Zach Alan is a light painter and portrait artist based in Houston, Texas. He’s built his life around creating impactful and eye-catching photographs. Alan is well-known for popularizing a form of light painting with fire, and his creative environmental portraiture. Light painting portraiture, landscapes and the mixture thereof are a primary passion of his. Take a look at some of our favorite picks in the gallery below and be sure to follow Zach Alan’s Instagram Page.
“This was definitely a style developed over time. I started off doing night time cityscape photography,” – said Zach Alan.
“And eventually moved on to light painting large abandoned industrial spaces with simple tools like cheap speedlites and the small LEDs on a cell phone’s flash.”
“Ultimately I began incorporating models into my photography after seeing the beautiful work of Eric Paré, who later became a great friend.”
“One of the great things about light painting is the sheer amount of everyday objects you can use to create.”
“I’ve used everything from bottle caps and clear plastic tubes all the way up to expensive programmable LED sticks.”
“Primarily I use a homemade wood and cotton torch for my work with fire, and a wide range of tools made by Light Painting Brushes, a company here in the US that makes tools tailored specifically to light painting.”
“Photoshop is a hugely important part of my workflow, and I think it helps to set my work apart from other light painters.”
“I start off by using the curves tool to enhance contrast in various parts of the image in order to bolster my composition, then I move on to the color grading and touch-ups.”
“I really enjoy shooting landscapes and portraits.”
“Landscapes are important because I’d say that 90% of what makes a good environmental light painting is where you place your subject within the greater composition of the landscape.”
