LET THERE BE LIGHT LEAK!

Jason Parnell-Brookes shows you how to add a light leak effect to a digital image using a match

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10 MINS Back in the days of film, if you had a gap in your camera body, light would leak in through the cracks and tinge the film with colour casts across the frame. This exposure to light, or ‘light leaking’, was originally seen as a problem to be avoided, but it’s caught on as a creative technique that enhances images beyond their standard exposure.

Light leaks have become a popular ‘retro’ effect to add to digital images – it’s usually done in post-production using various techniques, but there are also ways that you can simulate a light leak in-camera, even in the digital era.

By striking a match or igniting a lighter, we can create a warm orange flicker of fire, and if we place this close in front of our lens and focus on something in the distance we can blur the flame to imitate a light leak. Here’s how it’s done – just be careful not to get the flame too close to your camera!

1.SAFETY FIRST