A Tutorial to Light Trails in Photography

Since photography first became a viable artistic medium in the 19th century, artists have been experimenting with its limitations and possibilities. One area of experimentation involves using light and shutter speed to create images of "light trails," a technique that is also known as "painting with light." Here, photographers are essentially tricking the film or sensor into creating images that don't appear in reality, giving artists greater creative or practical possibilities.

Light trail photography involves manipulating a single image that is created over time. Often, still photography takes place in an instant, recording a single moment that's relatively faithful to the way things look to the human eye. However, with light trail photography, the artist keeps his camera open for longer than an instant for this single photograph, allowing anything that's moving to blur and blend into a distended version of itself, while anything that is fixed or non-moving will appear as it does in everyday life. Thus, light trail photography involves capturing a light source in a single image over time, which gives the appearance of long streaks of light indicating where the light source moved over the course of the time that the shutter was open.

Car headlights are often used as a subject in light trail photography.

To create light trail photography, only a couple of pieces of equipment are essential. First and foremost, you need a camera. Both film and digital cameras are capable of capturing beautiful light trail photography, as long as they allow the photographer to manipulate the shutter speed and aperture. Beyond this, the only really essential piece of equipment is a good tripod. Because the camera will be open for a relatively long amount of time, it needs to remain very still during the course of the exposure. Otherwise, all points of the image will become blurry and distract from any light trails. With a tripod, the fixed subjects in your photograph remain crisp and detailed, further emphasizing the fluidity of the light trails. You'll also need some moving light sources to create light trail pictures. Car headlights or even something as simple as a flashlight can serve this purpose.

Once you've gotten a camera and a steady tripod, you're ready to create a light trail photograph. The process itself requires a little trial and error. First, find an interesting vantage point, subject and composition. Photographing at night or in low-light situations can help prevent image burnout. Then, mount your camera on its tripod and start experimenting. The most important thing is to choose a shutter speed that allows time for your light source to move; very quick shutter speeds do not produce long or interesting light trails. Instead, choose a shutter speed of over one second. While the camera is exposing, ensure that the light source in your subject is moving to create light trails. Cameras with "bulb" settings can even allow you to keep your camera's shutter open indefinitely, which gives even greater freedom when it comes to light trails. Try different aperture (or f-stop) settings to better control grain and brightness.

Once you get the hang of light painting photography, you can start experimenting with different styles within the medium. Some artists may want to try manipulating light trails into words or images, though this often requires coordination of many different people working together. Other artists may want to try to minimize the appearance of light trails while still benefiting from a light-painting technique. The Rochester Institute of Technology's annual Big Shot project is one example of this. Here, the photographers make a long-exposure photograph of an important building or scene. When the shutter is open, volunteers use flashlights and flashes turned away from the camera to effectively "paint" an even exposure of light on the scene, producing ethereal and original photographs of these structures.

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