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MGilbey

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Marcus
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On Sunday I'm doing a shoot in a old RAF Base with a model using smoke grenades. I'm using a nikon D3300 and a 50mm F/1.8 lens, I also have ONE external flash.

I need a shutter speed of 1/250 - 1/640 to freeze the smoke but its dark in the building and this won't capture enough light...

What should I do? Will camera mounting the flash with it in Auto mode wash out the smoke?

Any advice is welcome

Thank you
Marcus
 
You want some amount of backlighting on the smoke really - if the building has windows shoot towards the window and use your flash to fill the model. Ideally though you want to be able to take the flash off the camera and place it separately - but don't know if you're equipped or if the 3300 has a CLS system to allow you to do that. If there are pockets of light within the building go for natural light - shoot at f/1.8 and adjust ISO to get a proper exposure.
 
Smoke doesn't move that quickly unless you want to capture the actual explosion.

Then you may need flash to freeze it.

Not having attempted this I may be talking out of my 'arris of course.


Good luck with the shoot, sounds interesting.
 
kman said:
You want some amount of backlighting on the smoke really - if the building has windows shoot towards the window and use your flash to fill the model. Ideally though you want to be able to take the flash off the camera and place it separately - but don't know if you're equipped or if the 3300 has a CLS system to allow you to do that. If there are pockets of light within the building go for natural light - shoot at f/1.8 and adjust ISO to get a proper exposure.
Click to expand...

I can remove the flash from the camera and use the camera mounted trigger so it goes off when I take the photo, I assume that what you mean?
 
GreenNinja67 said:
Smoke doesn't move that quickly unless you want to capture the actual explosion.

Then you may need flash to freeze it.

Not having attempted this I may be talking out of my 'arris of course.


Good luck with the shoot, sounds interesting.
Click to expand...

I think you'd still need a at least 1/250 shutter speed to freeze it...
 
I think the fastest shutter speed you will be able to use if you have an external flash is a 250th, or at least that's the fastest my nikon d300 will sinc at. As previously mentioned, open up your aperture as wide as you can and take your iso has high as you dare. Good luck pal.
 
MGilbey said:
I need a shutter speed of 1/250 - 1/640 to freeze the smoke but its dark in the building and this won't capture enough light...
Click to expand...
Are you maybe not getting confused with your flash synch speed?

Sorry if this is an overly basic question, but have you used flash before?
 
MGilbey said:
I need a shutter speed of 1/250 - 1/640 to freeze the smoke but its dark in the building and this won't capture enough light...
Click to expand...
No you don't. You need a flash T0.1 time of 1/250 (approx full power) to 1/1000 (approx 1/2 power).
Because the ambient is dark, the flash will be your primary light source and how long it is on (T0.1 duration) will be your effective SS (where the flash hits)... it's like photographing fireworks. You can "drag the shutter" (use long SS's) in order to record more ambient.
 
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MGilbey said:
On Sunday I'm doing a shoot in a old RAF Base with a model using smoke grenades. I'm using a nikon D3300 and a 50mm F/1.8 lens, I also have ONE external flash.

I need a shutter speed of 1/250 - 1/640 to freeze the smoke but its dark in the building and this won't capture enough light...

What should I do? Will camera mounting the flash with it in Auto mode wash out the smoke?

Any advice is welcome

Thank you
Marcus
Click to expand...
Where did you get the smoke grenade from? Looking to use some for some shoots as well
 
With apologies for linking to my own website.. here's a lengthy blog post on the subject I did a while back. It might contain some useful information.
http://www.simoncarterphotography.com/blog/2016/3/behind-the-scenes-with-the-snow-queen

If you have only one flash then I suggest getting it off camera and placing it to the side of your model, perhaps slightly in front. With luck that will get you some texture in the smoke rather than a mass of haze as well as lighting your model.

I'd also shoot in full manual, shutter speed of no faster than 1/160 - adjusted for the amount of ambient you want - and keep the flash in manual too.

Or.. use ambient light to expose for the model. Use the flash only to light the smoke from behind.
Or.. as above but add a reflector in front.
 
so.. how'd it go at the weekend @MGilbey ?
 
Yep, I'd like to know too
 
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