Be Careful If You're Smokers

Smoke photography can be extremely frustrating yet fulfilling at the same time. It all depends on how you approach the subject. If you have spare time and/or stuck indoors on a rainy day, then it’s the perfect opportunity to try this technique. There is no need for expensive camera equipment. Just your camera, flash and a few household products will do the job.

All you need is a basic understanding of the relationship between the subject, lighting and background. The one vital ingredient that I would say is a must is PATIENCE! Oh, and a camera of course… Without those two things, you will walk away very stressed.

There is no right or wrong way to achieve the perfect smoke trail. I used a mixture of my own method as well as techniques I picked up from others. The idea is to experiment and use whatever process you are comfortable with. You may even find a better way to do it. The important thing is that you get the perfect picture.

In this tutorial, I will guide you through the entire shoot step-by-step. I will also offer my own ideas so you can try different techniques.

Ok, let’s begin…

STEP 1

Have the right equipment

Besides the camera and flash, you can improvise with almost everything else. I will be making suggestions during the tutorial so don’t panic if you are missing some items.

The basic equipment you will need is:

Camera – with control over shooting mode. Preferably a DSLR so you can manually adjust the shutter speed, aperture and focus.
Off camera Flash or Strobe with Snoot – don’t worry if you don’t have a snoot. I made mine with a cereal box and some black art paper:-)
Incense stick and holder – Incense sticks are the best source of smoke as they have a pleasant smell and provide a longer lasting continuous plume of smoke. If you don’t have a proper holder, you can use anything from play dough to a potato. As long as it holds the incense in place, it doesn’t matter what you use. You might also want to use something to catch the ash.
Black background and surface – You can use any dark coloured non-reflective background, but black is best if you want to capture perfect contrast and details of the smoke. You will also avoid lengthy post processing in Photoshop. Use paper, card or even velvet if you don’t have a proper colorama background. The black surface is not vital but helps to avoid any stray light bouncing off onto the background or the camera lens.
Tripod – This is not entirely necessary, but for this tutorial, we will use one. I took all my smoke photos handheld. It’s a little more difficult but you get some unique shots. Experiment with both methods and see which is best for you.
Reflector – This is optional if you want to reflect more light onto the smoke.
Portable light – A torch or something to light up the smoke so you can lock focus…and see where you’re going in the dark…
A well-ventilated room – This is very important. Do not try it in a small room with just one small window! The smoke will fill a large room within 10-15mins so you will need to air the room out from time to time. This is because the smoke in the room will decrease the quality of your photo. Oh, and it’s not good for your health to breathe in all that smoke, even if it does smell good.
A lighter – you have to light the incense…:-)
PATIENCE! Lots of it!

STEP 2

The Studio Set Up

Now that you got all your gear, you will need to set them up in a way that will prevent any light spilling onto the black background or into your camera lens. I have included images below to illustrate the set up I use. The first image is the basic set up.

Put up your black background
Place the incense stick about 3-4ft away from the background
Place the flash/strobe to the right (or left) of the incense about 1-2ft away
If using a reflector, place it on the opposite side, facing directly at the incense stick
Place the camera on a tripod in front of the incense about 2-3ft away

You can also arrange the equipment at an angle to the background (fig.2) just make sure that you avoid any light reflecting onto the background. This is important because smoke has a natural grey colour so you need a pure black background to give it contrast. You also need to make sure that when you fire the flash, no light hits the camera lens. This will create glare in your picture. It is not entirely a bad thing as you can still turn it into a creative image, but you don’t want glare on all your photos.

This is an image with glare (please view on my blog). It was a mistake and my intention was to remove it, but I liked the solar effect it was giving so decided to leave it as it is.

STEP 3

Camera and Flash Settings

In order to capture a decent smoke photograph you need to remember four important factors that need to be adhered to,

Fast shutter speed – because it is constantly moving, you need to catch the motion of the smoke
Small aperture – for a greater depth of field. Smoke is unpredictable so setting a small aperture allows you to capture more of it in case of sudden changes in shape.
Low ISO – This is because smoke will naturally show up on a photograph as grainy. A higher ISO will make this worse
Light – You need lots of it. With a combination of fast shutter speed, small aperture and low ISO, there is not enough light to expose the shot. Therefore, the smoke will need to be lit up appropriately.

