Food Smoke Photography – Tips

Shooting smoke is a kind of action photography. Since smoke moves slowly, it’s easily done with natural light (artificial light is recommended to precisely freeze the movement).

Sometimes smoke is essential to characterize a scene, sometimes it’s one additional element that makes the image interesting and unforgettable. Either way, it’s hard to capture smoke as we shoot because it vanishes fast. What to do then? Take a deep breath and use your imagination.

Phootgraphy consists of solving a lot of problems all the time, using creativity and the available resources. Do you want to see some tricks?

 

Whisky and Smoke

I spent a lot of time shooting the image below without smoke. Even though the lighting (which I think is the single most important part of the photo) was good, the image lacked something to get to the next level.

 

It took me a while to realize the wow factor would be an extra layer, the smoke that would match the mood and the cigar cutter in the image.

 

 

How would I create the smoke? I don’t smoke. The solution was using matches and my go to setup a few shots for action shots:

• Tripod;
• Timer set for a few shots (I like to have my hands free);
• One strobe (needed to achieve the atmosphere in the image).

To get to the final image, there were various  attempts positioning the matches in different areas, until reaching the desired result.

 

 

Birthday cake with candle

That’s the first photo I ever took with a blown-out candle, a few years back. I wanted to capture the smoke trail, exactly how it is presented on the image above. Coincidently, I was only able to do it when I was about to give up a few hours later. In fact, I often come up with good photos when I’m about to give up.

 

 

 

I decided to use the timer, since I was alone, didn’t have a remote shutter trigger and the photo had to be shot as soon as the candle was blown. It seemed like a simple job:

• Set a slower speed to get the smoke trail (from 1/15 to 1/30s);
• Tripod;
• Use a narrower aperture to highlight the cake texture and make up for the speed (f/9 and f/10);
• Set the timer with multiple shots (4);
• Use a dark backdrop for contrast.

No matter how great the idea was, it just didn’t work. I couldn’t synchronize the camera shots with the start of the smoke, which vanished rapidly, so I gave up the idea of smoke.

Instead, I tried different ideas: new props, new compositions, and new angles, hoping I could obtain an interesting result without the smoke.

To wrap the session up, a photo with a lit candle (I wasn’t even considering the smoke anymore). When I blew it out, surprise: the smoke was perfectly captured by the camera, which still had the timer shooting

Steaming cup of tea

In the Winter, a steaming bowl of soup or a cup of tea brings us the feeling of comfort and coziness, heating our souls. When I was shooting the mint tea below I tried to create these feelings of well-being by showing the smoke and using a wool blanket.

 

 

 

 

The shooting day was really cold: the steam that came from the boiling water vanished in just a few seconds and was barely captured in the first photos. I was under pressure and needed to come up with a creative solution fast! After a few ideas, my mind clicked.

I used a personal steam I-N-H-A-L-E-R, positioning its tube underneath and in the back of tea cup. Did you enjoy the result?

 

 

 

In general, I don’t use tricks to capture the steam coming from food and beverages because I prefer a natural look. However, I admit I’m happy to have used the trick in this case. How do you like the tip?

 

Enjoy your photos!