I experimented with ‘Painting with light’ in the studio. I used a black background, a tripod, and set
the camera’s shutter speed to 20 seconds. I focussed the camera on my niece
with the lights turned on while she was stood against the background, then
turned the lights off before pressing the shutter release button. My niece waved a torch around and this was
the result:
I asked my niece to illuminate just her face for this
shot. She lit up her face with a torch
for around 7 or 8 seconds and this was the result:
I wanted to attempt to create a few 'moody/dark' images of my niece using this same technique, so I asked her to sit halfway up the stairs at home, closed all doors so that it was as dark as possible (although some light was still seeping through), and placed a torch on the upstairs floor, directed at the side of her head. I then used the same camera settings and was able to create these images:
In hindsight, I would have placed the torch further away from her head so that the light would have been less directional and harsh. I would also have used a tripod to ensure the images were sharper, as these are a little out of focus. I'm pleased with the results though considering this was simply fun and experimentation!
