I've been a photographer for 40 years and I absolutely love light painting. I used to do it back in the day when I was shooting 8x10 transparencies and you couldn't see what you had until you processed the film the next day. That'll teach you technique. LOL In any case, here's a trick for preventing your background from being more prevalent than you might like: since light falls off by the diminishing square law, moving your background vertical section back twice as far as it currently is will drop any light hitting it by a factor of 4. Three times equals a factor of 9, etc. By giving yourself a little more space between your subject and the vertical drop, you can have velvety black backgrounds and not even think about them while your light painting. I hope this helps.
I remember in the 80's using a 10x8 in a monastery with dark stained wood (which REALLY absorbs light) statues down the walls on either side of a 50m aisle with dark wooden pews in the centre. Kept the shutter open and just placed a wooden board covered in black velvet (very dark black) right in front while we re-arranged the lights. We lit each statue separately and placed another black wooden board in between the light and the camera so we could move it around to get the 'painting with light' effect. Each time we took another exposure by moving the black velvet covered card out of the way of the lens as we thought any multiple use of the shutter was bound to give some vibration to the camera. After 5 attempts in 5 hours we went to develop the black & white negatives, chose the best one and went back to repeat it in colour. We would have killed for digital cameras and Macs in those days but our efforts were rewarded with a great photo that made our reputation.
@@mountainlightwoodcraft True, the smell of developer and fixer gives me the shivers now. Another top tip though, if your tripod isn't that steady, loop a bag over the central column so it hangs down underneath and fill it full of anything heavy like books or (full) beer cans. It will steady up brilliantly.
Landscape Photographer here. As well as furniture maker. (Recently transferred to fulltime!) You did a great job! But I find it funny this is one of your least viewed videos. People do not understand how important product photography is. Photos is what sells in this day and age. Anyway this is a old video and you probably won't see it but keep killing it!
@@BlacktailStudio hey now. That boring topic is what I love.... lol. Your new videos are definetly better but still lost of valuable info in this one. Thanks for the reply.
Hi, I'm a landscape photographer turned furniture builder too. Can I ask how you started selling your pieces in the beginning? I built a coffee table following cam's workshop and it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm going to list it on marketplace for around $1000 but do you think people buy high end furniture there? I would love to get commissions for custom projects but I imagine it helps to make sales first? Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated. How did your year go?
Wow! So much new information to process if photography isn't your thing. Never knew there was all this behind the scenes stuff after the project was completed. Definitely another project in it itself. Kudos to you sir! Not discouraging but maybe just a bit overwhelming at first. That being said, "challenge" accepted lol
I'm not sure. But in 1977 I came up with the idea of light painting. A tip. Light painting is an art of ( bulb setting & F Stop) You don't have to flicker your torch light. Just try to remember which area you've light up during the process. A side note. Bulb & a black card is good for capturing lightning bolts during a storm. If you're into that kind of thing. Great woodworking. Love your tables.
I majored in "photographic illustration" at The Rochester Institute of Technology. Every year RIT alumni take part in "The Big Shot", basically light painting of big things during time exposures using flashlites, electronic flashes. I was a participant in lighting up USS Intrepid Aircraft Carrier where it is docked at a pier on the Hudson River in NYC. I also helped light the new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Do y’all share “The Big Shot” photos online? That should be a thing on Flickr! Your work sounds fascinating too! Congratulations on the Smithsonian.. That’s incredible!
I bought a light bar from Harbor Freight and taped some wax paper over the LEDs to get a diffused light. Then do slow steady, passes and it effectively becomes a giant soft box. It’s extremely controllable too. You might have to mask out some light in Photoshop, but the look is amazing. Cheers!
This is great! Very detailed and good technique. Would be interested to see what has changed in the last 2 years in your photography workflow. Your photos definitely stand out from most that i see.
