Hey guys, I'm new to this whole fstoppers setup but really wanting to learn and improve, I love my automotive photography and really want to master light painting. This is my latest shot, I'm happy but I have a few questions I'd like everyone's opinion on. 1. When I'm painting you can see the reflection of the light source often in the paintwork, any tips? And 2. Which is better, using a flash, using a flash & soft box or using a torch/led light source? Thanks.
Nice capture! Hopefully I can shed some L- (Too easy)! Reflections are good and bad... You want to use them to define shapes and crevices, large sheets of surface need some gradient to them, overall they are probably your #1 friend/enemy. To avoid them, think of the light light a pool table, the subject is a somewhat irregular shaped pool table, your lens is the pocket. If you "bounce" the light into the lens you'll see the reflection, so make sure to angle it more. Watch this video - this is probably the biggest "aha" moments for me, the lighting individual elements and bringing them together. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQlynJd0sH8 . For your second question I'll say it depends on what you need the image to do. Here's 2 images, one is strobed and the other is light painted. They both do different things, and display different feelings. Time and practice will yield the answer to both questions, yeah I know thats some bullshit yoda speak, but think of it this way - You get to go out and shoot a bunch more (that always makes us happy!)! Hope this helps!