FIRE photography

[LearnMyShot]

10 easy steps:

Step 1: Safety
Place fire extinguisher within reach.

Step 2: Surface
Place black foam board or construction paper on table top and place a sheet of clear glass over it.

Step 3: Background
Position another piece of black foam board or paper behind the glass. Not only will it create a black background but also will eliminate unwanted reflection in the glass

Step 4: Pre-Focus
Auto focus might have difficulty focusing on the fire. To pre-focus Place any object in the place where the fire will be and after focus is fixed, switch lens /camera to manual focus to prevent auto focus kicking in

Step 5: Light Source
The only light source you need is fire itself. So turn off all the lights in the room. And obviously do not use flash.

Step 6: Camera Settings
Set camera to manual mode, set shutter to 250/sec or above. Note that fire is a moving subject so higher shutter speed is required to freeze the motion. Adjust aperture for desired exposure.You might need to take a few frames to get it right

Step 7: Lighter Fluid
Squirt some lighter fluid in a line. (onto the glass) Start with small amount.
Light it up- burn baby , burn!

Step 8: SHOOT IT
Take multiple frames and repeat step 7 and 8 till you get the shot you like

Step 9: DO NOT
Do not squirt lighter fluid directly into an open flame (as I did in the video)
Do not leave fire unattended.
Do not try this in California

Step 10: Insurance
Check to make sure your house is insured … oops that should have been step 1.
Post you photo if you get it right

Here is the link to the video on my site to see how I did it:
VIDEO: How to photograph fire

cheers
p.s.
in photoshop slide hue (image / adjustments / hue/saturation) to change fire to any desired color

[bmcguirk]

Very cool. Thanks for sharing!

[wulf]

Could you give a bit more detail on the first step please, rather than just linking to an external site. Otherwise it would look just like self-promotion

Wulf

[LearnMyShot]

Thanks for your question Wulf.
I put the video together that goes step by step showing how to photograph the shot above. I linked to my blog where you can watch the video.
I am not selling any services there ...
Posting images of each step, in my opinion would be counterproductive time wise. And verbal description in this case is not necessary. If someone has questions not covered in Video i 'll be more then happy to address.

As for self promotion. We all have links to our blogs, and flikr and websites in our signatures...and everyone promotes themselves. I think that's just the reality of the internet, nowadays.
But if you feel that I am not doing it in appropriate way please advice me.

I can summarize the steps if you feel it will make it better.

Thank you

[mr. Unknown]

actually it's kind of a cool site

[jq jerry]

hi im just buoght my dslr camera but i dont know how to use it pls, till me a basic thank you..

[LearnMyShot]

mr. Unknown: thanks!!!

jq jerry: I just changed original post and added more detailed info- I hope that will help, good luck.

[wulf]

That's much better. As a rule of thumb, if you have to go to an external site to get anything at all, that's bad. If, as we now have it, there is some useful information here and a link to an external site for those who want to see it in a different format, that's great.

Wulf

[tonyleelq]

haven't thought of shooting fire. nice tips.

[Melissa6381]

love the tutorial. thanks a lot!