How can I make light graffiti?

[meaniecanon500D]

Hello
Just start asking the questions and we'll try and answer.

how can i make light graffiti?!

[Dave Humphries]

Hi there,

You'll no doubt spot I have moved this question to a place where it should get more answers.

I assume you mean the currently popular painting with light technique, seen in many UK TV ads at the moment?

Quick answer;
You'll need to be in the dark (harder than it sounds), use an aperture like f16, a low iso like 100 and have the camera open the shutter for many tens of seconds to give you, or an "assistant", time to paint the words or images with a small torch or similar. Experiment with focal lengths, but for this, the kit lens should offer about the right range.

A tripod is the best way to keep the camera still while doing this, but a young, resourceful person like yourself can probably come up with an alternative.

I'm sure other's will respond and possibly link to previous posts with examples.

Cheers,

[meaniecanon500D]

Hi there,

You'll no doubt spot I have moved this question to a place where it should get more answers.

I assume you mean the currently popular painting with light technique, seen in many UK TV ads at the moment?

Quick answer;
You'll need to be in the dark (harder than it sounds), use an aperture like f16, a low iso like 100 and have the camera open the shutter for many tens of seconds to give you, or an "assistant", time to paint the words or images with a small torch or similar. Experiment with focal lengths, but for this, the kit lens should offer about the right range.

A tripod is the best way to keep the camera still while doing this, but a young, resourceful person like yourself can probably come up with an alternative.

I'm sure other's will respond and possibly link to previous posts with examples.

Cheers,

ok.. thanks so much!!!!!!!!

i tried it but it clicked right away. ) im sorry if i sound so ignorant but im so clueless about this hahahha )

[Dave Humphries]

ok.. thanks so much!!!!!!!!

i tried it but it clicked right away. ) im sorry if i sound so ignorant but im so clueless about this hahahha )

No worries, you're just starting on a great (if expensive) hobby, possibly even a career, who knows?

[Colin Southern]

All you need is Love

[Blazing fire]

Colin used a flash to ensure the subject is sharp for this photo. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Sahil]

Something like this??

[Donald]

i tried it but it clicked right away

Hello again, meaniecanon

I don't have the same camera as you, so I may be getting this wrong. But if you look at the manual you got with camera, look for 'bulb' mode. That means that the shutter stays open for as long as you press it down. So, you can hold it down for 10 seconds or 10 hours. And, when you're doing that, you can get a friend to do the graffiti with a torch(flashlight) or some other light source.

The other thing you can do is set the aperture and shutter up so that you're going to get, say, a 30 second exposure. So, you set the camera up so that it's steady (on a tripod or something like a bean bag), press the shutter and then run round to the other side and do the graffiti yourself with the light source.

And then ... post the result up here so that we can all see it.

Have fun!!

[Dave Humphries]

Thanks Donald, I completely missed that bit of the post

[Colin Southern]

Colin used a flash to ensure the subject is sharp for this photo. Correct me if I'm wrong.

Your wrong! Nah you're right - although it was on 2nd curtain sync

[carregwen]

What country are you in? There's an article in May 2010 Digital SLR Photography (UK) that goes through this. They use one of those new LED torches with the multiple bulbs which gives a much more interesting trail pattern. They also move the trails around a fluted glass to add interest to the shot. Looks good.

[The Blue Boy]

The picture below stands for "top of the page". Used for every 1oo posts in a forum on flickr.



I was waving a torch about. Obv. )

[Dave Humphries]

The picture below stands for "top of the page"

Nah; it's "Top of the Pops", Mark.

Trust me, I used to work for the BBC!

See TOTP at Wikipedia



(but maybe I'm just showing my age)

[pwnage101]

I don't know if this has already been mentioned, but the more defocused you are, the thicker the streaks of light. you may have to increase ISO speed or slow down your arm motions for a bright enough effect (depending on how bright your light source is). anyway, here's my (in focus) attempt with a dim LED:

[PopsPhotos]

Nah; it's "Top of the Pops", Mark.

Who is doing what to me?



Pops

[carregwen]

Who is doing what to me?



Pops

Maybe you should adopt it as your forum avatar? What exactly is your current avatar?

[PopsPhotos]

Cat in bird cage, bird on top, doing to cat what birds do naturally.

Based on a situation I got into many years ago, trying to get a wildlife picture framed by a tangle of fallen trees. I'll just let you use your imagination.

(Incidentally, the caption of the pic says "Don't Ask." )

Pops

[meaniecanon500D]

THANKS EVERYONE!! i found the bulb mode already. it was in the manual. i asked my sister todo the lights thing for me. i cannot upload right now, but ill upload soon!!!!! hahahaha thanks guys )