Shock Wave IMG_1062
Mar, 2014Views
1322
Likes
Awards
Featured
Staff Favorite
Outstanding Creativity
Peer Award
Superb Composition
Top Choice
Absolute Masterpiece
Magnificent Capture
Superior Skill
Jaw Dropping
Great Find
All Star
Emotions
Impressed
Top Ranks
Top 10 rank week 1
Top 20 rankTop 20 rank week 1
Top 10 rankTop 10 rank week 1
Same photographer See allBehind The Lens
Behind The Lens
Location
The photo was taken in my home and was one of my first experiments capturing smoke.Time
It was late in the afternoon, around dusk. I wanted to use the flash as my main light source and to backlight the scene.Lighting
In order for the smoke to be more visible it needed to be backlit. I set up the flash back and to the left of the image. For the background, I used a piece of black foam board to contrast against the flame of the candle and smoke.Equipment
I used a canon 40D set up on a tripod, shutter release and remote triggering for the flash. The lens was a canon 24-70mm f2.8. For the lighting I used my speedlite, set up off camera with remote triggering in order to get the backlighting that I needed.Inspiration
I was reading an article on how to make smoke come out in pictures, the simple answer was to backlight. I thought of things around the home that create smoke. Not much more than matches, incense and candles. I tried lighting candles, blowing them out and taking a shot; nothing too exciting came from it. I decided to switch gears and see what I would get by capturing the moment of lighting the candle. After a few attempts I switched the idea once again, but kind of reverse of what I was doing. I thought...lets light the candle and then move the match into the flame. It was around my fourth attempt that I captured this immageEditing
I try to get most everything in camera first and eliminate as much post processing as possible. Originally there were a lot of sulfur flakes that came from the match as it started to burn. They were distracting to the image and needed to be removed. Other than removing unwanted spots, there were just minor adjustments to exposure, contrast and such.In my camera bag
If I'm just going out for the day with no plan in mind, I try not to bring too much. I will have my tripod, canon 5d markii, 24-70 lens, 70-200 lens, shutter release, polarizer, extra memory card and lens cleaner.Feedback
In order to capture something like this or anything else that you might shoot inside; take your time setting up and get all the details done first. Think of what you want to shoot, how you want to shoot it, and what camera settings you'll need. I personally like to set up my project, take a few test shots, then make any adjustments to the scene and/or camera settings before taking the shot I want to capture. This can save a lot of frustration and you'll have more time to concentrate on the shot itself.
