Winter is here, and that means more night shooting for me. In addition to speedlight photography (image above), I also love to light paint subjects. Just a simple little burst from a flashlight can really transform an image. Light painting can range from small still life setups to larger scenes like cars, building and trees. One thing to check is if light painting is allowed…some of the national parks don’t allow light painting. I really enjoy light painting scenes, but the trick is what flashlight to use. I always bring a headlamp on trips, but the challenge with headlamps is the beam is generally not focused enough, and turning it on and off quickly is tedious. The key to effective light painting is being able to quickly turn the light on and off so you can feather the light gradually into the scene. A common mistake is over illuminating the scene by turning on your light for too long.
My favorite light painting light is the SureFire G2X-D LED tactical flashlight (early version above). This small flashlight has an amazing focused beam that is very powerful (much more than my old ‘D’ battery flashlight). Most importantly the beam is very focused for accurate illumination of your subject. The light is turned on and off by a back button switch that is easy to operate. These flashlights are durable and very water resistant…I’ve used mine in the rain with no problems. There are two output levels. The brightest level is plenty for cabins, cars, trees and even rock formations, while the reduced light option is good for small scenes. Here is one trick for photographers. I wrap my flashlight with gaffer tape, so if I need to add a colored gel I always have some tape ready to go.
You can find SureFire flashlights are many sporting goods stores and online. Cost is about $75. A great stocking stuffer for those photographers!