Blacklight Photography

Irishwhistle · 05-07-2008, 10:36 PM

I'm trying to do some blacklight photography for some stock photos and am having some trouble. I took the blacklight in a dark room and then turned it on. I then got a white sheet of paper and three CDs... I put the CDs on the sheet of paper and then switched on my camera. I set it to f/3.4 (since the scene was pretty flat and I wanted as much light as I could get) and the shutter speed to 60. My ISO was set at 100 (I also tried 200.) I took some shots and they came out VERY dark. What should I do? Should I use a tripod and set a very low shutter speed? Any other ideas? Thanks!

btw, my camera is a Fuji Funepix S700 (aka S5700.)

**The_Other_One** · 05-08-2008, 02:10 AM

Does your camera have an exposure meter? If so, set the camera to spot exposure then go to full manual. I'd go about halfway p your aperture (I hear that gives you the sharpest results for most cameras) and move the exposure point around the subject. Adjust your shutter speed (and perhaps ISO) accordingly.

The problem I see, though, is if you have a back light, you're going to have a blown out background regardless. You're camera's probably doing a matrix exposure of some sort, thus trying to get the scene as even as possible.

Have you tried using a flash, or any form of lights in front of the subject? Here's a photo I took inside an abandoned building a while back. Without the flash, the room was dark due to the exposure/light coming in from the windows. At this angle, I didn't get any glare, thus lighting up the room and still being able to see outside.

Irishwhistle · 05-08-2008, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The_Other_One

Does your camera have an exposure meter? If so, set the camera to spot exposure then go to full manual. I'd go about halfway p your aperture (I hear that gives you the sharpest results for most cameras) and move the exposure point around the subject. Adjust your shutter speed (and perhaps ISO) accordingly.

The problem I see, though, is if you have a back light, you're going to have a blown out background regardless. You're camera's probably doing a matrix exposure of some sort, thus trying to get the scene as even as possible.

Have you tried using a flash, or any form of lights in front of the subject? Here's a photo I took inside an abandoned building a while back. Without the flash, the room was dark due to the exposure/light coming in from the windows. At this angle, I didn't get any glare, thus lighting up the room and still being able to see outside.

I think you've mistaken BLACKLIGHT for BACKLIGHTING... I have a blacklight, a special kind of light bulb that emits purple light and I'm trying to figure out how to get good shots with it. If I use flash it destroys the purple color. Thanks anyway!

**The_Other_One** · 05-08-2008, 03:43 AM

Oh...yeah... I guess so. Sorry, can't be of any help there

**Praetor** · 05-13-2008, 02:58 PM

Quote:

I have a blacklight, a special kind of light bulb that emits purple light and I'm trying to figure out how to get good shots with it. If I use flash it destroys the purple color. Thanks anyway!

Am slightly confused as to exactly what you're trying to accomplish .... from how i see it, there are two interpretations

[1] You're using the blacklight to light the paper up and the cds are on the now glowing paper

[2] you're using the blacklight like a normal light and it's making everything purpleish (except for the paper which will be psychowhite)

4NGU$ · 05-13-2008, 09:14 PM

but shurly the thing there would be is that the black light is actually an ultraviolet light right
so that would be outside the visible spectrum ?

well im lost

Irishwhistle · 05-15-2008, 08:55 PM

I'm trying to light everything up with the blacklight like a normal light. I don't think it's outside the visible spectrum because it's been done before (* Post Your Unedited Pictures)

Punk · 05-15-2008, 09:15 PM

Try to slow the shutter speed a little bit. Might do the trick.

speedyink · 05-16-2008, 12:35 AM

Use a tripod and a shutter speed of a second or more. Depending on your iso settings you may need to bump it up to even 10 seconds or so.

I'd be able to help you more, but it was on the semi-auto setting for those pictures. I also did some in manual mode, but the only settings I remember was having the iso on 100 and a shutter speed of 5 seconds.

lovely? · 05-16-2008, 02:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4NGU$

but shurly the thing there would be is that the black light is actually an ultraviolet light right
so that would be outside the visible spectrum ?

well im lost

blacklights are mostly out of your visible spectrum, but some things that are colored white or bright colors shine very brightly, i think they take the light that goes into them and convert it a little. this makes an effect that makes everything that is not blacklight reactive stay the same, and anything blacklight reactive turns extremely bright.

