How To Photograph Smoke Plumes Using Off-Camera Flash

Essential for this project - a decent flash gun with off-camera flash functionality is one of the most rewarding and most liberating gear upgrades you could ever treat yourself to and will elevate your photography skills to a whole new level.

Some cameras have wireless flash control features built in, otherwise an off-camera extension cord will do just fine. You can also use a 3rd party wireless flash trigger like a Pocket Wizard if you can afford it or one of the cheaper options like the Phottix Aster trigger I've used for some time now and which works just fine, certainly at close range.

Most important is that your flash has full manual functionality and that you have a way to trigger the flash when you release the camera shutter.

I haven't tried this but you could possibly use the built-in camera flash to trigger your off-camera flash via an optical flash trigger. You may have to shield the on-camera flash to avoid interference with the subject lighting.

If you don't have any of the off-camera bits-and-pieces you should be able to achieve good results by bouncing your hotshoe flash off a reflector positioned to the side of the camera, bouncing the light back onto the subject from the side.

Once you've selected a power setting, all you need to do is move the flash unit closer to or further away from the subject to get the correct exposure.

Take a few test shots to check exposure. This is easily done by checking the LCD screen but also check the histogram, and most importantly, if there are any highlight alerts. On most Canon cameras press the DISP button twice during single-image view or playback for a detailed shooting information display, including a histogram. Examine the thumbnail image, any overexposed highlight areas will blink.

If the image is too dark, move the flash closer. Too light and/or with overexposed highlights, move it further away. You can of course adjust the camera aperture and ISO settings as well to achieve correct exposure. NOTE:- Shutter speed is not adjusted for this exposure, you can set and leave it at around 1/160 or 1/200th sec. We are instead using the burst of flash in combination with the aperture (and ISO) setting to expose correctly.

An apperture of about f16 to f22 should give you the required depth of field and overall subject sharpness.

Camera - just about any camera should do provided that it can be set to focus manually and is able to trigger an off-camera flash.

Lens - Any lens that will allow you to focus manually is OK.

Sturdy tripod - recommended
Remote shutter release - recommended
Lens hood - essential to prevent light spilling onto or reflecting onto the lens.
Flash gun with full Manual mode
Remote flash trigger
Black or dark-coloured background

Smoke - Incense stick and holder or cigarette and ashtray

My Gear - Canon 450D DSLR, Canon EF24-105mm f4 lens, Canon 580EX flash, Phottix Aster Wireless Remote Trigger, generic camera remote, Manfrotto 055x PROB tripod.

We're going to start off and find a basic setup and settings that work and that produces acceptable results. You can then get creative and experiment as you wish.

This project is best done indoors and away from drafts otherwise the smoke plume will blow all over the place!

Use a black cloth or cardboard background so that the smoke will contrast and stand out against it.

Place or mount the flash at a height of about 30cm higher than the smoke source and about 15cm away from the smoke plume (when it's going steady upwards)

Auto-focus will not always focus correctly as the smoke plume will be moving around all the time. Wait for the smoke plume to steady then hold a ruler or other object to the front of the plume and set your focus on this. (Make sure your lens/camera is on Manual focus). A small apperture (f16 - f22) should provide adequate depth of field.

Flash: Set to Manual mode, select 1/8th power, set zoom to 35mm if your flash has this feature. Position or mount about 30cm above the smoke source and approx. 15cm away from the smoke plume. NOTE: You will need to adjust the position of the flash as the smoke source burns up.

Camera: Set to Manual, set Apperture to f16, set Shutter speed to 1/200sec, set ISO to 100, set to Manual focus, set White Balance to Flash or Daylight (or leave on Auto). Connect remote camera trigger and also the remote flash cord or trigger.

Make sure a lens hood is fitted or otherwise shield the lens from light that may spill into it from the flash unit or from reflections.

Mount the camera in portrait orientation to allow for the upward movement of the smoke. Position the camera more-or-less at the same height as the flash.

Fire away! Enjoy!