PROJECT 3
Dan Mold shows you how to add mysterious orbs of light to your landscapes with this fun and fascinating light painting technique
Have you ever seen one of these light orb photos before and thought to yourself ‘How is that pulled off?’ Well, in this project we show exactly how!
The first time I saw a light orb photo, I thought it was a camera trick created entirely in post production. It is, however, a light painting technique, where spinning a torch around carefully in a circular loop, and then moving from side to side to creates the 3D spherical shape.
The great news is you only need basic kit to create light orb shots like these (see our kit list on the left) and they’ll leave your friends guessing how you managed to do it. If low light photography and painting with light are areas that interest you, then you’ll certainly want to experiment with light orbs and add this technique to your repertoire. As with all low light photography it’s always a good idea to have a friend with you so you can stay safe after dark, but also in this case one of you can be operating the camera while the other is spinning the torch to create the ‘orbs’. You can, of course, create them if you’re on your own using a 10-sec self-timer to allow yourself enough time to get into position, although this is far less fun!
Once you’ve got the hang of the technique you’ll be able to paint in a few different orbs around your scene and we’ll then blend them altogether in Photoshop to build up the effect by inserting a few of these mysterious lights into your night scenes. Here’s how...
THE SETUP GET SET TO CREATE LIGHT ORBS
All of the kit you need to create and capture light painting in your low light scenes
Working at night with long exposures demands a tripod to ensure that the landscape remains pin-sharp. You’re also going to be stacking a handful of orb photos together so a locked-off tripod helps keep all of the images in alignment.
Any Canon EOS DSLR or EOS mirrorless camera with manual modes will be perfect for this technique. You don’t need the latest model with 30+MP or a super-high burst rate, so even entry-level Canons will be just fine for light orb photography.
A wide-angle lens works well for light painting photography as it will give you a wide composition and plenty of space to build up a few orbs, as well as less chance of your orbs being cut off by the edge of the frame.
You’ll need a sturdy hand torch that is powerful and also has a keyring loop attachment that you can tie
