So, these are the final five shots I chose for my “light painting” project, with the theme of changing seasons. Since we’re starting that transition between summer and fall (and fall being one of my favorites), I chose this theme in the hopes of using different patterns as well as colors of light to give the sensation of my model experiencing and changing the various seasons.
For this picture I tried to do something tangible, i.e. actual shapes and forms rather than more abstract lines. Most people associate butterflies with spring, so I attempted to create a whimsical feel with ‘wings’ on my model and lights around her hands, as if she’s creating the sunlight out of her palms. Her face is a little too illuminated for my liking however.
This was an alternate Spring shot taken in an attempt to fix the ‘thinner’ lighting in the previous picture. While she is less in focus, I do particularly like the burst of color and light we were able to capture, as if she’s holding the very essence of light in her hands just as the mildness of spring explodes into the vivid light and warmth of summer.
For the next season of Summer, I wanted to capture a more laid-back feel with my model. When I think of summer I think of just kicking back in the green grass and letting the warm weather wash over you, and letting all your cares blow away. Sarah is surrounded by a gentle green breeze, evoking a calming and relaxing feeling.
Guiding summer out and ushering winter in, fall is most likely my favorite season. I think of crackling fires, and leaves drifting on cool autumn breezes before the smell of them burning permeates the air. In this picture, the yellow lines try to capture the movement of leaves as they float through the air around Sarah, while the red on the right creates a tongue of flame dancing up to meet them. The “flame” effect is my favorite light in this picture.
Finally, the year is brought to a close by the advent of winter. Originally I wanted this to be shot from above to capture the movement of her arms (snow angel gestures), but due to space constraints she could only move one arm. However, I think the movement and position of the resulting gesture produced an interesting effect regardless, because it looks like she’s guiding the “snowflake” with the movements of her hand, guiding it down to earth. This shot proved problematic at first, as we had fluctuating light levels (people kept opening the door) and we were unable to illuminate her face without flooding the whole picture. However, some editing in Lightroom fixed most of the problems and this shot became a particular favorite of mine.
-Kat