Transform your photo shoots: using the SmokeNINJA to add smoke bubbles to model photography
I love testing new gear, and especially smoke machines!
But most of all, I love testing gear that triggers creativity.
During a recent event, I saw a new portable smoke machine called the SmokeNINJA that did all the tricks like haze, smoke, dry ice, etc. And this one also did something I did not see yet…. smoke bubbles. So let me tell you how to transform your photoshoots by using the smokeNINJA to add bubbles.
I immediately saw an image with a model turning around, hitting the smoke bubbles, and seeing them hit the model.
Now this is, of course, easy in my mind (or AI). But doing it in real life is a totally different story, as you can imagine.But as Pippi Longstocking never said “I never did it, so I think I can”, we started to work during a recent workshop.
Model photography, adding smoke
The first problem we ran into was that we only had one machine. And for the ideas I had, I quickly found out that one would probably be a little bit underpowered. But as long as you use the same angle and lighting, you can always combine different images in Photoshop. Especially with smoke, this is pretty easy to do.
Now I did set myself one very important limit.
I did not want to add anything with AI that had to do with the smoke. All of the effects had to be done with the SmokeNINJA.
In some images, we used a larger smoke machine for some haze. The haze helps to spread out the lights in the back, which I use to backlight the smoke.
The haze could also be done with the SmokeNINJA before you switch to the bubbles; the larger machine was just faster in this setting.
For our American friends, use this link to buy the SmokeNINJA from B&H
Timing is everything, a challenge
To make this work, there are a few things that are important.
Of course, the flash duration to make sure you freeze the motion (or add a slight feel of motion).
But when working with smoke and bubbles and a turning model, timing is insanely difficult.
Not just for me, but also for Annewiek and Nina, who operated the smoke machines.
Because the model turns, there is motion in the air that interacts with the bubbles and the smoke. This makes timing for the right amount of bubbles vs exploding bubbles at the right moment in the turn,… let me put it lightly, “A challenge”.
This is why we decided to focus on the bubbles exploding on her dress and body when Lorena was turning around. And shoot some of the bubbles during a slower motion, and combine these photos.
To my surprise, the machine was able to deliver a lot of bubbles on the medium setting. And this meant that I used 1 extra photo to fill in everything that I missed in the photo with the motion. So if you think that this is a great effect, you can do it with one machine and one or maybe two extra shots.
The results
During the workshops, I’m always limited in time. But the bubbles stayed in the air for a nice long period, making it easier to shoot than I thought.
This image was edited from one shot. I did use BorixFx for a film look and to smooth the lens flares. But all the smoke effects are one shot and the smokeNINJA. And this is the fun part, you can get a lot of different effects from the bubbles by adding just a little bit of motion.
But of course, we want more.
So let’s try a close-up.
Timing for this one was a lot harder, but I think this one was close enough.
Backlights and motion
One of my favorite setups is working with strong backlights.
Especially when you work with smoke and objects that are reflective, you can get some great results.
And with the SmokeNINJA we are of course combining both, so I had to try some images with a strong backlight.
Before I did the close-up up I tried a few images, a bit more zoomed out, and this was also great to create some haze.
I think this might be one of my favorite images from this set.
One of the big advantages of shooting tethered in the studio is that you can check your images on a large screen.
If you have never shot tethered, a quick explanation.
Shooting tethered
Especially when working with smoke effects and motion, it’s vital that you can check your image on a larger screen than your camera.
Most modern cameras support a tethering option via the USB port or WiFi.
Personally, I prefer the wired solution because you never run into wifi connection problems. You can transfer the full RAW files, charge your camera, use live view, etc.
If you want to test out tethering, you can use the cable that was delivered with your camera.
The moment you want to use longer cables or/and better quality, make sure to buy dedicated tether cables.
In my work, I’m using the IQwire 10G Formula cables, which are available in 5-10-15 meters.
We are the distributor for IQwire in the Benelux so feel free to reach out with any questions about tethering.
Cascable Studio 7
To make the connection, you also need software.
For some cameras, you can find tethering software delivered with your camera, or you can use a third-party solution.
On the software side I’m using a mix of Adobe Lightroom and Cascable.
For dedicated tethering, I love Cascable because it runs on my iPad and shows me the full raw files on the iPad and a connected studio screen.
This makes the whole setup very portable and gives me the same workflow in the studio and on location.
In the latest updates of Cascable the workflow to interact with Lightroom has become much faster and easier. Which speeds up my workflow, and that is always a good thing. Cascable now also runs on the desktop, which also makes my workflow with Lightroom almost seamless.
Details
When you see an image larger, some details jump out more. And in this case, it was a bit hidden in the shadow, but when bumping up the shadows, it was clearly visible. It almost looked like a planet in the universe, lit by the sun and and that’s where the idea started to develop. Queen of the universe.
What if we added some extra lighting effects and some motion? Or a lower angle and create a sort of superhero shot?
For the final result, I’m using Boris FX for the star effect.
All the smoke effects and bubbles were taken from 2 images: the main image and one image for some extra bubbles.
I just love the patterns they create and how they seem to explode on the dress and body. I felt the urge to just keep shooting and experimenting, but I also had to give the attendees a chance :D.
Add some color
Color evokes emotion, so what would be cooler than adding some color to the back of our model?
We started with the red gel from the bottom up, but this didn’t give us the results we wanted.
Because the haze was getting thicker, I opted for a higher position, and instead of going for a spot effect, I’m using the thicker haze to spread out the red color and focus more on the smoke bubbles and patterns in the smoke.
The effect, even without Photoshop was already very surreal.
Conclusion
As a musician, I love getting new gear.
Sometimes it’s just great, and that’s it, you use it as a new tool. And don’t get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with that.
But sometimes you get something that isn’t just a tool, but it triggers your creativity. Before you know it, hours fly by, and you continue to find new uses for it.
For me, the SmokeNINJA triggers this feeling.
This was the first time I worked with Lorena, and during a workshop, there is always a time limit. But even taking that into account, we got so many different looks from the SmokeNINJA, you might not even realize that this was only one of 4 sets during this workshop. The SmokeNINJA made it super easy to create cool effects with different kinds of size smoke bubbles. And that, with just a slight adjustment to the light and angle, created totally different images.
Can’t wait to try the SmokeNINJAa for a longer period and see what it can do during different setups.
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