Automotive light painting - kit and tutorials

[8bit]

I've been trying to get the hang of light painting cars lately. Camera gear is all fine but I'm using one of these fairly cheap light want things, this is the one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0731BVVM9/ref...

It gives out a fair bit of light but it tends to show large reflections on the car and it's very hard not to end up with massive trails across the photos. I wasn't expecting great things anyway as it was just a cheap item to start off with but maybe I need to shield the camera from the light? Or use a different type of light entirely?

Also, post-processing techniques need work. I've tried a couple of methods - using a single exposure to light the whole car, using several exposures to light areas and compositing them together. I have Lightroom and Photoshop. I understand the concepts and have a half idea how to use Photoshop to blend the images but if anyone's got some suggestions for tutorials that really help then I'm interested to hear about them.

Thanks in advance

[Rogue86]

Just to put you at ease, there's nothing wrong with your kit - LED wands are all really the same. You're only looking for colour-temperature, power output and consistency. I use the Tavor but it's just a different version of essentially the same thing. I've had the Westcott in the past and there's no difference.

I haven't got the time to type out a proper guide right now so apologies if this is a little brief. Essentially light-painting is quite post-intensive, you'll have to adapt your technique so you don't get streaks in front of the lens or learn how to edit them out. Shooting/combining multiple frames is definitely the way to do it.

[trackdemon]

That looks like a perfectly decent tool for lightpainting; if you're getting unwanted streaks across the frame (or more to the point, the car) then it's all about your positioning. I never LP in one frame as it just takes away control - it's rare you can light every element just as you want in a single pass. So, sounds like your problem is practice and giving more thought to where your light is going to be in the frame whilst your doing it - I don't think changing kit will help. Got some examples of finished shots you could show us?

[8bit]

Thanks chaps, glad to know that the light source is OK then. I had to put a few layers of masking tape up the sides and back of the light section as they were letting a lot of light through, as does the handle, but it still shows on the images sometimes. I'll see if I can use something like a piece of cardboard or similar to mask it from the camera.

Regards technique, I've tried doing a number of short exposures to light a section at a time but my compositing skills are lacking. I also tend to end up with "shadows" from my legs on the lit areas of the ground as I walk around, not sure how to avoid that? I guess for post-process, any good tutorials on layering, selecting/masking and compositing are probably a good start?

Probably my best effort so far is this, I lit the car in one go, another frame to light the ground a bit better and one more with no light painting for the headlights and tail lights:

DSC_4813-Edit by Niall Porter Photography, on Flickr

[trackdemon]

That's not too bad, just a bit flat. You're missing light from the rear o/s, if you'd been able to carry on walking you'd have gotten a line across the rear. But doing it in one walk means you're losing shape & definition - there's no light fall off at the rear corner, it's all just soft and even with a nasty highlight on the corner where you have to walk across the frame. From what you've described, it sounds like you're in the frame quite a bit, you need to think a bit more about how you can lightpaint the car without either being in frame, or at least not having the camera pick you up. Getting further away and higher up can help.

[8bit]

trackdemon said:

That's not too bad, just a bit flat. You're missing light from the rear o/s, if you'd been able to carry on walking you'd have gotten a line across the rear. But doing it in one walk means you're losing shape & definition - there's no light fall off at the rear corner, it's all just soft and even with a nasty highlight on the corner where you have to walk across the frame. From what you've described, it sounds like you're in the frame quite a bit, you need to think a bit more about how you can lightpaint the car without either being in frame, or at least not having the camera pick you up. Getting further away and higher up can help.

Thanks for the feedback, much appreciated. I can't remember if I managed all the way round on that attempt, probably not. Regards "flat", yeah I agree there but I figured it was due to a comparative lack of reflection (other than that bit you mentioned) but I take your point - if I'm walking round the car, shining the light on it then it's going to end up all lit up, no? Or am I trying to only light certain areas?

[trackdemon]

8bit said:

trackdemon said:

That's not too bad, just a bit flat. You're missing light from the rear o/s, if you'd been able to carry on walking you'd have gotten a line across the rear. But doing it in one walk means you're losing shape & definition - there's no light fall off at the rear corner, it's all just soft and even with a nasty highlight on the corner where you have to walk across the frame. From what you've described, it sounds like you're in the frame quite a bit, you need to think a bit more about how you can lightpaint the car without either being in frame, or at least not having the camera pick you up. Getting further away and higher up can help.