With all that in mind, set your camera accordingly based on its capabilities.

As guidance, below are the settings I used with my Nikon D300 and a Nikon SB-900 Speedlight:

Camera mode – Manual
Shutter Speed – 1/250
Aperture – between f/8 – f/16
ISO – 100 (or lower if your camera allows it)
Manual focus
White Balance – Auto or Flash
Focal length – This is your choice depending on how close you want to get to the smoke.
Flash output should be set at half power or above. Adjust according to your preference.

Ideally, you should use a flash or strobe that you can trigger remotely. However, you can connect the flash directly to your camera with a sync cord. Just be careful not to trip over it in the dark.

You also need to channel as much light onto the smoke as possible. This is when a snoot or barn doors come in useful. If you don’t have either of these, use some card and secure it around the edge of the flash or strobe. Make sure the card extends out by about 2-3 inches.

STEP 4

Taking the shot

Now that you have everything in place, you need to ensure that all doors and windows are closed. Smoke is very delicate, so the slightest draught will disturb it and create thin unstable plumes, which you will find difficult to capture in detail. The room needs to be perfectly still.

Next, light the incense stick. If you want thicker and unique swirls of smoke then I would suggest lighting up two incense sticks and placing them in the same holder together.Now, turn off your camera’s auto-focus feature, as it will not help at all.

The smoke will be constantly moving and once the lights are turned off, it will struggle to find a focal point. Watch the smoke to see where it goes and manually focus on where you think the smoke will end up when you release the shutter. I would suggest focusing on the part just 2-3cm above the tip of the incense stick. If you need to, use the torch to light up the smoke so you can adjust the focus accurately.

Once done grab your torch and switch off all the lights in the room. Although, in my opinion, it doesn’t really matter if you shoot with the lights on or off, but for best results it is good to shoot in a darkened room to avoid any ambient light reducing the contrast.

Take some test shot’s to check the exposure and adjust the settings accordingly. The idea is to get the background underexposed to a pure black (RGB 0, 0, 0) and the brightest part of the smoke should be white. When you’re happy with the exposure settings, its time to get creative and start shooting!

When photographing smoke, I aim to capture smooth shapes and swirls in perfect detail and from different angles. All the smoke images you see in my gallery were taken without a tripod. I got in close to the smoke and moved around it to capture a different perspective.

You can try the same if you get bored with standard smoke swirls. You can even alter the transition of the smoke to create different shapes by placing a spoon, or any other object, above the incense stick. Also, try gently wafting the smoke to get different patterns.

And don’t forget, ventilate the room every 10-15mins. The build up of smoke will create a grey haze that will deprive your picture of light and contrast. It is also very uncomfortable to work in a room full of smoke no matter how rosy it smells…

Smoking itself is a bad habit, but if you can’t give it up, you can at least cut back on some of your bad smoking habits. Do you smoke in bed for example? That’s not only a bad habit but also a dangerous one, as many house fires start because someone fell asleep with a lit cigarette still between his fingers.

Reaching for a cigarette first thing in the morning is another habit which you should try to get out of. Try doing some deep breathing exercises instead. Smoking in the kitchen, especially when you are cooking is also something which should be avoided, as ash can easily fall into the food.

Not paying attention to when and how often you smoke is another bad habit and one which can mean you are smoking a lot more than you think. So make a note of every cigarette you smoke for a week and notice when you smoke unconsciously, that is without noticing you’re doing it. Once you are fully aware of your bad smoking habits, you can start to do something to change them and you should be able to cut down substantially in the process. If you smoke when talking on the phone, keep your cigarettes and ashtray out of reach. If you go out drinking with friends, make a conscious effort to smoke less – the pub is the place you are most likely to smoke too much.

