Shooting steam/smoke - DPChallenge Forums

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

07/01/2007 08:37:23 AM · #1

I've been trying all evening to get the steam rising off coffee in a shot... it seems possible as lots of folk do it... any tips?

I'm shooting with a 50mm prime, SB800 off camera and at 1/125 of a second f/8...

gaurawa

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/01/2007 08:45:11 AM · #2

Not sure about steam, but I have done a few smoke shots. Use a dark background to make sure the smoke/steam can be seen. I would go with 1/200s or 1/250s to freeze the smoke and get sharp lines

philup

Canon EOS-5D

Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon

07/01/2007 08:48:17 AM · #3

Look in this and see if you can find any tips that will help.

//www.dpchallenge.com/tutorial.php?TUTORIAL_ID=59

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

07/01/2007 09:04:35 AM · #4

Thanks for the replies... I've tried a few things from different tutorials and hints I've found around and still no luck...

gaurawa

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

07/01/2007 09:05:14 AM · #5

Originally posted by shalrath:

Thanks for the replies... I've tried a few things from different tutorials and hints I've found around and still no luck...

post what you got and then may be we can find out what's wrong and suggest then ?

Natasha

Nikon D50

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 ED

07/01/2007 09:12:34 AM · #6

Lots and lots of shots!! I took at least a hundred shots for this challenge, many years ago, and through complete luck this happened!

ordinaryangel

Nikon D80

Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon

07/01/2007 09:43:16 AM · #7

oops... wrong thread

Message edited by author 2007-07-01 09:43:46.

07/01/2007 09:44:37 AM · #8

Originally posted by gaurawa:

Originally posted by shalrath:
Thanks for the replies... I've tried a few things from different tutorials and hints I've found around and still no luck...

post what you got and then may be we can find out what's wrong and suggest then ?

The trouble is, i get nothing, just the black background... :(

FireBird

07/01/2007 12:14:54 PM · #9

Originally posted by shalrath:

The trouble is, i get nothing, just the black background... :(

All the help tutorials and comments so far seem to be about smoke. You're trying to capture steam (vapor). I assume you are using flash and probably trying to side light it? What is the ambient temperature at your studio? Is the humidity high, or low?
These things can affect how much steam you get in a shot.
I'd think that the lower the temp, and higher the humidity the better, but I'm just guessing. I'm gonna try some shots this coming week. If I get any good ones I'll post here with my technique. Thanks for the idea. I've never tried this.

Edit:
Oh, forgot this. Your camera may be exposing for the cup if it's in the shot. This may de-emphasize the steam. Try using manual settings and play around with exposure settings.

Message edited by author 2007-07-01 12:18:09.