Light Painting and Flash Toy Photography

Do you want to add a pop of color to a shot of your favorite action figure portrait? Well, grab a flashlight and a figure and lets get started.

You will need:

Camera

Flash

Tripod

Action Figure

Light source (flash light, iphone etc)

Black background

Optional but helpful:

Remote Release

Wireless trigger or synch cord for flash

Mount your camera to the tripod and set up your figure.

Set your shutter release to self timer (unless you are using a remote)

Set your shutter speed to 15 seconds or however long you need to light paint

Set your camera's ISO to 200

Set your aperture for the proper exposure needed for the flash.

This will vary for different flashes and subject to flash distances

If you are not sure what aperture to use, stat with f/16 and take a test shot.

Check your exposure at this point and verify that you are happy with it before moving on to light painting.

My settings with an the flash 10 inches away from the subject was: at 1/8th power, f/16 1/15th of a second

Compose your shot and Focus on your subject.

Switch over to Manual Focus and take care not to bump the camera or subject.

Take the photo.

After the flash pops off, paint in your light.

Remember this is a trial-error process and if you do not like the results you can simply go back and try again.