Light Painting
Brotography

Light Painting

November 2024

Entry 20717189
8th
80

A beautiful effort here. The more you look the more you can take away from this exposer. The light source gives the subject fairy like wings and the darkness gives her a cocktail dress. The halo that surrounds her seems almost like an atmosphere, protecting her from space, as ursa major looks down.

Crowd
winner
Expert
winner

This is a treat of a photograph. The effort is considerable and some homework has gone in to it. Attention to the time and direction of when the exposure would've had to have been attempted, given the geography, and also balancing the artificial light source power. The final result is beautiful with a good explorer type vibe.

Meet the expert judge

1,850 Images entered

947 Photographers

47,349 Ratings

Entry 20751750
105th
47

Stunning results. Using drones as light platforms is gaining popularity and creating some very interesting photographs and here is a great example. Indeed it does look like a portal sat over an obelisk and shows some contemporary artistic merit when executed in such an old setting.

Entry 20959283
25th
11
Entry 21265750
996th
6

One of the loveliest examples of firework photography I've seen in quite some time. It's so delicate and looks almost alive, which is a good feat for a bunch of violently erupting chemicals. Dandelions sitting in the sky for the briefest of moments.

Entry 21488362
630th
4
Entry 21613986
42nd
150

I absolutely adore this portrait. The softness and grain looks considered and vintage but when married with the contemporary lighting using fibre optic it gives it a unique look. The blue colour pallet sets the mood and the light trails move almost like hair in a double exposure. The fact its a from a phone proves that when it comes to creativity its not about the tools.

Entry 21777470
1136th
23

A beautiful documentary style image here. Im especially drawn to the burrs bouncing and rolling across the table top. Photographing welding is genuinely an effort and takes some time to find the right moment when the light balance is just right. You can almost hear the action going on in the frame.

Entry 21790144
1285th
5
Entry 21901398
57th
4

Id like to know more about the method and technicalities that went in to making this particular image. The colours are perfectly balanced and blend in to each other wonderfully. The photo has more a feel of birds of paradise feathers than light painting. An interesting and pretty photograph.

Entry 21936922
652nd
43
Entry 21969996
441st
22
Entry 22033598
802nd
52

Such a sense of adventure from this image! You can feel what its like to be out there as a group of friends, climbing under the stars in such an incredible park. I would have loved to have seen the rapeller pause on the rock, but this photo isn't about the photo.

Entry 22035001
581st
4
Entry 22036479
804th
16

A captivating frame here. The more time I spend staring the more i see the dancers moving around in the flame. The movement is quite hypnotic and it's hard not to anthropomorphise whats going on in the photograph. Great result.

Entry 22100831
1635th
10

I very much enjoyed this image. It was a great idea to use an object to transform natural light in to an artificial light source. The result is that its quite literally painted a ghost of itself on to the flat surface. Great creativity displayed here.

A very warm and rich self portrait. The light has been painted softly enough to match the silky movement that's going on within the exposure. Experimenting on bulb can often yield some surprising results and i like the random nature of the movement throughout. Beautiful results.

Entry 22131876
644th
32

A classic method perfectly executed. Naturally, there have been a lot of entries in to this brief using the same technique, but i would argue this was the best artistic result. Beautifully understated with minimal sparks make for a frame full of feeling. The soft ring of light surrounding the subject looks almost protective and cuts through that golden horizon line like a sunset. The reflection in the pool is the cherry. Great balance all round.

Brief

See more contest details

“Light painting is a technique used in long exposure photography where you can use artificial light sources to illuminate a scene, or to create new elements within the image.” So says light painting ace Mathew Browne in the excellent '<a href="https://www.photocrowd.com/blog/154-beginners-guide-art-light-painting/">Beginner’s Guide to the Art of Light Painting</a>' here on Photocrowd. There are many tools that can be used to paint light trails, and light up scenes, from torches and flames, to burning steel wool and purpose-built coloured light tools that come in myriad forms. The light painting must be coordinated by the photographer, which is integral to this art form, and not simply be astrophotography, or rely on light from other sources such as cars or buildings that are beyond their control.

Entry 20712508
34th
61
Entry 20714622
443rd
73
Entry 20715918
213th
18
Entry 20717514
44th
1
269
Entry 20720589
41st
26
Entry 20720590
37th
32
Entry 20720592
28th
42
Entry 20739448
448th
1
15
Entry 20741250
1743rd
4
Entry 20862380
59th
1
133
Entry 20865339
533rd
24
Entry 21199896
13th
1
114
Entry 21253414
1516th
30
Entry 21265753
200th
21
Entry 21891837
63rd
131
Entry 21952881
16th
18
Entry 22097511
12th
16
Entry 22098942
32nd
24
Entry 22113611
978th
10
Entry 22133727
239th
69

The key light is just right here and moves across the skin at just the right volume. Shutter speed choice is giving just a hint of movement, however the artificial light is where the true feeling of movement comes across as it mildly emulates the subject's form. Aura like.

Entry 22136795
31st
24
Entry 22154739
419th
6