Still life photography lighting advice

Gear:

• Torch
• Tripod - Take a look at Vanguard's Alta Pro 263AGH
• Card – make a cone to direct light more
• Translucent coloured paper or even sweet wrappers to change the colour of light

Technique:
When you think of light painting your first thoughts will probably be of people drawing pictures and writing words but you can use it to breath a little more creativity into your still life work too.

Set-up
Mount the camera on a tripod, such as Vanguard's award-winning Alta Pro 263AGH, so you can control the torch with one hand while hitting the shutter button with the other then focus and set the camera on focus lock so that it isn't fooled by the uneven light. If the camera struggles to focus, use your torch to light your subject so the camera can adjust. Any standard torch will do and you can either hold it still or move it around to illuminate different areas of your object. Changing the position of the torch will also prevent hot spots appearing in the image.

Shooting
The trick with this technique is to slowly build up the amount of light on your subject so you don't over expose a particular area. You'll need a long-ish shutter speed if you're not using the B-setting and as a torch has a colour temperature that's warmer than daylight, you could end up with images that have an orange tint. Of course, you may think the warmer tones work but if you don't, auto white balance should be able to remove it.


If you find the light isn't directional enough, try using a cone made from black card and secure it to the torch to give you more precise control over it.

Find the tripod and camera bag to suit your needs at www.vanguardworld.com