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Focus on… Painting with Light

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Tulane chapter.

So here is a fun thing to do with your camera, a tripod, some flashlights, and a few friends. Before I explain this, you’re going to need to know some things about shutter speeds. Basically, when you take a shot the lens on your camera opens up for a length of time to let light in and capture the image. The longer the shutter is open the more light you let into your camera, and this also records movement. All of those blurry pictures in your camera? Yeah those are from the shutter speed being too long. Taking a picture in a dark room, and it comes out too dark? Your shutter speed is too short to capture enough light to expose the image. Hence the “underexposure” and “overexposure” terms. Underexposed = too dark and overexposed = too much light.

But you can use that to your advantage with a flashlight and a dark room! All you need to do is set your shutter speed to a long lenth of time, (depending on how much you want to capture and how dark your room is) set a timer and GO! Here are some I’ve done with my friends around campus in different kinds of light, with and without flashlights.

Catherine Combs is a Tulane University Alumna, who majored in Communications and Political Science. She  has always had a soft spot for books, writing, and anything Chanel. When not searching for the final touches to her latest outfit idea, she can be found reading.