If HDR is yesterday’s craze then Tilt-Shift and Light Painting are probably duking it out to be crowned today’s craze.  For those who’re inclined to give their vote to the latter, Darlene Hildebrandt presents the first of a multi-part lesson on Light Painting in DPSchool.

This article is unusually systematic and logical in its organization; it’s more like a chapter of a Photography Book than your usual tutorial.

First, Hildebrandt provides an outline of her tutorial’s contents.  The systematic approach is shown by her setting out the equipment first and even dividing this into “The ‘Must Haves’” and “The ‘Really Nice to Haves’.”  With a beginning like this you know the author is going to be thorough.  (How thorough? This thorough: “a penlight or small flashlight [your cell phone can work in a pinch] to be able to check camera settings and find an item in the bottom of your bag . . .”)

On to Camera Settings where the author gets into the principles of the technique as she explains how to achieve correct focus and the use of Bulb – open-ended shutter speed.  The most informative nugget falls in the ISO bullet point, however.  Even though you’re shooting at night you’re advised “it is always best to choose the lowest ISO possible” to minimize noise and also bypass the wait that the long exposure noise reduction feature on newer cameras will entail.

Hildebrandt’s thoroughness transitions into helpfulness as she makes several suggestions on finding, and even devising, good subjects to light-paint on in the dark, especially if you’re a beginner.

The technique of actual light painting is the real ‘meat’ of this valuable tutorial.  This section has information ready and available that one would otherwise learn only through much trial and error:–  How close to get to the subject, how to achieve an abstract look, where to aim the flashlight, to ‘keep moving’ – all these tips and many more will get you from square zero all the way to square ten, so to speak, on Light Painting.  Learning and applying these tips and tricks will almost surely make your first foray a qualified success.

Part 1 even provides a handy-dandy diagnostic checklist at the end so you can make any necessary tweaks and adjustments.