Smoke Photography

[mrlinuxbunny]

I recently got my Sb600 and i have been dying to try out some smoke photography so here are some photos i took last week. It has been a while since i last posted so i hope you enjoy these as much as i enjoyed shooting them. I have more on my flickr stream if you like these.

Flaming Inferno


Smoking Panther


Smoking Tiger


Smoking Joe

[jakethepig]

These are lovely captures of the smoke and you present them so well. I like how you give each one a title too. This is excellent work mrlinuxbunny.

Jake.

[mrlinuxbunny]

Originally Posted by jakethepig

These are lovely captures of the smoke and you present them so well. I like how you give each one a title too. This is excellent work mrlinuxbunny.

Jake.

Thanks Jake i really appreciate the kind words, i always try to give my photos a name as i think it gives it more character.

[Chewys Dad]

These are fascinating and well done; I'd have no Idea where to start on something like these; I'll have to look it up.
Thanks for sharing these
Chewys Dad.

[mrlinuxbunny]

Originally Posted by Chewys Dad

These are fascinating and well done; I'd have no Idea where to start on something like these; I'll have to look it up.
Thanks for sharing these
Chewys Dad.

Thanks Chewy, i read an article on DPS about smoke photography which intrigued me and thus i went searching further on how its done and this was the result.

[audrey-g]

a very great abstract and artistic set. can't see the panther and tiger though!

[paulq]

Beautiful! I have to do some research on how to do these types of photos. I want to try it too! But I really love how you did it. NIce!

[mrlinuxbunny]

Originally Posted by audrey-g

a very great abstract and artistic set. can't see the panther and tiger though!

Thanks for the comment audrey and in regards to not seeing the panther or the tiger is the result i expect. One of the great things about smoke photography is that the shapes it produces can be interpreted in many ways by different people. When i showed these to my friends i found that they all saw something completely different so the title of the photos simply reflect what i see but i am sure all of you will see something different.

[mrlinuxbunny]

Originally Posted by paulq

Beautiful! I have to do some research on how to do these types of photos. I want to try it too! But I really love how you did it. NIce!

Thanks paulq it is fun to do but you need the right equipment, the setup is very similar to water photography. Below is the setup of how i took these photos.

Setup
1. Camera with manual control (preferably DSLR)
2. lens focal length between 50-100mm (i used my cheap nifty fifty aka 50mm f1.8)
3. External Flash
4. Snoot or barn door (i used a snoot)
5. Incense stick & matches
6. Black back drop (i just used a large black sheet)
7. Ruler
8. table for the incense stick and a chair for you to sit as this will take a long time.
9. Fully charged battery as this will take a few hours and several memory cards

Because this involves matches i suggest being very careful and keep a damp cloth near by and a bucket of water if need be. You will need to be in a closed room and nothing too small as the room will quickly fill up with smoke. I did this in my garage where outside light was minimal. Some people suggest doing this in a completely dark environment but i didn't and there is no need just as long as there is no big windows or too much outside light. I suggest getting some nice smelling incense stick otherwise this will not last long.

The snoot or barn door is needed to focus the flash over the smoke and not light anything else up like the background. You will need to position the flash either the left or right hand side of the smoke with you in front as you do not want any light hitting the background. Think of it as a 90 degree angle where the camera and flash are at either ends and the incense stick is at the center. To trigger your flash you can do this by either using a cable or via wireless if you camera and flash supports this (i used wireless D80+Sb600). You can very easily make a snoot as it will be cheaper than buying one i suggest searching for "DIY snoot" on google and you will find plenty of guides.

Some people suggest using a tripod but i found this cumbersome as i tried it with a tripod but the unpredictable nature of smoke means to get the best shots you must quickly change position and thus i put my tripod aside. You must use manual settings and manual focus. Using an f4 to f11 provides the best results (i used f8). For shutter speed you can experiment with this as a fast shutter speed will provide sharp images but not much smoke trail and vice versa. Also, set your flash to manual mode and not TTL as you will have to manually set the power level this will depend on your exposure setting.

The best shapes are made near the incense stick rather than higher up. You maybe wondering why i listed a ruler as part of my setup well that is because i wanted to create some unusual shapes different to others on the internet so i wanted to manipulate the smoke the way i wanted. I find blowing on it was not so good but rather clicking your fingers near the smoke which provides a slight breeze for the smoke to change shape. I used to ruler to slowly cut shapes in the smoke by slowly moving it within the smoke, again experimenting will provide the best results.

For post processing using the invert tool with change the background from black to white and use the hue saturation tool to change the colour of the smoke. Not much PP is needed as the majority of the work is done behind the camera.

Remember being in a closed room as any outside wind can ruin the shot. Patients is big thing in this as a lot of it will be experimenting to get the best shapes. I ended up taking over 1200 photos in one sitting which lasted over three hours. You will also need a shower afterwards as your whole body will smell of whatever the cent of the incense stick was so make sure you pick a nice smelling one.