How to Photograph Smoke for Amateur Photographers

Smoke photography produces beautiful, abstract, wispy images – and it is a brilliant indoor project. The key is a single side light against a black background, with the smoke lit but the background dark. Here’s how to photograph smoke.

If you’re interested in taking cool pictures of smoke, you’re in for a creative adventure! Photographing smoke can give you mesmerising and magical images.

As a beginner with a digital camera, it’s important to understand some camera basics and tricks to get the best smoke photos. In this guide, I’ll break it down step by step, so you can always capture sharp and fascinating smoke pictures.

Camera Settings for Smoke Photography

Start by switching your camera to manual mode (M). This lets you have full control over the settings and get the results you want.

Keep your ISO low (around 100-200) to reduce any noise and keep the image quality nice and clear.

Choose a small aperture (higher F-stop value) like F/8 or higher. This way, the smoke and everything around it will be in focus. Use a relatively fast shutter speed to freeze the smoke’s movement. Start with around 1/200th of a second and adjust as needed.

The Problems with Smoke Photography

Smoke can be tricky to capture because it’s transparent and delicate. Good lighting is essential to make the smoke stand out. Try using different types of light—natural or artificial, or both—to achieve different effects.

Smoke is always changing shape and moving around. Be ready to adjust your camera settings and position as the smoke moves, so you can capture interesting patterns.

The background needs to be black, and it needs to stay black. Hang black cloth or card well behind the smoke, keep it out of the light entirely, and check the back of the camera: if the backdrop is reading dark grey rather than black, move the light further round or flag it harder. A lit wall turns the wisps to mush.

Lighting Techniques for Smoke

Put a single light to the side of the smoke, roughly at right angles to the camera, and flag it so none of the light reaches the backdrop. Side lighting is what rakes across the wisps and picks out their shape and texture. Putting the light behind the smoke and shooting into it floods the frame and lights the background, which is the one thing this technique cannot survive.

You can also try side lighting to create drama and highlight the texture of the smoke. Position the light at an angle to create cool shadows and highlights.

How to Focus on Smoke

Autofocus may not work well with smoke because it doesn’t have clear edges. If you use autofocus, choose a single focus point that covers the area where the smoke will be. Half-press the shutter button to lock focus and then frame the shot.

Manual focus can be more reliable for smoke photography. Switch your lens to manual focus mode and turn the focus ring until the smoke looks sharp in the viewfinder or on the screen. Zoom in on the preview to make sure it’s perfectly focused.

Extra Tips for Smoke Photography

Different materials can give you unique smoke patterns. Incense sticks are the standard choice, and a single stick gives you plenty. Candles and cigars work too. Do not use smoke bombs: they are pyrotechnic, they produce far more smoke than a room can take, and they set off alarms.

Since you might be using slower shutter speeds and shooting in low light, using a tripod will keep your camera steady and prevent blurry shots. This is especially important when focusing manually.

For the best quality and flexibility when editing later, shoot in RAW format. It gives you more options to adjust exposure, white balance, and other settings later on.

Smoke Photography: Summary

In conclusion, photographing smoke can be a fun and rewarding adventure. By understanding your camera settings, overcoming challenges, and using lighting and focusing techniques, you can capture stunning and sharp smoke photos.

Don’t be afraid to try new things, be patient, and let your creativity guide you in exploring the captivating world of smoke photography.

For more, read our guide to light painting.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I photograph smoke?

Use a single light to the side, lighting the smoke but not a black background, in a dark room. Incense is a common, controllable source. Expose for the smoke and focus manually where it rises.

What setup do I need for smoke photography?

A dark room, a black background, a single off-camera light (flash or continuous) to the side, and a smoke source like incense. A tripod and manual focus help with the precise, fine detail.

What settings work for smoke photography?

A low ISO, an aperture around f/8-f/11 for sharpness, and a shutter that suits your light (flash freezes the smoke nicely). Keep the background unlit so it falls to black.

How do I get a black background for smoke?

Light only the smoke, not the background. Keep the black backdrop well away from and out of the light, and flag the light so it does not spill. Underexpose the ambient so the background reads pure black.

How do I add colour to smoke photos?

Either use coloured gels on your light, or shoot against black and change the colour in editing (the white smoke takes colour easily). Editing also lets you flip and combine smoke shapes.