How to make foto & video with Light props?

If you are looking at how to make great pictures and videos with your Light props, you are at the right spot!

You might find out, that it is a difficult task - you are completely dark and props overexposed? Do you have a missing light effect (holes) in your graphics on your video?

You will find out, that following a few hints will make your media outstanding!

Zebra Poi - express yourself with great Lightshow

Taking Photos

Capturing beautiful photos like the ones you see on our webpage is actually not very difficult, once you have the right equipment and know what to do!

For optimal results, get a DSLR camera and a solid tripod. The type of camera is not so important, the only requirement for it is to have full manual mode (“M” mode).

Put your camera on the tripod, set it to “M” mode and for starters try dialing the following camera settings:

  • ISO 100-200
  • Aperture F/6.3
  • Shutter speed 1/4 sec

Instruct your performer to spin 3-beat weave (or any other trick) and start taking photos. If the photo is too dark or bright, change the aperture. If the Visual Poitrails are too “long” or “short”, change the shutter speed to your liking.

Photo pro tip:

You might find out, that light from your gear is making "ghost" shapes of your artists. To capture the long light painting effect from the LED props and have a tick sharp artist at the same time. You need to turn on "rear sync" on your camera accompanied by 2 flashes - they will light up at the end of your exposure, making the final pose of your artist sharp on the photo.

Taking videos

Taking beautiful videos of your Visual Pois can be a little tricky, because almost all cameras default to the wrong default video settings. But it’s not hard to get it right!

First, you need to get a camcorder or camera with full manual settings when shooting video. Any intermediate or professional camera should have these settings. You must be able to individually set these parameters on your camera:

  • frame rate (fps)
  • shutter speed
  • aperture / iris
  • ISO / gain
how to make led light videos

Set your camera to full manual mode. Next, make sure that frame rate (fps) is the same as shutter speed. That way there will be no black "gaps" in the video and the Visual Poi pattern will look smooth.

 

Example: Let’s say your camera’s frame rate is set to 25 fps. Then you have to set the shutter speed to 1/25 sec (this is sometimes called “360-degree shutter angle”). These two values must be kept the same.

 

Right and wrong setting of frame rate and shutter speed

 

Then you set your aperture and ISO so that exposure (brightness of the video) is not too dark or too bright. Definitely turn off any AUTO settings, because the camera always "assumes" that the scene with Visual Poi is too dark and turns the brightness up. Set your aperture and ISO according to the camera display - make sure the colors are not too pale (blown out). It's always good to make the settings a bit darker than too bright.

 

What frame rate to use? We found 25fps to give a good balance between reasonably long Visual Poi trails and fluidity of movements. 30fps is also good (then you set your shutter speed to 1/30 sec). A solid tripod for your camera or camcorder is also highly recommended.

 

Right and wrong setting of frame rate and shutter speed

right and wrong camera settings

Drex's video explaining camera setup and editing

youtube-video-thumbnail

Video inspirations

Lighttoys showreel

Welcome to the world of extraordinary light equipment from Pyroterra Lighttoys, the creator of Visual Poi and other unique LED tools! ✨

Colin Peterson with LED buugeng

Colin Peterson`s dazzling performance with LED Buugeng (S-staff) from Pyroterra Lighttoys. A revolutionary piece of equipment for all Buugeng spinners.

Visual Hula Hoop promovideo

Official promo video of the new smarthoop designed by Pyroterra Lighttoys. Utilizing artistic skills of modern gymnastics.

100 Zebra Poi madness!

Pyroterra dancing with programmable zebra poi⚡️ Creating this video was something special for us. The number of zebra poi used in this video is really over one hundred 🦓

VISUAL POI V4 SHOWCASE

Visual Poi V4 comes in 3 different sizes, to perfectly suit the needs of various users. You can use a staff connector to turn poi into the staff.

PINK PANTHER FT. THOMAS AND FRANCOIS

Our friends Thomas Johansson and Francois Erb can always come up with a great show! This time creating a very funny act inspired by the Pink Panther series!

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