As the sun rises later and sets earlier, and let’s not talk about that time change, there are less hours of good light for outdoor photography. The dropping temps and inclement weather (there’s already been snow in Alberta, Manitoba and Northern Ontario) further drive many photographers to their caves .. I mean home studios 😊 This article is for you, if you prefer the warmth of your own space.
Light painting is a fun and easy project and I’ll share a couple of my fun toys I like to use for light painting.
I had talked about the Magilight a few months ago – it’s an RGB light painting wand that you can load PNG files into to create logos and artwork, optically. Lately, I’ve been playing around with the Mini LED Stick attachment and Roller attachment. I’m also using the new KYU-6 RGB and Bicolour LED lights from Spekular for some fun images.
Magilight Mini LED Stick is an accessory that requires the Magilight controller – remove two thumbscrews and unplug the cable, then attach the Mini stick. The Mini has 43 LEDs and is only 30cm long. It’s better suited to light painting smaller spaces.
The Magilight Roller fits on a light stand and holds Magilight by the controller. It has a handle that facilitates spinning the Magilight much smoother and more controlled than hand-holding it. You can make circular patterns such as planets or emojis or logos with the Roller.
KYU-6 is a lightweight slap-bracelet with 14 LEDs in either an RGB or bi-colour configuration. You can control brightness, colour and special flashing modes via the three control buttons. It’s simple to use and really suitable to light painting projects. For the videographers in the crowd, the true CRI of 95+ means less “fixing” in post – colours are true to life.
Since Hallowe’en was here and gaudy lights are part of the charm of the celebration, I used KYU-6 to illuminate my pumpkin! I enabled one of the flashing modes and left it inside the pumpkin. KYU-6 is water resistant so this didn’t harm it.
What can you create with these fun and unique light painting tools? Feel free to share on our Facebook page and tag us on Instagram!
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About the Author – Will Prentice
A portrait, fine art and commercial photographer for 30 plus years, Will Prentice is not just a contributor to PHOTONews magazine, but also host of PHOTONewsTV, owner of Captura Photography+Imaging and Technical Support/Brand Manager for Amplis Foto, Canada’s largest distributor of photographic equipment.
Will teaches photographers of all skill levels how to improve their craft – from creative photo projects to picking the right gear for their needs to flattering lighting to getting the best expressions to creating final images for screen and print. His unique style of highly detailed images with perfect tonality, wide dynamic range and stunning colour is instantly recognizable. Commercial clients rely on Will’s creative eye and mastery of lighting.
When he’s not behind the camera or in front of a class, you’ll find Will outdoors in any weather – usually on one of his bikes or enjoying time with his grandchildren.