Smoking around babies or children is another bad habit and one which could have serious consequences for their health, as passive smoking has now been proved to cause the same illnesses as active smoking. If you smoke in public places, then you need to be careful not to blow smoke in the faces of non-smokers around you as this is putting them at risk and is also extremely unpleasant as it can irritate the eyes and nose, as well as making their clothes smell.

When one wonders how do you smoke meat, there are a few things to be considered before deciding which way you will do it. Basically there are two reasons, one is for flavoring meat that is cooked for a meal, and the other is for storing the meat for longer periods of time.

Smoked meat for immediate consumption is more along the lines of barbecuing. Cooking a roast this way for dinner is done by starting in the morning and letting the roast, or whatever is being cooked, slow cook with a low, indirect heat and the smoke somewhat contained with the meat inside the chamber. The end result is a wonderfully flavorful meat that almost melts off the bone. Smoked pulled pork sandwiches are typically made from pork shoulder that has been cooked this way.

If your goal for smoking meat is preservation, there are two ways to do it, cold and hot. Cold smoking does not involve heat, and hot smoking does. Cold does not cure the meat like hot does, so if you’re cold smoking you will want to use a brine to cure the meat.

Cold smoked meat is hung in a smoker, but the smoke is generated in a separate area so the temperature of the chamber holding the meat tends should be between 75 and 120 degrees. The cold process can take much longer than hot smoking since this method does not use heat and relies on the smoke penetrating the meat over time. Cold smoked meat tends to be a little saltier since using a brine is necessary to cure the meat, so careful application of the brine can help even out the seasoning flavor. Cold smoking can be used for all kinds of meats, and, if done correctly, can last for years even without refrigeration.

Hot smoking takes less time to complete and is done in a temperature range of 140 to 200 degrees. Hot smoked meat is typically not cured before hand, but may be slightly brined for flavor if desired. The hot process for meat is more cooked than dried, which also means that it does not have as long of a shelf life as cold smoking does.

For both smoking processes, the meat is usually dried on the surface before smoking. These processes, either hot or cold, help prevent insects from attacking the meat like they might for untreated or only salt brined meat. It is the deposits from the smoke that serve to both dry the meat and slow bacterial growth.

Of course you have heard that smoking is a dangerous habit for anybody. No, I take that back. It’s not just anybody, it’s for any living organism. Tobacco is a known natural pesticide and has been used for ages in this way. In fact if you aren’t careful it will kill more than just the bad insects.

You’re obviously intelligent enough to know that tobacco in any form is bad for you. I mean, you are reading this article, aren’t you? But you’re probably asking yourself why is smoking worse for young women? Aren’t we the same as older women? Doesn’t smoking affect older women too?

Yes smoking effects older women too. And in some ways the statistics single out older women as having other problems from smoking, like death. But death is not always the worst thing that could happen. So now you’re asking, what’s worse than death? I can think of a few things.

Imagine for a moment that you’re in love. You’re a new bride and you’re looking forward to a life together with the man that you love. You’re trying to start a family and you’re having trouble and you’re not sure why.

You take a trip to the doctor to find out what the problem is. After some preliminary Q & A and a whole slew of tests the doctor comes back with some reasons why you’re having trouble. He tells you that the evidence indicates that because you’re a smoker you can’t conceive.

Can you imagine how you would feel if you found out you had jeopardized your future as a mother just to puff on some burning leaf? The doctor told you that your reproductive health has been impaired by your smoking habit.

The Surgeon General’s Report on Health Consequences of Smoking highlights many negative reproductive effects of tobacco smoking, including infertility. In women, smoking is connected with a decrease in your chances of conceiving in a month. You actually lower the probability of you getting pregnant if you smoke.

There are also other reproductive problems associated with smoking including ovulatory dysfunction and early menopause. That means that you will not only have more difficulty conceiving a baby, you will have less time to be able to try. And time, as you probably know when planning a family, is your enemy. The clock is ticking, but now it’s ticking faster!