How do you get colored smoke in basic editing?

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/16/2008 11:49:28 AM · #2

In my case there was only one light. Smoke actually does have color, it just needs to be brought out by boosting the saturation in post. I used a Hue/Sat layer to shift and enhance the colors globally. The colors stand out more on a pure white (inverted) or black background. That just takes a levels adjustment.

11/16/2008 12:06:58 PM · #3

Different substances give off different coloured smoke, though obviously you'd have to PS them a bit to get the colours...woodsmoke is generally blueish, damp hay usually burns white, rubber of course burns black and smells gross...of course the various aero-stunt teams like Snowbirds etc have canisters of coloured smoke...

Maybe a basic magic or chemistry set would also have the ingredients to produce coloured smoke? Try asking

kashi, she works at a toy haven, she must know about cool stuff like that. Any kind of local science-y museum, if it has a gift shop, probably has stuff like that too albeit usually way overpriced.

Mal37

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/16/2008 12:19:00 PM · #4

I got a couple of PM's so I thought I'd just post here to address them.

I've found that different types of fuel do produce different qualities in the smoke. For "The Diva" I used a cheap off-brand cigarette. I have used incense cones in the past. They had less color variation, but a generally more pleasing shape or form to the column of smoke.

Back to "The Diva" shot, It was lit from behind and almost directly below by an Alien Bees AB400 with a 20 degree honeycomb grid. A black bed sheet was the background. The shot was taken at night to avoid ambient light interferance.

I take a lot of frames to get a single keeper. From about 400 - 600 shots that night, there were only 3 candidates and one image processed to completion. A lot of it is chance.

The raw image had very faint shades of blue and orange. As the light filters through the smoke, it changes quality ever so slightly. A lot can be done to bring out color by adjusting the white balance during raw conversion, but it's usually best to go easy on that adjustment, as it can degrade the image pretty quickly. Finally, a Hue/Saturation adjustment layer in PS can be used to intensify the colors and shift the hue more dramatically. I usually invert the image and use levels to get a pure white background before adjusting color.

Hope this helps,
-Nick

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DPChallenge user snaffles has sent you the following private message:

Hi Nick

I was wondering what substance you did burn to get those colours in your smoke shot...doesn't look like cigarette smoke...incense maybe?

Susan

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DPChallenge user levyj413 has sent you the following private message:

Hi there. Congrats again on your smoke entry.

Can you share how you got the different colors? When I've shot smoke, it's all been gray, and I've colored it in editing, but since this was basic, you didn't do that.

Did you use different colored lights?

Thanks!

Jeffrey

levyj413

Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max

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

11/16/2008 12:21:51 PM · #5

Excelllent! Thanks, everyone!

11/16/2008 12:24:00 PM · #6

Thanks Nick, cool to read how stuff is done. And wow, 400-600 shots!

Mal37

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

11/16/2008 12:25:39 PM · #7

Originally posted by snaffles:

Thanks Nick, cool to read how stuff is done. And wow, 400-600 shots!

They go quickly! The fun part is sorting through them after...

Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 80-200mm f/2.8D ED

11/16/2008 01:18:30 PM · #8

I normally shoot 300-400 whenever I do self-portaits. Shoot up to 50 shots or so then go through and delete the most obvious ones, ie blurry or oof, and put a lock on the absolute best images of that batch, leave the ones that look OK. Once I feel I've got THE shot, screen and delete some more, then upload and convert from RAW the best 4-6.

mileskea

Nikon D700

11/16/2008 02:34:06 PM · #9

I managed to get different colours in my entry by a slightly different method.

Using a darkened room (brother-in-laws cinema room is perfect)the camera is set up and focused on a burning incense stick and then knocked into manual to hold the focus. The exposure is very long - somewhere between 30 and 50 seconds. Apeture wide open.

I then created a hood or snood for my flashgun to shield the lens from full flash. I have a load of coloured gel swatches from those nice people at Lee Filters and i used them to colur the flash through the snood.

I positioned the flashgun at right angles to the camera and in line with the incense smoke. Turn of the lights and trip the shutter (works best with a remote of some sort).

Fumble in the dark to find a coloured gel, place it in front of the flash and fire into the snood that is pointed at the smoke.

Fumble again to change the colour and fire once more.

The shutter will eventually close.

Voila multiple coloured smoke from a single incense stick!!!!

Took about 10-15 shots to get the right one

Message edited by author 2008-11-16 14:39:46.

K3Master

Pentax K-3

Pentax D-FA* 70-200mm f/2.8 ED DC AW

11/16/2008 02:35:49 PM · #10

Originally posted by snaffles:

Jaysus. If I don't nail something in 5 shots, I put down my camera and internalize how crappy I am at photography and go play XBox 360.

11/16/2008 02:40:58 PM · #11

Originally posted by K10DGuy:

Originally posted by snaffles:
I normally shoot 300-400 whenever I do self-portaits. Shoot up to 50 shots or so then go through and delete the most obvious ones, ie blurry or oof, and put a lock on the absolute best images of that batch, leave the ones that look OK. Once I feel I've got THE shot, screen and delete some more, then upload and convert from RAW the best 4-6.

Jaysus. If I don't nail something in 5 shots, I put down my camera and internalize how crappy I am at photography and go play XBox 360.

Sometimes i get a shot in 5 or so, but normally I shoot more than I need...more often than not out of frustration! :-)

PhotoDave