Casio Exilim ZR20 - High Speed Night Scene + Portrait

Casio Exilim ZR20's High Speed Night Scene + Portrait functions are usually used to enhance the lighting on or around the subject itself but I found a more fun way to play with this function to create a cool photo effect. However, on a serious note, you may use it at a dimly lit area or to brighten the lights around a subject e.g a building. You may need to use a tripod or a stable surface as the flashes appears twice combined with a slow shutter to capture all the available lights surrounding the subject. 

Anyways, when I first bought my dslr, I was then super obsessed with the bulb function so that I could make all kinds of 'light art' with the photos. And it looks amazing especially at places where there are tons of pretty lights as you get the light trail effects. My first bulb photo turned out really great thanks to an old friend of mine although it was not an easy feat! Needed tons of takes just to get the right one -

Bulb function aren't very noob-friendly, as there are some level of skill needed to produce proper light trail photos. Even with slow shutters, you'd need a tripod and correct timing to get the effect that you want. 

If you remember, I'm currently using the Casio ZR20 to snap most of my photos now due to it's compact size that's easy to bring, and also because it offers multiple functions within a few simple clicks.

Ever since I sold my dslr, I no longer take these kinds of fun photos anymore and rarely fiddled with the functions of my previous camera. Recently, I went finger trigger happy on my Casio ZR20 compact cam, and I managed to try on this function called 'High Speed Night Scene + Portrait' and found out that it can somehow create light trail effects at nightfall too! 


Oh, boy was I super excited that I kept on snapping two nights in a row! Here are some photos I took as an example using the Casio ZR20. Excuse the nonsense faces and haywire hair, I kinda fail at camwhoring nowadays and they are just as examples of what you can achieve. I'm sure it's not just limited to this, it would depend on the kind of lighting that surrounds you and also movement of the camera. The trick is to just move the camera quickly after the first flash, and make sure it stops on the subject before the second flash and voila, you have stylized photos with light trails.

The video below was not taken using a Casio ZR20 but you will have an idea of what light painting is about and how you can achieve them using this 'High Speed Night Shot + Portrait' Function. Please note that the shutter won't be as slow so you can't really do a painting in your photos but you can definitely have beautiful light trails around you =)

Anyways, don't forget to check out Casio Exilim Malaysia's fan page - https://www.facebook.com/CasioExilimMalaysia