light painting

English

Domes and an orb created, using light painting, in front of a cityscape.

A stick figure reading a book while on the toilet, a light painting.

A minimalist exercise in light painting (camera painting) using the full moon on dark night.

Noun

light painting (countable and uncountable, plural light paintings)

1. (uncountable) The artistic technique of moving a light source to selectively illuminate parts of the subject or scene a camera is recording (at a slow shutter speed), or to shine directly into the camera and in this way sketch.
2. (uncountable) Camera painting, the artistic technique of moving a camera (while it records at a low shutter speed) such that light sources appear in multiple places or as streaks in the resulting photograph, the "painting".
3. (countable) A painting created using one of these techniques.
4. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see light,‎ painting.
   • 2011, Jo Taylor, Watercolour Wisdom, page 92:

     This key has slightly more midtone but is still a light painting.