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HOW TO CAMERA-PAINT WITH LIGHT:
BASIC CAMERA SETTINGS
Create exciting, personal, expressive
abstract imagery with your digital camera

Camera painting might be thought of as light painting in reverse. With light painting the camera is usually steady or on a tripod and light, such as a flashlight, is then waved, painted and drawn in the air. With camera-painting, however, the camera moves across lights that are usually stationary. Your particular type of camera movement results in patterns or lines that create an abstract composition.

Digital photography makes it easy to 'camera-paint'. You move your camera to paint lights -- which is not just a phrase, it is exactly what you will be doing. It's a lot of fun and really exciting when you get a colorful composition.

To see a full example of a realistic scene and then the possible camera-painting abstracts that could be created from that scene go to my camera-painting gallery of 21 examples.
Yet, like all things in photography you need to know how to get started.

BASIC CAMERA SETTINGS

MANUAL OR SHUTTER PRIORITY:
Since camera-painting is not normal photography, the usual automatic settings often do not work. The exposure will be determined by trial and error, for example, as the normal light metering does not really apply. So to begin select either shutter priority or manual mode.

SHUTTER SPEED:
Generally you will want the shutter to be open for a long time such as eight or more seconds. If your shutter priority won't let you shoot more than a second or two, put the camera on manual and set it for eight seconds for starters. After some experience you may want to set the shutter at an even longer time. Some cameras allow a B (bulb) setting which will open the shutter for as long as you like. Read your manual for the exact instructions on using your B setting. My advice is that once you have decided on a shutter speed, do not change it to adjust the exposure but rather change the ISO or the aperture. Of course, if the lowest ISO and highest f/stop results in overexposed images, you will need to shorten the shutter speed.

FOCUS:
Focus can also be a bit tricky especially in night situations. I suggest you lock in a focus as some cameras will allow or set the camera on manual and set the focus manually. A general rule of thumb is to focus on the light that is at a middle distance, if the lights are at varying distances.

ISO:
You will need to set the ISO at the lowest number possible, such as 50, because your shutter will be open for a long time.

APERTURE:
Adjust the camera so that the aperture is set it to the highest possible number such as f/11 or f/16. This serves two purposes: it allows a longer exposure and also allows a greater range of focus.

TRIPOD OR HANDHELD?:
I prefer handheld myself. If you use a tripod, make sure the tripod head moves smoothly and easily. If you shoot handheld, read my article on "How To Handhold Your Camera Correctly At Slow Shutter Speeds" http://www.pixiq.com/article/how-to-handhold-your-camera-correctly-at-sl...

IMAGE STABILIZATION:
If your camera has this feature, turn it on. It will help smooth out jerky motions on your part.

WHITE BALANCE:
Before you shoot, you will need to make a decision about which light source you want to be white -- so try a few test shots at different white balance settings. Each different white balance setting will affect the colors of the other light sources.

FOCAL LENGTH:
Keep in mind that with a longer focal length -- i.e., in the telephoto range -- the more your movement will be magnified See my article on "How Lenses Affect Shutter Speed Choice" http://www.pixiq.com/article/extreme-photography-how-lenses-affect-shutt...

TYPICAL EXPOSURE:
This is just one example of an exposure: 8 second shutter speed, ISO 50, aperture f/11, focus set to 10 feet, white balance set to tungsten, image stabilizer on, focal length set to normal lens (50mm - 35mm equivalent).

WHEN AND WHERE

TIME OF DAY -- WELL NIGHT: Shoot at night -- don't try this during the day unless you are going to use neutral density filters that will reduce the amount of light coming into the camera. Even so nighttime is also easier than daytime because you can 'paint' the lights against the darkness of the night.

"A painter's canvas is white; a photographer's canvas is black."
Rick Doble

WHERE TO SHOOT:
Find a night area that has a variety of light sources, i.e., neon lights, sodium lights, mercury lights, household bulbs, etc. Each of these will have a different color which you can use to paint with.

REFLECTIONS:
Find a place with reflections such as glass, shiny metal or water. Reflected light is darker than the original light source and will add depth and a sense of shading to your final composition. TIP: Right after it has stopped raining, you may find a variety of interesting places.

CAMERA MOVEMENT

HOW TO MOVE THE CAMERA:
For the smoothest shots, begin moving the camera before you press the shutter button and continue after the exposure -- that is keep moving the camera like a follow through in tennis or in golf.

HOW FAST TO MOVE THE CAMERA:
You have to think differently about photography when you leave the shutter open for a long time. The way you move the camera and the speed at which you move the camera now determines the exposure for a point of light. Move the camera slowly and you will get bright fuzzy lines which may overexpose and turn to white. Move the camera quickly and you will get sharp clear, dimmer lines that are the color of the light source.

WAYS OF MOVING THE CAMERA:
Ah, now we get to the heart of the matter. You can move the camera in any manner: up/down, sideways, back and forth, in a wavy pattern, in a doodle or squiggle pattern. In addition you can move the camera smoothly or in a staccato fashion or vibrate the camera -- or even start and stop during the time period which can have a double or multiple exposure effect. Some camera-painting artists move the camera to their favorite music; there are no limits. But remember that where lights cross you will be adding to the exposure at the point where they cross -- an effect you may or may not want.

HOW TO VIEW YOUR WORK AS YOU SHOOT:
Except for cameras with separate viewfinders, you will not be able to see the scene through your viewing system or on the LCD monitor during the shot. I suggest that you switch eyes so that if you are right eyed when looking through your camera, switch to your left eye when your LCD monitor or DSLR viewing system blacks out and the shot is being taken.

REVIEWING, ADJUSTING EXPOSURES, EVALUATING

TOO LIGHT -- TOO DARK:
If your pictures are too dark, try moving the camera a bit slower or increasing the ISO. If the pictures are too light, try moving the camera faster and lowering the ISO. But, if possible, do not change the shutter speed.

BE PATIENT:
Take a shot, look at it, go back and do it again. You will get into a rhythm after a while that often leads to better and more colorful compositions. Follow your instincts. I would not take less than twenty shots in a session and as many as a hundred.

EVALUATING YOUR WORK:
Later review your work and carefully select only the very best to show to others -- 2-4 at the most. It takes some experience to judge these kinds of photos. Choose those with the greatest range of color, of tone and with the best composition.

COMPOSITION:
With camera-painting you are creating an abstract composition by the way you move the camera. I suggest that you look at the work of abstract painters such as Kandinksy to get compositional ideas.

NOTE:See a list of my other articles here at PIXIQ. www.pixiq.com/contributors/rick-doble

For more about my approach to photography see my book: Experimental Digital Photography.

Join me on Facebook. Become a 'fan' of my Facebook page on Experimental Digital Photography. Click on the 'like' button at the top of the Facebook page.