Great Video! Another option in Lightroom to adjust hues is to click on that circle in the top left corner in the hue menu, then click and hold the left mouse key on the color you are adjusting and move your mouse up and down. It will isolate the color(s) you click on and adjust the slider. Saves time for me. :)
I started out thinking "wow, he uses the same lens and almost the same camera I do!" (I have a t2i). Then the casual "then I got a 5D Mark IV" dropped lol. Really cool technique, I wouldn't have guessed you did those photos yourself as an amateur, they look great.
If you are low on time just take more photos lighting different parts of your subject and take it all to Photoshop as layers and use blending modes (lighten mostly) to blend them all together. Hope it helps
Ansel Adams used light painting when he printed his photographs, and that's what made his black & white photos come to life. Actually, his light painting was the reverse of using light. He used different shaped paddles to LIMIT the amount of light exposed to the print paper.... selective darkening and shading. He always said anyone can take a picture, but not everyone knows how to manipulate the light to print one. And that was decades before digital was even dreamed of. The true genius of the master.
Great video, lovely work and very clear and helpful. We also make lamps and there’s are simple to photograph when switched off…but when switched on the challenge appears huge. We have not resolved this and have not found anything on TH-cam - do you ever make and photographs lamps? Thanks.
Thanks for all the info! Does having the flashlight/point light source help make the figure pop more compared to having a more diffuse light source? Is there any special practice you find gets figure to pop more than others (angle, light direction, more variety of those two or less, that sort of thing)?
Have been waiting for this video since your first mention that you would produce it if enough were interested. I hope to try on a couple of small builds. Thank you.
there is some really black paint that absorbs lots of light. So the reflecting light might be absorbs in that. But you would have to paint a background. I also think its a little expensive. Probably faster to just crop the background out and paste it on a black screen lol
Hi Cam. Just discovered your videos since Thanksgiving. Good stuff thank you. I enjoy your wood work and videos. I'm not a wood worker but I am interested in how you film your videos. Equipment, editing software etc. I searched your playlists to see if you've posted something and I may have missed it. This video is the closest I've found. Do you have any others? Can you point me to anything you may have? Please help. Thanks and keep up the great work...I really enjoyed your "story" 👍🏻 thanks for sharing. Mike
I love all your videos man, you’ve helped me a ton with my woodworking. Keep up the good work!! I was wondering if you tried using light painting with your phone’s camera at all? I am experimenting with an app called slow shutter using your same technique you use with the digital camera and it seems like it works pretty well!
Hey Cam I wrote some photo forums on light painting and one of the suggestions for keeping light off the backdrop was to illuminate the top of your table while standing on a ladder so the beam shines more downward and misses the backdrop rear. They suggested varying the intensity of your flashlight if you think that would help. Also, to possibly extend exposure time and illuminate the subject from more than one direction. Hope this helps!
Great Video! I could not find the related video you mentioned squarespace. I love the layout of your store. Did you use a squarespace E-commerce template? IF so which one? NOTE: Can't wait to try light painting!
Hello, does anybody know if this also works on high gloss tabletops? Been experimenting with high gloss lacquer lately and i want to try this technique on a table
I've been a photographer for 40 years and I absolutely love light painting. I used to do it back in the day when I was shooting 8x10 transparencies and you couldn't see what you had until you processed the film the next day. That'll teach you technique. LOL
In any case, here's a trick for preventing your background from being more prevalent than you might like: since light falls off by the diminishing square law, moving your background vertical section back twice as far as it currently is will drop any light hitting it by a factor of 4. Three times equals a factor of 9, etc. By giving yourself a little more space between your subject and the vertical drop, you can have velvety black backgrounds and not even think about them while your light painting.
I hope this helps.
That’s a great tip! Thanks so much for that.
