9 Ways to Create Smoke for Photography

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(No Transcript)
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Love is a smoke made with the fume of sighs

• William Shakespeare

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A SMOKEY SITUATION
Want to add some drama and epic to your photos?
Smoke and fog is probably one of those answers,
but some photographers dont even know where to
get started. After searching much of the
Internet, I found several ways to create smoke
for photography. I put my hands to try some of
those, and share my thoughts in this compiled
slides.
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01 SMOKE MACHINE
Probably the easiest method, and produces the
best result. Some people may think that fog
machines are expensive but they are not. You
can get a decent fog machine from eBay for about
35-50. Pros Inexpensive, consistent thick
fog. Cons Requires a power plug. Not good for
outdoors without power.
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02 HAZE-IN-A-CAN
One of my personal favorites. These spray cans
produces thick smoke that hangs in the air long
enough. Pros Nice thick smoke, portable cans,
no electricity required. Cons Expensive. A can
does not really last that long, and it cannot be
refilled.
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03 FOG CAKE
This is quickly becoming my favorite. Fog cakes
are pieces of small round cake like things that
produce a lot of smoke when burnt. Pros Cheap,
nice thick smoke, portable, no electricity
required. Cons Smoke can go out of control
bring your own fans. Burns for about 2 mins.
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04 INCENSE
We all know that incense produces smoke so what
happens when we burn a ton of incense? Epic
failure. It catches on fire, but still produces
some smoke. Pros Portable, no electricity
required, repels insects. Cons Fire hazard.
Choking when burnt in large quantities.
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05 PHOTOSHOP
When all else fails, theres Photoshop. Find a
stock photo of smoke, paste it in, and after some
editing magic. Pros Magic. No physical
products. Cons Can be time consuming to get
the smoke to look realistic.
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DISCLAIMER

• OK, from this point on, I have not tested these
  methods myself But, I have heard they work from
  friends and YouTube videos Dont shoot me if
  things go wrong.

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06 WATER DRY ICE
I am pretty sure most people have tried this in
their science class Yep, it works. But not
really well for the purpose photography. Pros
Cold fog that hangs low, good for eerie feel.
Easily available. Cons Have to lug a load of
dry ice and water to the shoot location.
Screenshot from https//www.youtube.com/watch?v
BsO1B-FWD6I
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07 BABY POWDER / FLOUR
What is the next best thing to smoke? Powder.
Inexpensive and effective. Pros Very thick,
possible to control the direction if the wind
does not mess it up. Cons Messy, probably have
to do some Photoshop work.
Screenshot from https//www.youtube.com/watch?v
yBjYS4STX5M
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08 PING PONG SMOKE BOMB
With some science, you can make your own DIY
smoke bomb. Aluminum Ping Pong Ball Lighter
Smoke Bomb. Pros Not bad quite heavy smoke,
relatively easy to make. Cons TOXIC... Probably
not good for photoshoots.
Screenshot from https//www.youtube.com/watch?v
yBjYS4STX5M
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09 MOSQUITO FOGGER
Dont be fooled. These insect foggers are
actually just gas can powered fog machines.
Simply change the insecticide to fog fluid, and
it works. Pros Portable, works like smoke
machine. Cons Still somewhat expensive,
requires butane to run.
Screenshot from https//www.youtube.com/watch?v
lzwLf_fQnw8
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Thanks!

• Thats all for the short slides. You can find me
  at http//xlightphotography.com
• The original article for these slides
• http//xlightphotography.com/ways-create-smoke-pho
  tography/

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Purchase Links

• For you guys who are looking to buy some of those
  cool stuff to produce smoke, here are the eBay
  links.
• Note These are referral links though, I will
  make a commission if you buy through these links.
• Fog Machine
• Haze Can
• Fog Cake
• Incense
• Insect Fogger

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Credits

• Special thanks to all the people who made and
  released these awesome resources for free
• Presentation template by SlidesCarnival
• Photographs by Death to the Stock Photo (license)