VIVID — Light Painting

Light Painting Workshop — Vivid Sydney 2026
Meeting point: Upper forecourt lawn, Sydney Opera House
Date: TBC —  2nd or 3rd June 2026, maybe both nights(?)
Time: 6 pm – 9 pm (arrive 5.45 pm)
Who is it for: Phone Photographers and Traditional Cameras
Group Size: 20 photographers and 3 photo guides

Photographers buzz around VIVID festival, taking photos of light installations. We want to offer you something same same but different — Painting with Light!
 Join us on a fun night out in the middle of VIVID with the Harbour Bridge as our backdrop. Light painting is like magic; it's a genre of photography every photographer must try.  This session is held in a lesser-known nook right in the middle of it all with the iconic Harbour Bridge as our background!

Light painting is the art of using long exposures and handheld light sources to draw, sculpt and paint directly onto your camera sensor. Orbs, trails, words, halos, figures — all made in the dark, all captured in a single frame, no editing required. It's part photography, part performance, part controlled chaos — and it fits perfectly inside a festival that's entirely built around the personality of moving lights.

This workshop, during VIVID, you stop being a spectator and start being the artist. The torch is your brush, the night is your canvas. The camera will show you things your eyes simply cannot see on their own.

Come prepared to experiment, to laugh, and to make images that look like absolutely nothing else you've done before.

What will we actually be doing?
• Learning the camera settings that unlock the dark — long exposure, manual mode, and why night photography plays by completely different rules.
• Experimenting with torches, LEDs, glow sticks and other light sources to see what each one does when you move it through a long exposure.
• Painting light around people, objects and each other — portraits, silhouettes, wild abstracts.
• Reviewing shots together and learning from what works — and what gloriously doesn't.

What we supply.
• A variety of light painting tools, like Light Sticks, Torches, LED ropes and other interesting light painting tools! 
• Photo guides to ensure you leave with real hands-on skills!
1) Colin Seton, a specialist in iPhone and Android phone photography.
2) Alex Kess, a specialist in light painting tools and techniques 
3) Shane Rozario, a specialist in applying photography techniques in real life! 
We will also introduce you to relevant apps specific to light painting and long exposures. 

Why do this during Vivid?
• Light painting is everything Vivid celebrates — creativity, colour, and the pure joy of playing with light and also because the vibe is alive, and the city is in the mood. The atmosphere is buzzin'. You will love learning new skills. Light Painting will reframe the way you appreciate both photography and light.

How will I benefit?
• Improve your understanding of long exposure and manual mode.
• Add a genuinely fun creative technique to your photography toolkit.
• Walk away with a set of unique images you actually magicked yourself, in-camera.
• Find your people — Sydney photographers who love and enjoy photography.

All cameras are welcome.
• Phone Cameras, DSLR, mirrorless, film — bring whatever you shoot with.
• A tripod is essential for this workshop. (Contact us if you need help with this)  
• Never shot in manual mode? Perfect. We'll set you up from the start.

Who comes to these workshops?
• Beginners who want to finally understand how to make use of their camera.
• Enthusiasts who are after something new and a little bit weird to try.
• Professionals who just want a night of pure creative play.
• Vivid lovers who want to go deeper than the Light Walk.

Your photo guides
• Alex Kess, Colin Seton and Shane Rozario are professional photographers and experienced workshop guides who run photography adventures all over Sydney.
Limited to 20 spots.

Are you ready to play in the dark?
Alex, Colin + Shane