I remember in the 80's using a 10x8 in a monastery with dark stained wood (which REALLY absorbs light) statues down the walls on either side of a 50m aisle with dark wooden pews in the centre. Kept the shutter open and just placed a wooden board covered in black velvet (very dark black) right in front while we re-arranged the lights. We lit each statue separately and placed another black wooden board in between the light and the camera so we could move it around to get the 'painting with light' effect. Each time we took another exposure by moving the black velvet covered card out of the way of the lens as we thought any multiple use of the shutter was bound to give some vibration to the camera. After 5 attempts in 5 hours we went to develop the black & white negatives, chose the best one and went back to repeat it in colour. We would have killed for digital cameras and Macs in those days but our efforts were rewarded with a great photo that made our reputation.
@John Blagden
You ABSOLUTELY have been to the dance. Thanks for that stroll down memory lane. Miss it, but wouldn't go back for nuttin'.
@@mountainlightwoodcraft True, the smell of developer and fixer gives me the shivers now.
Another top tip though, if your tripod isn't that steady, loop a bag over the central column so it hangs down underneath and fill it full of anything heavy like books or (full) beer cans. It will steady up brilliantly.
@John Blagden
Had a really good Sachtler tripod, but always carried a 30-lb sandbag to hang from its low hook. My Sinar P1 was a beast.
Landscape Photographer here. As well as furniture maker. (Recently transferred to fulltime!) You did a great job! But I find it funny this is one of your least viewed videos. People do not understand how important product photography is. Photos is what sells in this day and age. Anyway this is a old video and you probably won't see it but keep killing it!
To be fair, it’s a horribly done video as well as a boring topic. Thanks though!
@@BlacktailStudio hey now. That boring topic is what I love.... lol. Your new videos are definetly better but still lost of valuable info in this one. Thanks for the reply.
Hi, I'm a landscape photographer turned furniture builder too. Can I ask how you started selling your pieces in the beginning? I built a coffee table following cam's workshop and it's absolutely gorgeous. I'm going to list it on marketplace for around $1000 but do you think people buy high end furniture there? I would love to get commissions for custom projects but I imagine it helps to make sales first? Any tips you have would be greatly appreciated. How did your year go?
Wow! So much new information to process if photography isn't your thing. Never knew there was all this behind the scenes stuff after the project was completed. Definitely another project in it itself. Kudos to you sir! Not discouraging but maybe just a bit overwhelming at first. That being said, "challenge" accepted lol
Nice! Let me know when you give it a shot, love to see your work!
I'm not sure. But in 1977 I came up with the idea of light painting. A tip. Light painting is an art of ( bulb setting & F Stop) You don't have to flicker your torch light. Just try to remember which area you've light up during the process. A side note. Bulb & a black card is good for capturing lightning bolts during a storm. If you're into that kind of thing. Great woodworking. Love your tables.
I majored in "photographic illustration" at The Rochester Institute of Technology. Every year RIT alumni take part in "The Big Shot", basically light painting of big things during time exposures using flashlites, electronic flashes. I was a participant in lighting up USS Intrepid Aircraft Carrier where
it is docked at a pier on the Hudson River in NYC. I also helped light the new Smithsonian National Museum of the American Indian.
Do y’all share “The Big Shot” photos online? That should be a thing on Flickr! Your work sounds fascinating too! Congratulations on the Smithsonian.. That’s incredible!
I bought a light bar from Harbor Freight and taped some wax paper over the LEDs to get a diffused light. Then do slow steady, passes and it effectively becomes a giant soft box. It’s extremely controllable too. You might have to mask out some light in Photoshop, but the look is amazing. Cheers!
You're doing great. Only tip is use a shutter release from either a cable or wireless. Will take any/all the shake out. Doing very well!! ;-)
Totally agree! After this video I learned about the canon laptop app. Even more controls
Or self timer
This is great! Very detailed and good technique. Would be interested to see what has changed in the last 2 years in your photography workflow. Your photos definitely stand out from most that i see.
Great Video! Another option in Lightroom to adjust hues is to click on that circle in the top left corner in the hue menu, then click and hold the left mouse key on the color you are adjusting and move your mouse up and down. It will isolate the color(s) you click on and adjust the slider. Saves time for me. :)
Whoa, I’ll have to try that!
