MAKE MOODY LIGHT RAYS

James Paterson shows you how to add atmospheric shafts of light to your portraits with some help from a smoke machine and a flashgun

- James Paterson

1 DAY

There’s something magical about rays of light. They create a wonderful sense of atmosphere, whether witnessed on a misty morning walk as the sun breaks through gaps in the trees, or inside a dusty room pierced by shafts of light from the window. We can make use of this atmosphere to enliven our portraits with the technique outlined here.

Although we think of them as ‘light rays’, it’s not really possible to photograph a ray of light – what we’re actually seeing is the light illuminating very minute particles in the air. So the key to creating the rays is to fill the air with particles, whether it be steam, mist, dust or smoke – for this tutorial we’ve made use of an inexpensive smoke machine.

The other main consideration is the light; sunlight is ideal but, of course, there’s no guarantee the sun will shine through the right window when you want it to, if at all. For our shoot there was no chance of late afternoon sunbeams, so we made our own: using a flashgun fitted with an orange gel and positioned outside the window, we can make it look as if sunshine is streaming in.

Light rays can look very cinematic, so they’re the perfect addition to an atmospheric portrait, and great fun to try out with the kids. We set up a child’s bedroom for our shoot, but you can try this project out in any room with a window and a blind.

THE SETUP CREATE RAYS OF LIGHT

1 SMOKE