Light-painting photography book

Outdoor Light-Painting Photography: The Essential Field Guide

Written with my creative partner Kim Henry, this book brings more than a decade of our outdoor light-painting practice into a practical guide to creating photographs with handheld light, movement, and long exposure.

Our starting point is simple: a flashlight inside a plastic tube. Moving that light through the scene creates a shape while illuminating the person and the ground around them. The book explains the choices behind the image, from camera setup and location scouting to composition, movement, and balancing painted light with the light already in the landscape.

Across 176 pages, we share step-by-step tutorials, shooting scenarios, and field references for photographers trying light painting for the first time or developing their own approach.

Inside the book

• Equipment, camera settings, and preparing for a night outdoors
• Light-painting shapes, body position, silhouettes, and keeping the subject sharp
• Shooting in blue hour, moonlight, winter, cityscapes, and on beaches
• Working with the Milky Way, star trails, and auroras
• Additional tools, advanced capture techniques, and post-processing

The guide includes eight chapters, a FAQ, a glossary, and practical reference material to return to before your next session.

Publication details

Title: Outdoor Light-Painting Photography: The Essential Field Guide
Authors: Eric Paré & Kim Henry
Publisher: Ilex Press
Length: 176 pages
Formats: Paperback and ebook
Publication dates: March 26, 2026 (UK); April 28, 2026 (North America)
ISBN: 9781840919257