I started out thinking "wow, he uses the same lens and almost the same camera I do!" (I have a t2i). Then the casual "then I got a 5D Mark IV" dropped lol. Really cool technique, I wouldn't have guessed you did those photos yourself as an amateur, they look great.
If you are low on time just take more photos lighting different parts of your subject and take it all to Photoshop as layers and use blending modes (lighten mostly) to blend them all together. Hope it helps
That is great info! I've not heard about this technique, but it works great.
Ansel Adams used light painting when he printed his photographs, and that's what made his black & white photos come to life. Actually, his light painting was the reverse of using light. He used different shaped paddles to LIMIT the amount of light exposed to the print paper.... selective darkening and shading. He always said anyone can take a picture, but not everyone knows how to manipulate the light to print one.
And that was decades before digital was even dreamed of. The true genius of the master.
I started doing this by accident and it worked great!
Great video, lovely work and very clear and helpful. We also make lamps and there’s are simple to photograph when switched off…but when switched on the challenge appears huge. We have not resolved this and have not found anything on TH-cam - do you ever make and photographs lamps? Thanks.
Awesome tutorial, very clear and informative. Thanks!
Much appreciated Mr!
Thanks for all the info! Does having the flashlight/point light source help make the figure pop more compared to having a more diffuse light source? Is there any special practice you find gets figure to pop more than others (angle, light direction, more variety of those two or less, that sort of thing)?
Have been waiting for this video since your first mention that you would produce it if enough were interested. I hope to try on a couple of small builds. Thank you.
Happy to help!
Have you tried a higher lumen light? Have you also tried cool white LED?
As always another great video very meticulously put together and well articulated 👌💯
Thanks Marco!
there is some really black paint that absorbs lots of light. So the reflecting light might be absorbs in that. But you would have to paint a background. I also think its a little expensive. Probably faster to just crop the background out and paste it on a black screen lol
Good to know!
Hi Cam. Just discovered your videos since Thanksgiving. Good stuff thank you. I enjoy your wood work and videos. I'm not a wood worker but I am interested in how you film your videos. Equipment, editing software etc. I searched your playlists to see if you've posted something and I may have missed it. This video is the closest I've found. Do you have any others? Can you point me to anything you may have? Please help. Thanks and keep up the great work...I really enjoyed your "story" 👍🏻 thanks for sharing.
Mike
Terrific. So much useful information.
Thanks dan!
Thank you for sharing
I love all your videos man, you’ve helped me a ton with my woodworking. Keep up the good work!!
I was wondering if you tried using light painting with your phone’s camera at all? I am experimenting with an app called slow shutter using your same technique you use with the digital camera and it seems like it works pretty well!
I never have actually
Hey Cam I wrote some photo forums on light painting and one of the suggestions for keeping light off the backdrop was to illuminate the top of your table while standing on a ladder so the beam shines more downward and misses the backdrop rear. They suggested varying the intensity of your flashlight if you think that would help. Also, to possibly extend exposure time and illuminate the subject from more than one direction. Hope this helps!
That does, thanks Brad!
Great Video! I could not find the related video you mentioned squarespace. I love the layout of your store. Did you use a squarespace E-commerce template? IF so which one?
NOTE: Can't wait to try light painting!
I honestly can’t remember now
You do it verry good , i am a photographer x
Oh thanks! I try, definitely not a pro though
Thanks for the awesome videos, I really appreciate all the information. Where did you get you retractable backdrop thing?
Should be a link in the description
Hello, does anybody know if this also works on high gloss tabletops? Been experimenting with high gloss lacquer lately and i want to try this technique on a table
Tell your cat I said “pspspspspspspspspspspsps”
Love it
You might get better results and definitely save your wrist by using an LED light stick.
Bro you look like Joe satriani!!!!
Has nobody told you that you left the title as "phots" and not "photos"?
All that work to end up with horrible photos.