Every two weeks, we revisit some of our reader favorite posts from throughout the history of Phototuts+. This tutorial was first published in December of 2009.

Light painting is the process of photographing at night and illuminating the scene by moving the camera, or a handheld light/torch. The actual source of the light doesn't need to appear in the photo, but the technique gives you the flexibility to cast light on only certain aspects of a scene. It can lead to some really stunning effects!

In this video tutorial, we'll take a look at the equipment needed to experiment with light painting, go behind the scenes on location, and walk through the the different images produced during the shoot.

Watch the Video