When light painting a car, you will want to be sure you have the necessary equipment. You’ll also want a checklist covering the exposures you need so you do not forget any. We will cover those essential exposures (as well as optional) and look at some tips to remember before and during your photo shoot.

Ferrari 458 Italia light painted. — Ferrari 458 Italia

Equipment

You will need a camera with a timer, lens, tripod, ball head (if your tripod requires one), and a light source. You will also require a good quality memory card (don’t cheap out on these) and perhaps an extra battery just in case, although you should be OK with the one battery.

Pre-Shoot

Even though the shots here are needed, depending on the exposure time and the car’s colour, you can cover more than one of these shots in one pass.

The first important step is establishing focus. In a dark environment, this can be difficult. Lay your light source on the ground, pointing towards the portion of the car you want to establish a focus on. Depending on the angle, I usually lay it on the ground, pointed toward the front or back wheel/headlight/tail light, etc. Once you have established focus (usually via autofocus), switch your lens to manual focus and leave it. You have now locked focus and are on a tripod; you do not want that focus to shift or refocus and mess with your exposures. Switch to manual to eliminate that possibility.

Also, with each exposure below, I strongly recommend getting the one or two you are happy with before moving on to the next. It will make it easier from an organizational standpoint and save time when selecting which exposures to use in Lightroom. And finally, format your memory card in your camera before every photo shoot.

Exposures/Shots Needed

Background (base with no lights)

For this shot, you want to concentrate on the background as you will be layering your light-painted exposures on this non-lit background exposure. No light painting will be required for this. Depending on how dark your scene is, you will need a simple exposure on a tripod for around 30 seconds. Start at 20 seconds or so and see how your photo turns out. If the background is too dark and you can’t make out the details, increase your exposure time. If you max out at 30 seconds and it’s still too dark, lower your f-stop accordingly to allow more light in.

Side of Car

Camera on tripod, timer set to 10 seconds and probably 10-13 second exposure to start. Click the shutter to start the timer and move your light into position, ready for the exposure to start. Once the exposure begins (you’ll have to listen to your camera or count down from 10 for an estimation), move around the side of the car, taking note to cover the entire side in the selected exposure time. This is where it’s essential to continually check your photos after taking them to see if you covered/lit what you hoped. Does the light flow with a nice, even light streak from front to back (or vice versa)?

Front or Back of Car

This depends on how you have your car positioned. Is it the front or back three-quarter view? This shot requires you to move the light slowly to light the front or back as needed. It could be a 10-second exposure, or it could be simply holding the light steady, or it could be moving the light physically from one corner to the next. It’s experimentation; you must check each exposure between shots to see if you got it.

Top of Car

Make sure you have a firm grasp on your light, or if using a monopod, secure it tightly as this exposure requires you to hold the light above the car to light both the hood and get a rim light over the top of the car. You do not want anything falling on the car.

Wheels

Silver wheels are much easier to light than black wheels. Note that you may get this exposure when doing the side of the car, but you may want to light the wheels with their own exposure, just in case. Move the light around circularly, ensuring you light all the angles/crevices a wheel can have. Also, note where your camera is pointed and position your body and the light out of the direct camera-to-car line of sight. You want any light streaks caused by this exposure for this shot to be away from the wheels, not directly in front. This will make it possible to blend later during post-processing.

Car Lights

For this exposure, your time can be as low as .5 sec. Similar to the background exposure, this will require no light painting. Make sure the lights are on for the car, and take a shot. Start at .5, then move to 1 sec, 2 sec and so on until you get an exposure that shows the details of the light design but does not blow out. The good thing is you can quickly check these on camera as you are not walking back and forth from your camera to the car between each shot. All cars are different, and the lights might not stay on unless the car is started, so you may need to start the ignition to keep them on. If you want to get creative, time your exposure to match with using the key fob to flash the lights. It takes some practice, but it’s a cool way to get the job done.

Interior (Optional)

This can be a cool exposure to include, although I’ve found it debatable if it looks better with or without it. You will physically place your light source in the car for this shot. Having your light pointed up and resting on the center armrest, between the seats, works well, but you’ll need to experiment based on the car you are shooting as the interiors are different. It’s similar to the car lights exposure, where you’ll start with a quick timed shot and increase exposure time. The purpose of this shot is to give the interior illumination. As this is easily adjusted with highlight adjustments in Lightroom, don’t worry too much if it’s slightly over or under-exposed. It’s your choice whether to include it in the final photo.

Hyundai Kona N light painted. — Hyundai Kona N

Some other tips and things to consider when light painting cars include:

Car Colour

Light-coloured cars (white, silver) are easier to light paint as they reflect light and minimize reflections. Brightly coloured cars (blue, yellow, red) are good, and the colour pops. Dark cars, especially black cars, are challenging to light paint, and they may require a few more attempts to get the correctly lit exposures (at least in my experience). They also reflect a lot of background elements. So, note how those items are reflected in the car if you are light painting in a cramped area or with many background items like a shop or dealership. Also, dirt and scratches are more visible on black cars, which means additional cleanup in post-processing.

Do Not Move the Tripod

I recommend checking exposures after every shot, and when reviewing your exposures, you should zoom in on the viewfinder to see if you are in focus and check to see if you lit what you intended to light. You don’t have to do this every time, but make sure what you are shooting is in focus or the whole thing is ruined. You have to be careful not to physically move the camera or lens or nudge it by mistake when doing so. Even the slightest movement can ruin your shots, and you will run into significant issues attempting to blend in Photoshop. This is where a sturdy tripod comes in. If you happen to move the camera or zoom by mistake, often, you won’t even know your shots are off until you try to blend/layer them in Photoshop. This can quickly ruin an entire photo (or photo shoot). Be very, very cautious here.

Keep Your Light Straight

Your light is a long, continuous light wand. Hold it horizontally during the side exposure to get that clean, straight, light streak. Other exposures are more flexible because your light will not reflect on the car, but the side is essential to get as clean as possible.

Front Wheel Position

With three-quarter views, keep the front wheels straight or turned to reveal the wheel/rim. Wheels turned, showing the tread does not look great, and you rarely see professional shoots from this angle.

What you Wear

I’d recommend wearing dark clothing, especially shoes. I usually wear all black (t-shirt/sweater, jeans, and sneakers). This will minimize the chances of getting yourself in your shots. Light clothes and shoes can cause you to show up as blurs in your photos, and shoes will appear as steps throughout. Just wear black - it will be worth it.

Side Mirrors

Many newer cars have automatic folding mirrors that activate when you walk away from the car or when the car is turned off. Make sure the mirrors are set to remain out regardless of the car’s status. All vehicles are different, so you’ll need to find out where the setting is before your shoot. Also, sometimes car unlocks/lights/mirrors can be triggered from the key fob proximity. When shooting, keep the key away from the car and not in your pocket if it does that.

A Car Photography Light Painting Guide