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I'm looking at doing an explore which has a large underground basement. Moving away from the windows, much of it will be pitch-black. What do you do to light these areas for a photo - just use straight-up torchlight, diffuse the light in some way (maybe with a milk carton or balloon) or light-paint?
I'm a bit nervous about the latter, partly because I haven't done it before (very few absolutely pitch black locations where I live) and partly because I want to avoid taking a tripod with me as a first-timer, just a Gorillapod. Is there anything you've tried and failed?
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You need a decent tripod in order to take a good long exposure.
Long exposure + a decent torch waved around like a madman, trial and improvement until you get the exposure you want. Most DSLRs only take up to a 30 second exposure length as standard, if it needs to be any longer you'll need to pick up a remote shutter release which can hold the shutter open for as long as you want. To work around that issue if you need it, raise the ISO up and put the aperture/f-stop as low as it will go. It also depends how big the rooms are as a large empty room with a wide angle lens in pitch black is a lot more effort to light paint than a smaller room and a non-wide angle lens.
LED light panels that slot into a camera's hot shoe mount are also a great tool.
[last edit 1/21/2020 4:47 PM by mookster - edited 1 times]
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Thanks - rooms are pretty small from what I can tell, and I probably won't need to use my wide-angle (which I like for shooting graffiti in narrow alleys) down there.
I was having a look at a hot shoe light but wasn't sure if that would be enough illumination. Do you only use these in conjunction with light painting, or do you find these plus handheld torch can be useful?
Will research further 
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Posted by JiveBunny
I was having a look at a hot shoe light but wasn't sure if that would be enough illumination.
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Depending on how big some of your locations get, there are some options out there for throwing light around. It just all depends on your budget and how much crap you want to drag around with you.
Hot-shoe light panels are really nice to use. The one thing that I will suggest is to go after panels that are designed to work with camera batteries (like the Sony F970 for example). It was the best decision that I made and I don't have to change out 18650 or AA batteries anymore while I'm out and about.
Ryobi makes some decent 20 watt, 18 volt, battery-powered LED work lights that work great with scrims and they can be tripod mounted. But they're also bulky (if you're trying to use a backpack) and not exactly a feather either.
I also have a few pairs of cheap Amazon "1500 lumen" portable LED work lights that work pretty darn good for accent lighting and fill lights. They're like $25-$30 for a pair and take 18650 or AA batteries. They're roughly the size of your hand and they're easy to toss into a camera bag or backpack.
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I use a bright flashlight. It's usually bright enough to just hit on for a second behind camera or towards the ceiling.
https://www.dx.com...18650-2013817.html
Flickr Pitchrs |
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Use a red laser pointer to establish a solid AF lock up.
535nm ones work best.
Even a 1 mw one will work well at 300+ feet.
After you get the AF lock point you can fill it as you wish...
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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This picture was taken in a pitch black abandoned theater at around 2am, so I didn't even have the benefit of outside light through the one small skylight above the stage
I used two LED panel lights, one at left and right of the stage but honestly I could have got the same effect with one light.
Here is the light I used...
https://www.amazon...ight/dp/B07MDBLXPM
But I have since discovered a much smaller, lighter and just as powerful panel light in this one
https://lumecube.c...ume-cube-panel-led
This would be my suggestion for lighting in your scenario
[last edit 1/21/2020 6:49 PM by Freaktography - edited 1 times]
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Posted by blackhawk
Use a red laser pointer to establish a solid AF lock up.
535nm ones work best.
Even a 1 mw one will work well at 300+ feet.
After you get the AF lock point you can fill it as you wish...
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YES and this too, I haven't utilized this method in a vert long time but I used this way for a good two years when i started out
http://www.freaktography.com
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Posted by Freaktography
YES and this too, I haven't utilized this method in a vert long time but I used this way for a good two years when i started out
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The AF sensor is very sensitive to this bandwidth (535 nm).
556 nm ones don't work as well.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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There's a few methods depending on the size of the area or the subject you're photographing. First is to set my flashlight to its widest setting and wave it back and forth quickly like television scanlines over the area I was photographing. Second is to point the flashlight(s) straight up at the ceiling to diffuse the light. I usually have my camera set to its longest exposure and widest aperture to get as much light as possible, but needs will vary.
The first method works better in large areas because more light is going directly toward the subject, but the second provides more natural/stable lighting (ie lights usually shine from the ceiling to begin with). You can also walk over to the subject and set the flashlight down behind a nearby object to light up what you want more directly without wasting light on the entire area. This can be used to cool effect like lighting up doorways and windows from the other side, or casting shadows in peculiar ways.
