color filter, creating a pleasant amber color of light.
Separately, it is worth mentioning shooting objects with glare surfaces. In photographs of such objects, highlights must be present, because otherwise their surface will lose its shape and will be lifeless black. But glare easily causes overexposure in the picture. To avoid this, illuminate shiny surfaces by brushing the light brush over them without stopping. In order for the reflection of the light source to appear in the photo, remember that the angle of incidence of the beam on the surface is equal to the angle of reflection. To simplify the task, you can use the technique described above - shoot highlights with a separate exposure and combine the frames in a graphics editor.
Shooting with a light brush is a complex and exciting process. Not everything will work out right away. Be patient - the first few shots will almost certainly be unsuccessful. Carefully examining each frame, try to understand the cause of the errors and try to correct them the next time you try. As a result, the result will get better and better.
As you probably know, the word “photography” itself means “painting of light” in Greek. It is about light painting in the literal sense that we will talk in this article.
Light brushing is a photography technique that uses a directed beam of light as a light source to “develop” the image.
A slow shutter speed allows you to “paint” the light onto the subject, and usually use a flashlight as a brush.
Most often, the light brush is used when shooting still lifes. However, this shooting technique is also used for portraits, advertising and interior photography. In interior photography, more powerful light sources are used instead of a flashlight.
What are the advantages of a light brush?
Before moving on to practical advice, I want to tell you what the main advantages of working with a light brush are.
Firstly, a light brush allows the photographer to “paint” light accents himself. That is, highlight important objects and emphasize secondary ones. This is something that many photographers tend to underestimate or, even worse, not pay attention to at all.
Secondly, light not only illuminates the picture, the volume, texture and color saturation of the subject and the entire scene directly depend on it. The light brush also allows you to make mixes. I'll talk about this below.
Third, if your subject needs a unique presentation, a light brush is the best solution.
Selection of equipment
Camera
Of course, it is advisable to use a camera with a full-frame sensor. This matrix is not very noisy long exposures and has a large dynamic range that will allow you to adjust exposure by 1-2 stops with minimal loss of quality.
To be fair, it is worth noting that the latest models of semi-professional and even amateur cameras cope quite well with noise and produce an acceptable picture.
Optics
As a rule, a still life is shot with a light brush, and in this genre, perspective distortion is very undesirable, so it is better to use optics with a focal length of 85 mm.
To shoot indoors, you need to find a compromise every time. It will not be possible to shoot a panorama from several frames with a light brush.
Tripod
The tripod should be as stable as possible; even a shift of a few millimeters will create big problems for you when combining frames.
As a result, the layers panel will look like this.
And a sandwich of layers looks like this:
In the process, this entire sandwich is assembled into a finished picture.
Following the tips described above, you can easily make a still life of any complexity.
Everything is very simple, try it, experiment. And post your work on our page
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