What I Made Wednesday {Flashlight Art}

Happy 4th of July to all my American readers! Whether you are celebrating our nation's Independence Day or not, this project is the coolest of the cool. I got the idea from this blog and just couldn't believe we got it to work. We originally did this for a Father's Day card for Super Hubby's parents but we had some extra fun with our own art!

Super Hubby is in the back writing with the flashlight and our son is in the front sitting very still holding the flashlight to illuminate his face.

What You'll Need
camera where you can adjust aperture or shutter speed
tri-pod
flashlight (we used an LED flashlight)
a very dark night

What You'll Do
First, set-up your area. We turned off all the lights in the house and went to the backyard to take the photos.

Second, place your camera on a tri-pod and position to where you'll be painting with light.

Third, set the camera's shutter speed to 30. It will take 30 seconds from the time you press the button to the time the camera's lens closes, so you'll have 30 seconds to "paint".

Fourth, look at the shot after it's done and make adjustments from there.

You can draw on yourself. My son drew horns on his head and gave himself a bow and arrow, using only the flashlight as his "paintbrush".

Some advice:
1. You should remain as still as possible while you paint with your light source. You can move across the frame, but don't be wild about it.

2. Always, always point your light source towards the camera. This is a lot harder than you think because it positions your wrist in a funny, awkward way. But the camera needs to see the light at all times while you're moving it.

3. The darker the area, the better.

See how we're blurry? It's because we were moving during the shot.

4. If you do a shot like we did where there is a person in front, illuminated by another light, then that person must remain very still or they will be blurry in the final photo.

Crossed "T" is misplaced.

5. You have to remember your place while you "paint" in the air. You'll notice Super Hubby didn't cross the "T" in the right place.

What You'll Need to Know to Finish

Honestly, this was so much fun and so cool to do!!! We tried our regular flashlight and got more of a yellow glow. The LED flashlight (a little keychain LEGO flashlight is all we used) really made the lines crisp! If you want a better view of the photos, just click on them to make them bigger.

The line above was made with a regular flashlight. See how it's more yellow? Our son is holding the LED flashlight. See the difference?

Many of you may have access to sparklers this evening. I wonder how those would work in this activity? I hope you try this fun form of art and Happy Independence Day, America!


If you try this, I'd love to see your results. E-mail me your photos and I'll share them with LOVD readers!