Painting with Light

Step 3 Set Up Your Camera

First off, you must use a tripod or other stable base. Like mentioned in the last step, any movement will blur in a long exposure, be it the subject moving, or the camera.

Set your camera for a long exposure. How long depends on what you are trying to accomplish. I like to give myself plenty of time to play and usually use a 20 or 30 second exposure.

Many 'point and shoot' cameras do not have an adjustable exposure. However, you can trick your camera into a longer exposure by setting you camera to its lowest ISO and turning off the flash. This will probably only give you a few seconds, but that's plenty of time to play. Consult your camera's instruction manual or your get your kid to figure out how to adjust these settings

A note on focusing: When focusing on your subject illuminate it with a bright light. It will make you focusing that much easier, and that much more precise. I learned this the hard way by trying to focus in low light. Many times I've been disappointed in a great shot that turned out to be out of focus.

Comments

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I would like to make the suggestion that you remove the strap from your camera while on the tripod. Leaving the neck strap on your camera for this process could leave your pictures susceptible to motion if any wind catches the strap. Plus, it could get caught on your hands or your clothes.