Using a digital camera to create a Light Rim* Photo

(*white line light outline)

A.      Turn your camera on.

B.      Set camera ISO to 400

C.     Turn the self-timer on. (A little clock symbol should appear.) You need to use the self-timer setting because you don’t have a cable release.   The self-timer will delay the exposure a few seconds, but it will also help to keep your photos sharp.

D.     Make sure your flash is turned off.  (The flash symbol should be in a circle with a diagonal line through it)

E.     Set the camera to either Manual mode, shutter seed mode – or if your camera doesn’t have either of these settings, choose the night landscape scene / mode (DO NOT CHOOSE NIGHT PORTRAIT MODE!!! – That setting will trigger the flash and you don’t use a flash for these night photos.)

1.      If you are using manual mode –set the aperture to f/8 and leave it on that setting,  choose the slowest shutter speed your camera can use.(Usually digital cameras can be set to at least 8 seconds or longer.  8 seconds would appear as 8”  If you only see 8 that means 1/8th second ---15 seconds would appear as 15” If you only see 15 that means 1/15^th second, etc.

2.      If you are using the shutter speed mode – choose the slowest shutter speed your camera can use.(Usually digital cameras can be set to at least 8 seconds or longer.  8 seconds would appear as 8”  If you only see 8 that means 1/8th second ---15 seconds would appear as 15” If you only see 15 that means 1/15^th second, etc.

3.      If you are using the night landscape scene mode – turn your camera to that setting

F.  Attach your camera to a steady tripod

1.       With the room lights on, focus on your subject (press camera shutter down ½ way)

2.      Turn the room lights off.

3.      Press camera shutter button down – since your camera is set on self-timer, you will have a few seconds before the exposure actually begins.

4.      Walk behind your subject, face the flashlight toward the camera lens and turn it on.

5.      Move the flashlight at a slow, steady rate along the outline edge of your subject (as though you were tracing the outline of your subject using a flashlight instead of a pencil).

6.      When you have traced then entire outline, turn your flashlight off.

7.      Play back the image to make sure that your settings are working correctly and to see if you are moving your flashlight quickly enough to record the entire image.

8.      Repeat steps 1-7  again, but this time move the flashlight more quickly along the edge of your subject.

9.      Repeat steps 6 – 12 again, but this time move the flashlight as slowly as you can along the edge of your subject.