Regards "flat", yeah I agree there but I figured it was due to a comparative lack of reflection (other than that bit you mentioned) but I take your point - if I'm walking round the car, shining the light on it then it's going to end up all lit up, no? Or am I trying to only light certain areas?

That's entirely up to you! Sometimes you want the whole car lit, sometimes just a section, sometimes from high up, sometimes from lowdown - then there's the question of how much light, whether or not to do anything with the background, what (if anything) to do with the foreground. All creative choices that are up to the photographer. What I'd recommend is perfecting getting a fairly 'basic' shot right - not to create beauty necessarily, but to create something that isn't technically flawed. That process will teach you where you're going wrong, which will then stay with you when you move onto more advanced creative styles. As is so often the way with photography, the more you do the more you learn....

[8bit]

Thanks again! OK so I phrased the question wrong I think, the issue with the above shot is that there's too much light, or rather that it's lit from everywhere (barring the missed area at the O/S/R) and that's what's making it feel flat?

[trackdemon]

8bit said:

Thanks again! OK so I phrased the question wrong I think, the issue with the above shot is that there's too much light, or rather that it's lit from everywhere (barring the missed area at the O/S/R) and that's what's making it feel flat?

Pretty much; it's like shooting with the sun directly behind you - everything is lit evenly, but that means there's no shadows, no shape, no form particularly. Where's the shape in the Cayman shot? It's got a curvaceous body, but the shot simply shows the car (as in, you can see it) but little of the form. Thinking back to the daylight shot, if you position a car at an angle to the sun, then you'll get some shadow areas as the scallops in the body fall out of direct light. It's the same with lightpainting.

[8bit]

Right, I see... I guess during daylight, the sun is coming from one direction but ambient light is reflected from all around. Doing light painting in the dark means the only source really is the light I have in my hand. I'll have another go I think soon but try passing some parts of the car closer than others - thanks for the input

[xjay1337]

I'm no expert but I've done a bit, I have used phone torch or a one of those portable LED light stands.
Just play around with exposure and shutter speeds and amount of light required. Takes a few attempts... but generally get a "not bad" shot for my own memories.

Can't even remember last time I got the camera out

IMG_4194-5 by Fat Bear Photography, on Flickr

These were completely pitch black when taken.


IMG_2906-3 by Fat Bear Photography, on Flickr

IMG_1979-19 by Fat Bear Photography, on Flickr

IMG_1982-20 by Fat Bear Photography, on Flickr

IMG_1990-21 by Fat Bear Photography, on Flickr

Edited by xjay1337 on Friday 15th November 14:46

[Rogue86]

The main problem with a phone-light is you don't get much coverage so you get really directional light - not inherently a bad thing but it makes post-production more difficult.

(Excuse the compression on these, struggling to find a decent image host at the moment for forum use.)

It took my post-skills a while to catch up before I was ready to edit this bike shot (made up of multiple passes):



With one high pass from the Tavor though you get quite a wide coverage:



You can then tailor the overall lighting as you see fit, combining with lower passes, round the front etc:



Interestingly, this is the comparison shot from the same set with the Icelite. A £300+ difference in price but certainly no differences that you would notice after the layers are combined:



Light-painting gives you a great amount of control but it comes at the expense of time spent in post.

[8bit]

Thanks for that, some awesome images there, both of you.

Yeah the attempt I made using my phone light wasn't great, the light on the car was very patchy and had a very strong reflection. I will try and get out for some more practice this week.

[Malcolm Feth]

Reflections on the car (if you see white lines) is caused by direction of the light. Of course, it is easier to control it if you have proper light, rather than your phone. You should be able to lightpaint a car without lines with practically any source of light. Definitely, you need something more powerful than your phone. A very bright flashlight with some kind of diffuser will do the job. Alternatively, you can buy LiteStik which is going to be enough.

My first light paint was done with a small flashlight covered with a piece of white cloth That was ages ago!

[taxboy]

Bit of a thread resurrection. The light linked in the earlier post is no longer available. Can anyone please recommend something currently suitable - budget end preferred !

[trackdemon]

These do a perfectly decent job, how you use it is more important than the kit itself...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160-LED-RECHARGEABLE-CO...

[taxboy]

trackdemon said:

These do a perfectly decent job, how you use it is more important than the kit itself...

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/160-LED-RECHARGEABLE-CO...

Many thanks