Intentional Camera Movement&

Light Painting

Karen SmaleFeb 2015

Intentional Camera Movement: ICM

ICM

What is ICM?

• The camera moves during the exposure – The subject may or may not move

• Intentional – This is not camera shake

• Requires longer exposures (1/10 sec or more)– ISO 100– f/22 (smallest aperture)– Might need a neutral density filter on a bright day

ICM

Different techniques

1. Pan with your subject, which is moving2. Pan/rotate to make abstract or

impressionistic art of a scene that is not moving

3. Zoom to create the illusion of movement4. Camera-tossing: for a completely random

abstract image

ICM

Intentional Camera Movement

“The landscape you see through the viewfinder is a canvas wet with paint, your film in your camera is a blank sheet of white paper pressed against it. Any movement of your camera will result in the landscape being painted onto the film according to the movement.”

Photographing Creative Landscapes - Michael Orton, 2002.

ICM

Technique 1: Panning w/ moving subject

Photo by Karen Smale1/20 sec (ISO 100, f/25)

ICM

This keeps your subject in (relatively) sharp focus while smearing out the background (which eliminates distractions nicely).

Technique 2: Panning to create abstract or impressionistic photo

Pan your camera in the direction of the strongest lines in your composition (e.g., vertical for trees, horizontal for landscape/seascape). The amount of blur depends on how much you move the camera and the length of your exposure.

Photo by geezaweezerhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/geezaweezer/12933009544/0.4 sec (ISO 250, f/13)

ICM

Photo by Pete Banholzer1.6 sec (ISO 100, f/20)

Use a tripod if you want accurate panning. Hand-held will give an organic look.

Technique 2: Rotating to create abstract or impressionistic photo

Photo by Karen Smale0.4 sec (ISO 100, f/5)

Rotate to create a swirling feeling. Or, try moving the camera in a way that increases the impact of shapes in your photo. For instance: http://www.michaelortonphotography.com/galleries/spring/

Photo by Kerri Lee Smithhttps://www.flickr.com/photos/77654185@N07/15006300104/1/20 sec (ISO 100, f/32)

ICM

Technique 3: Zooming

Zooming gives the feeling of movement into the photo. Zooming is easiest on a tripod and I find zooming in is easier than zooming out.

Photo by Karen Smale1/8 sec (ISO 100, f/22)Photo by Nancy Rosenbaum

0.6 sec (ISO 400, f/3.5)

ICM

Photo by Nancy Rosenbaum0.1 sec (ISO 400, f/6.3)

Technique 4: Camera tossingICM

Photo by inF!https://www.flickr.com/photos/24618803@N07/2913428482/1 sec (no ISO info, f/2.8)

Photo by Karen Smale~2 sec (ISO 100, f/3.3)

Find a small light source in a dark place and toss your camera.*† I used some fairy lights in a tree. The image on the right was done with a sample source image displayed on a computer and the camera was tossed with the computer in the field of view. (See Flickr “camera toss” group.)

* Don’t forget to catch it.† Not responsible for dropped cameras.

ICM: How to do it

• DSLR– Manual settings: Small aperture, low ISO, may need a

neutral density filter or polarizer if it’s a bright day– Start with 1/4 to 1/8 of a second– Experiment with amount of movement, length of exposure

• Cell phone apps for longer exposures– SlowShutter, LongExpo, LenX

• Point & Shoot– Set to “fireworks” or “night scene” for longer exposures

and shoot in a dark location to force the shutter speed to be slow

ICM

ICM Resources

• http://www.photography.ca/blog/tag/intentional-camera-movement/

• http://www.michaelortonphotography.com/icm.html

• http://www.apogeephoto.com/sept2011/jroth92011.shtml

• http://www.picturecorrect.com/tips/painting-with-light-intentional-camera-movement/

ICM

Light Painting

LightPaint

What is Light Painting?

• Two types: 1. Using light to illuminate your subject2. Using light as your subject (drawing with light)

• Requires quite long exposures (30 sec or more), and so you need a tripod or sturdy surface for your camera

LightPaint

1. Using light to illuminate

Use a simple flashlight to illuminate your object. Illuminate details with close-up flashlight work, “wash” the subject with the flashlight held farther away. Don’t shine the light toward the camera unless you want “light bugs” in your photo.

Light bugs created if you point the flashlight toward the camera

Photos by Karen Smale

LightPaint

Light Painting (1-illuminating): How to do it

• Painting/illuminating a subject– Dark location– Illuminate your subject, focus, lock focus– Set exposure to 30 sec or 60 sec– Take a test shot of unilluminated subject to see where

background/stray light comes in, set exposure accordingly; low ISO– Start small (guitar, not abandoned building)– Larger and more complex objects (parked cars, old barns, abandoned

buildings) might require multiple exposures so you don’t have to get it all done in one try. These can be combined later in Photoshop (see tutorial in “resources” slide).

– Don’t illuminate yourself unless you want to be in the photo– Don’t point the flashlight at the camera if you don’t want “light bugs”

LightPaint

2. Using light as a subject (drawing)

Photo by rafotohttps://www.flickr.com/photos/rafoto/2653254686/

Photo by Pedro Moura Pinheirohttps://www.flickr.com/photos/pedromourapinheiro/3221587377/

LightPaint

Shine the flashlight toward the camera (not directly into the lens unless you want flaring).

Light Painting (2-drawing): How to do it

• Light as your subject (drawing)– Dark location– Illuminate your subject, focus, lock focus – Set exposure to 30 sec or 60 sec; low ISO– Determine the “edges” of your painting space– If writing, do it for yourself, then flip image in post-processing– Shine the flashlight toward the camera but not directly into

camera lens (causes flare)– Try gels for colors or use other objects as light sources

(iPhone, candle, glow sticks, sparklers, etc.)– Try painting objects into existing scenes

LightPaint

Light Painting Resources

• http://digital-photography-school.com/light-painting-part-one-the-photography/

• http://digital-photography-school.com/light-painting-part-two-photoshop/

• http://lightpaintingphotography.com/light-painting-tutorials/pipslab/

• http://www.thepixelstick.com/

LightPaint