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Description
Everything was created, photographed and edited by me, no stock.

The idea of this image comes from an illustration. I really loved the concept, and decided to recreate it as a photography.

Sculpting the dancing candles was a bit messy, but I like the result. I had to put the candles in hot water to melt the wax a bit, bend them carefully (I broke like 8 of them before succeeding), then my wife created the legs and arms with metal wires and paper. Of course, the whole thing was covered with wax, using other candles as a source.

For the photo itself, it was done using a long exposure (87 seconds) in a dark room:
1) Cover the lens (with a dark sheet of paper). Open shutter (bulb mode of course).
2) Position a flashlight behind the candle on the left, remove the cover from the lens, then create a trail in a smooth gesture (yes, it requires some practice!). The flashlight was covered with several diffusing sheets and a yellow gelatine.
3) Cover the lens again.
4) Position the flashlight behind the other candle, remove the cover, then similarly, create the other light-painted trail.
5) Trigger flashes, to create the main lighting of the scene.
6) Put the cover on the lens again, and light the wicks of the candles.
7) Remove the cover and put it again very fast, to not overexpose the fire (handheld shutter ) Close shutter. That's it!

Of course, I added some flying wax bits and some flames in the light-painted trails in post-production, but I kept that to a minimum.

Hope you like it!

Description
Everything was created, photographed and edited by me, no stock.

The idea of this image comes from an illustration. I really loved the concept, and decided to recreate it as a photography.

Sculpting the dancing candles was a bit messy, but I like the result. I had to put the candles in hot water to melt the wax a bit, bend them carefully (I broke like 8 of them before succeeding), then my wife created the legs and arms with metal wires and paper. Of course, the whole thing was covered with wax, using other candles as a source.

For the photo itself, it was done using a long exposure (87 seconds) in a dark room:
1) Cover the lens (with a dark sheet of paper). Open shutter (bulb mode of course).
2) Position a flashlight behind the candle on the left, remove the cover from the lens, then create a trail in a smooth gesture (yes, it requires some practice!). The flashlight was covered with several diffusing sheets and a yellow gelatine.
3) Cover the lens again.
4) Position the flashlight behind the other candle, remove the cover, then similarly, create the other light-painted trail.
5) Trigger flashes, to create the main lighting of the scene.
6) Put the cover on the lens again, and light the wicks of the candles.
7) Remove the cover and put it again very fast, to not overexpose the fire (handheld shutter ) Close shutter. That's it!

Of course, I added some flying wax bits and some flames in the light-painted trails in post-production, but I kept that to a minimum.

Hope you like it!