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I would like to achieve this effect using my Nikon P510:

example

Are there any suggestions or tips that would help me do that?

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Luis Valencia
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  • Take a look at this excellent previous question on this topic: http://photo.stackexchange.com/questions/6667/when-should-you-use-a-normal-flash-vs-a-second-curtain-flash – dpollitt Apr 08 '13 at 03:10

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Based on how the second photo looks, my guess is that it was extremely dark and that they took a flash photo with a bulb exposure and then tilted the camera upwards to create the trails from the only lights in the room (which would have been the audio gear).

This would leave the DJ well developed since he is only exposed during the flash and then expose the light trail from the gear over the top of the initial exposure.

AJ Henderson
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  • I'm hairsplitting, but "turned the camera" sounds better than "moved the camera". The word "moving" sounds like "from eye-level to waist-level" or suchalike, at least to me, even though a tilt/turn/pan is moving the camera just as well. – Esa Paulasto Apr 06 '13 at 05:24
  • @EsaPaulasto - you're right, that is more clear. Updated, thanks for the suggestion. – AJ Henderson Apr 06 '13 at 05:42
  • any idea of the settings I should use? – Luis Valencia Apr 06 '13 at 10:55
  • @LuisValenciaMunoz - do you have a Bulb exposure setting, set the flash as necessary for a standard exposure using metering and then play with the length and speed of exposure. The exact amount of light available is going to be a key distinction in achieving the effect and it's really impossible for me to give more detail without knowing too many factors that you are not going to be able to quantify here. – AJ Henderson Apr 06 '13 at 16:42
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Could you be talking about the lines of light, they are commonly called light trails. You can get that effect using a torch. This page has a nice looking example in medium sized room.

The basic way to get that is with a tripod and a long exposure. This post has some more tips on it.

Depending how long the exposure is you will either see a dj with motion blur or they will be totally hidden, that will also depend on how much they are moving.

Edit: a comment made me realize that my example above is slightly misleading. It's better described with the more specific term light painting.

scottbb
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Kioshiki
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  • yes light trails like some pics here http://www.djresource.eu/Djsets/display/8199/ – Luis Valencia Apr 05 '13 at 23:07
  • I think they must use a different method. In the book The Complete Digital Photo Manual (Page 174, ISBN-10: 1847327400) they talked about creative use of flash while moving the camera or zooming out. The examples on that page look sharp though, it could have been done in post-processing using Photoshop or some other image editor – Kioshiki Apr 05 '13 at 23:15
  • amazing, I just played with the settings on that blog and I could make a single one, I guess I just have to find nice spots, these light trails are usually for cars, but for small areas with dj equipment and its own lights where the equipment doesnt move, I just have to press the button and move a little the camera to generate a trail – Luis Valencia Apr 05 '13 at 23:24
  • I'm not seeing an example of light painting on the blog. At least not in the way you described it. – Joanne C Apr 05 '13 at 23:25
  • JoanneC: I want to do this: http://youssefalfadl.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/zo.jpg – Luis Valencia Apr 05 '13 at 23:31
  • my nikon p501, has max exposure of 6 seconds, and F8.3 – Luis Valencia Apr 05 '13 at 23:31
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    I cleaned up the original question to reflect the desired image, so feel free to adjust your response. – Joanne C Apr 06 '13 at 03:33
  • @LuisValenciaMunoz - Those Djresource.eu/Djsets example photos look like done by using zoom while in bulb-exposure. I did not know that is possible, but obviously it is. – Esa Paulasto Apr 06 '13 at 05:29
  • @Esa With a DSLR lens with a physical zoom ring, there's nothing to stop you from zooming while exposing. Apparently this was kind of a visual fad for a while. – mattdm Apr 08 '13 at 01:48