My bare minimum equipment for outdoors light-painting

Following a comment we had recently on one of our videos, we decided it was about time we address this topic :)

“I need a new list please! Everything you use in a session: flashlight, remote trigger, tripod... anything else. I was starting to get close to your "older" work, but dang this was amazing and I NEEEEED this in my life now, lol. Pretty please make a video of everything in your current kit and thank you for YEARS of teaching and inspiration”
- The Guru

We created these 4 images between March and September of this year. What would be the exact items I would need to make these? Just a few actually! This is a quick update about the minimum gear I use to create these long exposure images and how I use them in our outdoors light-painting sessions. To keep this simple, we’ll disregard any information about backup or filming equipment.

Photography equipment

All of these have been made with the same camera and same lens: 24mm f1.4 on a Canon R5 body. I work with a tripod without a center column as I love to shoot low to the ground. I’m using a pair of Yongnuo RF-603C II as a wireless trigger system. One goes on the camera, the other tries to survive in my left hand. I dropped this one twice in the water this summer, and it’s still working well.

Light-painting equipment

Now about the light-painting stuff: I’m using mostly only 3 tubes these days (outdoors): Solid White, Sugar, and xWarm. My main flashlight is an Olight, which I simply insert inside the tube. I hold the whole thing and paint behind Kim to make these images. To adjust the brightness of the tube, I’m using these light blockers. You can achieve something similar by taping part of your flashlight head. I sometimes use birthday sparklers to create some drama, and glow caps to make a clean edge. This flashlight has direct access to strobe mode, which is very practical to create patterns like this. The last picture is made with a holosquare, which is a simple sheet of holographic paper that I wrap around the same flashlight.

Full list

Canon R5
Canon EF 24mm f1.4
Canon RF to EF adapter
Yongnuo RF-603C II Wireless Flash Trigger Kit - https://amzn.to/2CJHgjk
Benro Tortoise Columnless Carbon Fibre Three Series Tripod - https://amzn.to/3E8dKBQ
Solid White light-painting tube - single tube | kit
Sugar light-painting tube - single tube | kit
xWarm light-painting tube - single tube | kit
Sugar holosquare - https://lightpainting.store/products/holosquares
Olight Warrior 3 Tactical Flashlight *** do not buy the “3s” version. It has an optical sensor on the front that automatically dims the light when you put in in your pockets…. OR IN YOUR TUBES ***
OLIGHT SROD-7 Magnetic Remote Pressure Switch - https://amzn.to/47pVq4i

A good alternative to this flashlight (that is actually available) is the Klarus XT2CR Pro: https://lightpainting.store/collections/flashlights

My workflow

Once everything is in place, I figure out the right settings by exposing for the background, and then I adjust the brightness of the flashlight to get this lovely light balance. Notice that I turn on the light during the exposure, and this is where this kind of remote becomes essential. In most cases, my light-painting movement is shorter than the duration of the exposure.

Exifs

Post-processing

I really enjoy getting as much as possible straight from the camera, and that saves me tons of time in front of the computer. When everything aligns perfectly, I get shots like this which take me just a few minutes to edit and then I can spend more time napping with the cat.

Conclusion

Of course, there are tons of other things we involve in our work including holographic feathers, extension tubes or other colors, but I wanted to keep this video very simple with the highlights of what I use the most these days. I’ll revisit this list in one year as I know things keep changing. Until then, I’d be curious to see your list and your workflow

* UPDATE *

Ok that made me think that I should probably make a kit for you on the store with these exact items. There you go! Enjoy ;)