"painting with light" questions....

i have seen the "painting with light" photos done by Emil Shildt and

i was amazed....

id love to try it out. i can make my room totaly dark and i have a

few girl's i could get to model.

now, if i use a normal little maglite/other torch, and say 100 ASA

collor film (Provia 100F ect..).

for how long should i expose the pic? about 30 sec.? and what would

be the recomended Apature? 5.6 or so?

and for how long should i "paint" each bit of my picture?

i realise that there is alot of trial and error here....

any one use this tecnique and have notes regarding the speed/apature

for different film types?

any other tips would be greatly apreciated;)

I am definitly going to keep an eye on this

 

I have already tried this tecnique with out much succes,never the less I still want to persuade it and maybe just maybe get a decsent picture.

I've tried this with a digital camera, for all of 16 seconds that my camera would allow. From my findings, the amount of light exposure in any area is equivalent to the total duration the light source stays "fixed" on that location, so a fixed exposure time and aperture will determine the brightness of the light source and how rapid the "paint strokes" should be. Conversely, a brighter light source with slower paint strokes should coincide with shorter exposures. <br><br>If you want to paint an area of say, 100 square feet, a MAG light will take you forever, and you'll likely miss many spots because you're essentially painting blind. I would recommend a 20W spot-halogen lamp to paint a model. <br><br>Plan ahead on where you want shadows to appear or if you don't want any at all; your painting position will differ accordingly.<div></div>

I've had some pleasant surprises using fast Fuji print film(Superia 800 and NPZ).Small Maglites work well. I'd go for smaller apertures of f8-f11 for better DOF and more time to build up exposure.

some people seem to like low speed film and some high...what works better? id think low because of the resolution. what about speed? is 30 seconds good? or do i need much more/less for a model shot?

and what about the painting itself? do i simply "paint" over the models body from behind the camera?

Slow(i.e., ISO 100)film ups the risk underexposure and increased grain. I've found the fast Fuji C41 films to work well. Very long exposures tax models who usually get tired of Maglites in their eyes. Try outlining the model before working up exposure on the face. Keep in mind that fair complexions and/or clothing will burn out quick, so keep the light moving. This needs experimentation, so try different amounts of light and exposure. I'd avoid wide apertures and stick to f8-f11. Depending on how your camera's shutter works, I'd use a locking cable release and trip the shutter set to "bulb"(B). Prefocus in sufficient light and get your bearings before lights out. I use an old Nikon F for this since it has a "T" setting that locks the shutter open without a locking cable release.

I've done a few shots like this and they tend to be around 15-20 seconds at f/11...I use a large Maglite focused to a medium beam and get right into the picture so that I'm 3 to 4 feet away max...just keep the flashlight pointed away from the camera is all and don't stand still or directly in the way...<br>

I also bought a little table light, turned the shade upside down and blocked the light from coming out the bottom of the shade...I'm going to try it with a 15 or 20 watt bulb, should be a softer brush to paint with...<br>

Post some pics when you do them, would like to see how you get along...I have four posted at http://www.photo.net/photodb/folder?folder_id=333640 but just remember that I'm not Emil ;)

i got a couple of rolls of agfapan film (100 and 400) and have started to experiment....wish me luck...