What is Light Painting?

Light painting is NOT Photoshop! It is a technique that has been around since the beginning of photography. It uses a long shutter speed to capture light as movement. Even Picasso has done "light drawings" using a flashlight in a dark room to draw shapes. These days we have many more interesting ways creating light paintings with different tools. My favorite has been by Eric Pare who made light painting tubes popular all over the world.

To make the these photographs, it needs to be done in a dark environment after sunset. I put my camera on a tripod with a long exposure, usually about 1-2 seconds, I have my model hold a pose while I "paint" them from behind with an illuminated tube. The results are magical and so much fun!