Some of you have asked some interesting questions about night photography. Here’s your answers to your darkest questions.
What is light painting?
Light painting is used in several different ways. However, both use long exposures.
One way is to shine a handheld light directly into the lens and draw things. These can range from very simple letters to rather complex drawings of flowers or dinosaurs. Because you are drawing, it is commonly known as light drawing, which differentiates it from light painting nicely.
If you are doing letters, you must practice writing them reversed, though!
Another kind of light painting involves using a handheld light also. But instead of purposely shining it into the lens, we use it to “paint” light on a subject. In other words, we illuminate a subject such as a tree, abandoned car, building or natural feature while the camera’s shutter is open during a long exposure.
Why don’t you appear in your photos when you walk through the frame?
I love this question because it’s a fascinating one. Many of us night photographers will “light paint” a subject by walking through the frame, where the camera lens is pointed.
However, if we don’t shine the light on ourselves and we don’t stand still, we won’t appear. In fact, we won’t appear in our photos at all unless we stand still for 10% of the exposure time or longer. For a two-minute-long exposure, that’s twelve seconds. And even then, you start appearing as a faint dark smudge, not easily seen unless the background is a little brighter.
Do you need special cameras?
No.
I could almost let that be the entire answer. It might be funny. But no, I don’t use special cameras. In fact, both my cameras are “garden-variety” DSLRs that were made in 2014 and 2016. They’re old. This is primarily due to finances, as I would be happy to use a Nikon Z8 mirrorless.
Most any modern camera that has manual controls can take good night photos.
And if you are looking to create low-ISO images near a full moon, you can use extremely modest cameras.
With lenses, it depends on what you wish to do. If you wish to create beautiful Milky Way photos with the stars as pin-points, a lens that has a large aperture is best. This lets in more of that incredibly dim light. Something like f/2.8 or wider is good for Milky Way photos. These can be more expensive. However, Rokinon and other manufacturers make good lenses with wide apertures that are inexpensive.
If you are taking photos near a full moon, using low ISO, and using longer exposures, then you can use just about any sort of lens. I frequently use a Pentax 28-105mm f/3.35-5.6 lens that I purchased used for US$300.
More questions?
If you have other questions, please leave them in the comments below. If I post a particular photo that spurs a question on social media, please ask there! If there are enough recurring questions, I might write another article like this later.
