The effect is surprising and best of all, we don’t need a next-generation smartphone to do it or high-resolution cameras to achieve it. It has been around for years through professional cameras, but it has been made easier to use with mobile technology that puts its use and enjoyment on a tray.
What is light painting
For those who do not know what this technique consists of, we can define it as painting based on light through the air and that can be perceived through the camera. A type of photography that serves to represent movement, widely used in different lighting situations where darkness predominates. All you need is a long exposure and a prominent point of light that allows movement to be represented in the image. A method that was even used by the photographer Gijon Mili who collaborated with Pablo Picasso to unleash art in the air.
Ways to paint with light
For all those who want to bring this photographic mode to their smartphones, they have to be attentive to everything that we are going to mention and with what they will be able to enjoy the process and the result. If we want to achieve a good result on a mobile, we need some keys to then launch the options offered by the mobile.
- Find a location where there are no lights, which will give us a good result.
- Use a tripod or stable place to place the mobile, since the movement would spoil the image.
- An outstanding light source that allows us to achieve the desired result in the air. It can be the flashlight of another mobile, a laser or flares among other objects.
Once we have all the material and the right place, we have to launch the mode on the smartphone to achieve this remarkable result. What they change depending on the model we have, version of the operating system and even the customization layer.
Integrated mode
Once we have everything ready for him light painting with mobileIn the terminals where it is easier and practically automatic to achieve this result, we find the so-called light painting mode. Huawei is one of the manufacturers that most applies it to their mobiles and therefore it is very likely that if this is the brand of your smartphone, you will find it. In any case, we recommend that you check with these steps and if they are not present, go to the next way to achieve the result:
- We enter the mobile camera.
- We slide through the photographic modes until we reach the most or by clicking on its photographic options.
- We touch on the painting mode with light and it will be activated.
- We may have a number of ways to use it.
What changes between the different photography styles is the shutter speed. Each of them adapted to a different need. If we want to achieve the result in elements that go as fast as a car, we will need lower speed, than if we try to obtain it in a starry sky. After choosing it, it will only be a matter of putting it in the correct position and tapping on the capture button to let the magic begin.
Expert mode
In the rest of smartphones where this mode is not included by default, we will have to resort to our possibilities with the professional photographic mode. This will be basically the same as what we saw in smartphones adapted through the software, although with some intermediate steps, which however will allow us to better adapt the mode that light painting offers as a result to our needs.
- We access the camera section.
- We go through the modes until we reach the so-called professional mode.
- We play in exposure to increase the time, which can be set from 10 to 30 seconds, to achieve a good result in most situations. Depending on the result we will have to increase or decrease it.
- In addition, we recommend reducing the ISO manually to 100 so that other lights do not sneak in.
Then to achieve the light painting effect we have to unleash our creativity, stand in front of the camera and make letters, figures or effects with the lights in the air desired. We can combine it with many creative ways that will make our photos something unique. We can even use different colored lights to make the result stand out.
Some tips…
Although on paper this may seem relatively simple, the result can be complicated considering that this method requires practice and some skill. The main problems that appear with the photographic technique they are based on the result appearing too bright or too dark. To counteract that, what you have to do is try to adapt the speed of exposure to your desired result. We can try to adjust it at each moment and specific situation, although once we know what the aperture of our lens needs, it will be easy to experiment and get good results.
Another of the mistakes that are usually made as newbies is to stay quiet as part of the scene. If we do not want to appear, it is necessary that our movement is as constant as that of the hands or else we will appear, it is also advisable to wear dark clothing, to be confused with the background and not appear in the images with the lighting of the object we use. The greater the contrast of darkness and light, the easier it will be for us.
In addition, we must bear in mind the resource of reducing the ISO to a minimum, so there will be no details that sneak into our shots by surprise. The shapes we want to achieve will always come out worse if we stop them, it is better to go through the same point twice and do it at high speed, so that the exposure does not end with a good result in some areas and bad in others.