A light touch. By Jean-Baptiste Gauthier & Antoine Fevre

Picasso draws with light

> Light painting

> Bosanko's graffiti

Have you heard of light painting? It’s painting in the air using a point of light and capturing the movement of light on a photo using a long camera exposure. It dates back to 1889, and was used by Frank Gilbreth in his scientific motion studies.

Photo by Gilbreth

Man Ray, in his 1935 series "Space Writing," was the first well-known art photographer to use the technique. Other famous artists such as Pablo Picasso used light painting in their work.

It seems a difficult technique, but in fact it’s quite easy to make a good light painting. Also, you can enjoy yourself making it!

You need a camera on which you can set long shutter speeds. Light painting works better if you are in a dark place; the slow shutter speed of your camera will compensate for the lack of light (it allows your camera to get all the information). You also need a tripod for long exposure (unless you want to create an abstract-looking photo, in which case you can move the camera). You also need a light source; the best is an LED torch.

How does it work? When you light paint, you put your camera on the tripod, then you adjust the shutter speed to choose the time of exposure, then you take a light and draw something in the air so that the camera captures the light moving in the air. Then you have a look at your drawing on the photo.

 

 The Place de la Victoire in Clermont-Ferrand, shot with a flash

We took another photo of the same place, this time using the filter that we used for light painting. The second picture is much clearer...

 Goal!

As the exposure time is very long, you can light somebody up at different places and see him several times in the same image.

Jean-Baptiste in front of the cathedral

 We shone the torch on different points of the fountain one after the other.

Jean Baptiste as a ghost! He looks like a hologram.

We drew a bicycle, but it was very difficult!

Chazam!

A portrait of Voltaire, the Enlightenment philosopher (ha-ha)

As you can see, light painting is not so easy, but if you keep practicing you can make amazing pictures. Light painting is an incredible way to create!

Light is an infinite source of inspiration for artists such as Darren Pearson. 

Darren Pearson light painting

He painted most of the Californian wildlife using light. It took him one year to make this video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfTPxdrB5uQ

If you are not impressed yet, you will be when you see what people can do with a drone plus fireworks or LEDs!

Drone plus fireworks

Drone plus LEDs

We thank Maxence Dorut for lending us the hardware and all the people involved in this project.