The professional photographers on here probably have other/better tricks too.
Also what's been said about laserpointers; I use mine to manually focus though, rather than trick the autofocus.
[last edit 1/21/2020 7:34 PM by SaladKing - edited 1 times]
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Posted by SaladKing
Also what's been said about laserpointers; I use mine to manually focus though, rather than trick the autofocus.
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It's not "tricking" the AF, rather it's giving a specific spot for the lock.
There are no competing targets because of the beam's intensity.
Even hundreds of yards out it's a bright, high contrast target for the AF.
Being coherent light means little loss over distance and as the beam diverges slightly it gives a larger target.
The AF "likes" it because it's very high contrast target which is what they lock onto the easiest.
Some cams like Sony have used this for night AF.
Edit... damn spell check
[last edit 1/21/2020 7:53 PM by blackhawk - edited 1 times]
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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Posted by blackhawk
It's not "tricking" the AF, rather it's giving a specific spot for the lock.
There are no competing targets because of the beam's intensity.
Even hundreds of yards out it's a bright, high contrast target for the AF.
Being coherent light means little loss over distance and as the beam diverges slightly it gives a larger target.
The AF "likes" it because it's very high contrast target which is what they lock onto the easiest.
Some cams like Sony have used this for night AF.
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I guess my camera doesn't like the laser or my laser's too weak; I've never had my autofocus lock onto it before, hence my manual focusing. At long range, the red dot might as well be invisible. I'll do some experiments with it to see if I can make it work, thanks for the heads up.
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Posted by SaladKing
I guess my camera doesn't like the laser or my laser's too weak; I've never had my autofocus lock onto it before, hence my manual focusing. At long range, the red dot might as well be invisible. I'll do some experiments with it to see if I can make it work, thanks for the heads up.
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The one I used was a red 535 nm one. About 1 mw or less.
That was with Canon cams.
Lock up should be very fast.
If it's a 556 nm one, it may get filtered out by cam optics as it's getting nearer to the IR bandwidth.
A green laser may work better as it's near dead center in the visible spectrum.
The human eye is most sensitive wavelength of green which why at the same lumen level green will seem brighter than red.
Just when I thought I was out... they pulled me back in.
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I hate using on-camera flash, so I typically will reflect the light from a powerful flashlight/torch by shining it onto the ceiling or an adjacent wall. This will work much better if the walls are light-colored and be less effective on darker walls. Using my flash off-camera (in “test” mode), allows me to create a quick, powerful burst of light very quickly, like a strobe. An advantage of the strobe technique is that your light will be more evenly distributed. Both methods will allow you to get creative with the angles and direction of the light source, although any technique that involves the manipulation of your light source will take a fair amount of practice to get consistent results you are happy with. Some times I’ll also use colored gels for a unique effect. Gels are little pieces of semi-transparent plastic that you can place over your flash or torch to create interesting lighting effects, including an array of different colors.
One member here, Imbroglio, has some amazing examples of using gels in his photographs to create some really interesting effects.
Lastly, keep in mind this is not a good technique if you’re trying to remain stealthy or could be seen through windows to the outside!
***Slightly off the subject but related: Be sure to set your shutter on a delay or use a remote shutter for long exposures. Even on tripod, you’ll move the camera when you depress the shutter button***
Happy shooting!
I wandered till the stars went dim. |
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My remote is similar to this one:
https://uer.ca/for...862f9bc75b3b65.jpg
I like these because they don’t require a direct line of sight to operate (i.e., you don’t have to be directly in front of your camera) and their range is much farther than the IR and wireless varieties.
I wandered till the stars went dim. |
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This is an interesting thread to me, having light painted for years, most here are way more talented than me. I did recently discover the trick (mentioned here), of pointing a flashlight at the ceiling for a more natural look and no dark corners. Also pointing it at the wall behind you gives a pretty cool look sometimes. If you have a tac-light where you can concentrate the beam, you can use this to help the camera find a focus point, eliminates the need for a laser pointer.
If anyone remembers the gym at Belchertown that was two floors underground, I can remember being unable to get a single shot down there until I gave up and used the flash. Extreme darkness lol
(edit to add the BSS story)
[last edit 2/9/2020 6:56 AM by offlimits - edited 1 times]
http://www.flickr....otos/96576503@N00/ |
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When you direct the light towards where camera is pointed, it will light up particles of fog and dust and you will see them in your picture.
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