05-07-2008, 10:36 PM	#1 (permalink)
Irishwhistle Diamond Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Age: 14 Posts: 1,779	Blacklight Photography I'm trying to do some blacklight photography for some stock photos and am having some trouble. I took the blacklight in a dark room and then turned it on. I then got a white sheet of paper and three CDs... I put the CDs on the sheet of paper and then switched on my camera. I set it to f/3.4 (since the scene was pretty flat and I wanted as much light as I could get) and the shutter speed to 60. My ISO was set at 100 (I also tried 200.) I took some shots and they came out VERY dark. What should I do? Should I use a tripod and set a very low shutter speed? Any other ideas? Thanks! btw, my camera is a Fuji Funepix S700 (aka S5700.) __________________ The Heron Has Been Unleashed! CPU: Intel Celeron 1.5GhZ :P GPU: Integrated Intel :P RAM: 256MB :P OS: Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron! :D The statement below is true. The statement above is false.

05-08-2008, 02:10 AM	#2 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,295	Does your camera have an exposure meter? If so, set the camera to spot exposure then go to full manual. I'd go about halfway p your aperture (I hear that gives you the sharpest results for most cameras) and move the exposure point around the subject. Adjust your shutter speed (and perhaps ISO) accordingly. The problem I see, though, is if you have a back light, you're going to have a blown out background regardless. You're camera's probably doing a matrix exposure of some sort, thus trying to get the scene as even as possible. Have you tried using a flash, or any form of lights in front of the subject? Here's a photo I took inside an abandoned building a while back. Without the flash, the room was dark due to the exposure/light coming in from the windows. At this angle, I didn't get any glare, thus lighting up the room and still being able to see outside. __________________ Urban De-Development * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT * C2D T5250 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100 * G4 1.33GHz \| 512M RAM \| 40G HD \| Radeon 9200

05-08-2008, 03:43 AM	#4 (permalink)
The_Other_One Super Moderator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Lexington, NC Age: 23 Posts: 12,295	Oh...yeah... I guess so. Sorry, can't be of any help there __________________ Urban De-Development * Athlon X2 4200 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| 7600GT * C2D T5250 \| 2048M RAM \| 160G HD \| Intel x3100 * G4 1.33GHz \| 512M RAM \| 40G HD \| Radeon 9200

05-13-2008, 09:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
4NGU$ VIP Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Liverpool, UK Age: 18 Posts: 1,867	but shurly the thing there would be is that the black light is actually an ultraviolet light right so that would be outside the visible spectrum ? well im lost __________________ Winner Picture Tournaments: Birds, Abstract, Shadows, Christmas, Not what it seems, Infinity and Lost "We photographers deal in things which are continually vanishing,and when they have vanished there is no contrivance on earth can make them come back again. We cannot develop and print a memory" - Henri Cartier-Bresson Myspace Click! and add Xbox Live : Angus DC

05-15-2008, 08:55 PM	#7 (permalink)
Irishwhistle Diamond Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Michigan, USA Age: 14 Posts: 1,779	I'm trying to light everything up with the blacklight like a normal light. I don't think it's outside the visible spectrum because it's been done before (* Post Your Unedited Pictures) __________________ The Heron Has Been Unleashed! CPU: Intel Celeron 1.5GhZ :P GPU: Integrated Intel :P RAM: 256MB :P OS: Ubuntu 8.04 Hardy Heron! :D The statement below is true. The statement above is false.

05-15-2008, 09:15 PM	#8 (permalink)
Punk Diamond Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: France Age: 18 Posts: 4,381	Try to slow the shutter speed a little bit. Might do the trick. __________________ Punk's anti-hackers website Punk's Website making and registering tutorial! Rise And Fall, Rage And Grace The Offspring! Huck it! I just want to be who I want to be guess that's hard for others to see

05-16-2008, 12:35 AM	#9 (permalink)
speedyink Diamond Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Vancouver Island, Canada Age: 21 Posts: 1,801	Use a tripod and a shutter speed of a second or more. Depending on your iso settings you may need to bump it up to even 10 seconds or so. I'd be able to help you more, but it was on the semi-auto setting for those pictures. I also did some in manual mode, but the only settings I remember was having the iso on 100 and a shutter speed of 5 seconds. __________________ Desktop/Laptop: Acer AM5100/Dell Inspiron 6400 AMD Phenom 9500 Quad core @ 2.2GHZ/Core 2 Duo T5300 @ 1.73ghz 4GB DDR2 RAM/2GB 533mhz RAM 750GB HDD/120 GB HDD 512mb Nvidia GeForce 8800GTS @ 800/2000/1050/256mb Radeon Mobility X1400 HM Vista Ultimate x64/Vista Home Premium Winner of Photo Tournament: Mountains, Cold, Spiders, Engineering My Deviantart Last edited by speedyink; 05-16-2008 at 12:38 AM.

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