Photographing Laser Shows

[Galvonaut]

Lasers seem to be a little more challenging to photograph than your average light source, with a single fast moving beam of light or a spot being projected onto a surface.

I'm only learning to photograph lasers, but here is what I've learnt so far.

When I shoot lasers I consider the the whole scene, not just the lasers, which can be tricky, especially at the roller disco! The lasers really want a slow shutter speed in order to capture the full range of movement made by the beam (for instance 1/30 second) while the fast moving objects require a fast shutter speed of say 1/200 of second or more.

The problem here is that a shutter speed of 1/200 of a second will not capture the entire laser beam as we see it with long persistence of vision. This photo shows (as well as the DJs not so safe lasers shining into people's faces) what can happen when shooting at 1/125 of a second @f2 (800iso).

IMG_9649.jpg

The left hand beam has been only partially exposed as the shutter moves across the sensor, however the skaters have been captured sharply.
When shooting at such a high shutter speed, much of the beam can be missing, so slowing things down is pre-requisite.

This shot was taken at 1/60 @f3.5 (800iso). It shows a full width scan with simple beams. With more complex shapes the shutter speed would need to be slower.

IMG_9803.jpg

The skaters here show a little movement and are rather out of focus due to the narrow depth-of-field (large aperture (small f number) means less in focus).

This shot was again taken at 1/60 but this time at f1.8 reducing the DOF. With a larger aperture (smaller f number) more light is exposed to the sensor (or film if you are old-school) so the laser light will be brighter.

IMG_9626.jpg

I use a Canon EOS 5D (MkI) and these were shot with a Canon 50mm f1.2L lens.

[andy_con]

Take the lazy route and put the camera on auto mode but flash off and you get this type of result. These were taken on a Canon d600

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...obal+gathering

[andy_con]

Same camera same setup same result

http://www.photonlexicon.com/forums/...ighlight=fstvl

[Galvonaut]

Very nice Andy. I try my best to perfect the manual settings so that I can be as creative as possible.

I forgot to mention that I shoot RAW. This gives me about 2 stops (sometimes more) of exposure compensation after shooting and far less noise at high iso. I sharpen things up in PS as RAW has no image processing.

[White-Light]

Nice result with auto. My compact camera is crap on auto with lasers

BTW Galvonaut, watch the 5D and the beams - the sensor appears very prone on the 5D to laser damage.

[Galvonaut]

Thanks White-Light. Yes, I am pretty careful now.