Smoky shapes

SET UP AN INCENSE STICK AND A FLASH FOR SULTRY SMOKE IMAGES

Incense stick

Set up an incense stick vertically using a piece of tack on a table. Place a dark backdrop behind the stick for the backdrop. Once lit, gently blow or fan the smoke to create interesting shapes. If you don’t have an incense stick, you could try using matches or a vape to create the smoke.

Trigger and receiver

We need to fire the flash remotely. A simple flash trigger and receiver will do the job. If you don’t have one, you could use a sync cable, or alternatively set the Speedlight to optical slave mode and then use your camera’s pop-up flash to set it off.

Flash

Place a Speedlight behind the incense stick and off to one side. Angle the flash so that it’s trained on the stick – we don’t want the light spilling onto the backdrop. Set the flash to manual and begin by choosing 1/8 power. If the Speedlight has a zoom feature, set it to a wide angle for maximum spread.

Flag

By backlighting the smoke with the flash we can make it stand out. But any time a direct light source is angled towards the lens there’s a danger it’ll cause flare, so we need to flag the flash by placing a board between it and the camera to block the light.

Camera

Set up the camera opposite the stick. A tripod isn’t essential, but it frees up your hands. Focus on the incense stick, then set the lens to manual focus to lock it in place. As a starting point for your exposure, set the camera to Manual mode, ISO100, aperture f/8 and shutter speed 1/200 sec.

Smoke stacks

After lighting the incense stick take a test shot to check the exposure of the smoke. If it’s too bright or dark, adjust the manual flash power accordingly, or change the aperture to allow for more or less light. Take a few shots as the smoke billows and curls.