Generally, light in photography is essential in producing photos. It can make the difference between an incredible shot and a terrible one. Light itself can be used to draw a subject or write words, to produce interesting images.

 

Light painting/drawing or Graffiti photography is a technique applied by taking a long exposure photograph while moving any type of light source or moving the camera itself in the dark. 

 

Believe it or not! It all started as a science endeavor, then became an important visual art type. In 1882, while Étienne Marey and Georges Demeny were working on a physiological study of the living organisms’ movements. They attached incandescent bulbs to the joints of an assistant and created the first known light painting photograph using a long exposure camera. 

 

In the 1940s, Gjon Mili pioneered photoflash photography and used stroboscopic light to capture the motion of dancers, musicians, and skaters in single exposure shots.

 

An artistic breakthrough in light painting perception took place in 1949 when Gjon Mili showed Pablo Picasso his photographs. Immediately, Picasso was inspired, took a penlight and began to draw in the air, while Mili set up his camera and captured the famous pictures known as “Picasso Draws a Centaur”.

 

This type of art became more popular in the 21^st century, due to the increasing availability of Digital Single-Lens Reflex cameras (DSLR), advances in portable light sources such as LEDs, photography contests and media sharing websites where practitioners can exchange images and ideas.

 

 

It is very simple, you do not have to be professional to create your own light painting photo.