Light painting, also known as light graffiti, is a photography technique using long exposure shots of darkened subjects, where moving light is used to illuminate parts of the composition. This can create dramatic effects that can give the photographs a surreal, otherworldly quality, or even add a “sketched” effect to a photograph. Although this technique has been popularized by the digital camera age, it is by no means a modern technique, as Pablo Picasso was photographed as early as 1949, creating phantom sketches in the air with a small hand-held light source.

Here are 9 beautiful examples of light painting photography:

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