Black Light Photography
Sunday, June 1, 2008 @ 20:20
A relatively new trend to emerge in modern photography is black light photography. At one time, the purview of only a few isolated practitioners, today many photographers are using the technique to create stunning pictures.
It is not too clear who created black light photography, but it has been in use for many years by police to discover evidence at crime scenes. It is also employed by archaeologists to locate objects, such as rare coins, at dig sites. It's only more recently that some photographers have begun to experiment with different objects under UV black light.
First of all, a little background on how black light works. It simply involves photographing ultraviolet radiation, which is divided into three separate wavelengths, short-wave, middle-range and long-wave, which is the black light.
To obtain the best effects, you should use fluorescent paint on the object to be photographed and then turn all other lights in the room off. Use the light meter on your camera, or a separate handheld unit, to take a reading. If you are using a filter on your camera's lens, you should make sure you take the meter reading through the same filter so that you obtain an accurate result.
You should also make sure you have a quality black light to produce the effects you are looking for. These products are sold in the form of fluorescent tubing and can be purchased from most electrical retailers.
Once you've set yourself up, go out and play. Don't be afraid to experiment with various objects, painted with a variety of fluorescent colored paints. You can surf the net for some ideas to spark your imagination, but it is only through experimentation that you will get the most unique effects and some truly stunning photographs.
