In this video, I'll share my top tips for
using a smoke machine
in a small home studio!
Hello I'm Gavin Hoey and you're
watching Adoramatv.
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everything for us photographers. And in
this video I'll share my top tips for
using a smoke machine in a small home
studio. Along the way, we'll take some
great pictures too. Now I've tried all
sorts of smoke machines over the years
and this is my firm favorite, this is the
CHAUVET Hurrican 1200! It's a really small,
light weight, smoke machine that packs a
lot of punch. Great in a small studio
space, but the best bit is the remote
control! Whatever smoke machine you get,
look for one that has a variable output.
That allows me to control the amount of
smoke from a tiny amount, to a huge
amount, just by turning the dial, and it's
that level of control that really makes
a big difference in a small studio! Now
I'm going to try three different types
of smoke, we've got CO2, light, and thick
smoke fluid. Each one will have its own
amount of texture, and take a different
amount of time to dissipate into the
atmosphere. All of them have got some of
this added this is Fog Scent, and if
you're spending a day in a room full of smoke,
having a little bit of an aroma can make
a big difference. Today we have tutti
frutti. Just make sure you get the stuff
that is actually compatible with a smoke
machine! So with that in mind, let's get our
lights set, let's get a model in, let's get
shooting. So to help me with today's
shoot. I've got the incredible Meg Biffin.
Meg's going to be the model, and before I
fill the room with smoke I'm actually
going to set the lights, and that might seem
like the wrong way round, but trust me,
once you've got a room full of smoke,
you've got to work really fast. So the
lights. I've got an eVOLV 200, which is
the key light in a glow softbox, that's
going to light Meg, but I've also got a
second light, another eVOLV 200, and this
one is only going to light the smoke. Now
the best way to light smoke is from
behind. So I'm going to put this behind Meg
pointing at her back like that. So let's
take a picture like this before we put
any smoke in the room, and see how it
looks! Okay, here we go!
Smoke shows up best against a dark
background, and as you can see, those
pictures have a basically black
background. So what we're going to do now is,
to apply a bit of smoke
to the room. I'm not going to change the
position of the lights. We're merely
going to add some smoke into the atmosphere,
and I'm going to use the CO2 effect smoke.
Now according to the description, this
smoke should give a dense cloud that
very quickly dissipates. You'll find the
same smoke with various names. Have a
look in the description for anything
that's described as quick dispersing, or
special effects smoke.
So the brightness of the smoke in the
background can actually be controlled, by
adjusting the power of the background
light. If your smokes too bright just
reduce the power of that light down. If
you want to change the color of the
smoke just add a gel to the background
light. It disappears really fast, which
means you have to keep topping it up in
the room. And of course that means you
get through lots of the fluid the CO2
effect does what it says! It gives a bit
of texture, and then very quickly
dissipates. Which in a small home studio,
is a really good thing. So this time
we're going to use the light smoke fluid,
and that should give a different look. It
should give a little bit of texture. That
quickly dispersed into a a bit of a haze,
rather than actual smoke, so to light the
smoke this time, I'm going to do
something different,
such as the specular LED system here. So
we're going to use that behind Meg,
here's how it looks without the smoke.
Here we go. Oh it looks perfectly fine,
let's add some smoke into the scene and
see how that looks!
So Meg are you ready? Sam ready?
Okay here we go.
This stuff is great for a small home studio.
it starts with some texture, and
then after a minute or two, it's just a
haze. I had to keep topping up the room
with smoke a little bit. But we actually
got through fairly small
amounts of fluid.
Once we finish the haze disappears in
around about five to ten minutes. So the
final smoke is going to be the thick
fluid, and this should give a really
textured smoke. Something that hangs in
the air for a very long time. So with
that in mind, there's a few things I'm
going to do. The first one is we're going to
use this slowly, build the effect up!
We're also going to make sure it starts
behind Meg, because once it's in front
well, we won't see her anymore. So let's
take a picture now with this current
lighting setup. I've still got the eVOLV 200
lighting Meg, but behind I've changed
out the light for a different one. Again
just to mix it up, we've gone with the
light blaster. Have a look at this. Here
we go, so you can get an idea of how the
light blaster is going to work, because
although the room is fairly clear of
smoke, there's a little bit left in the
air from the light fluid. It's been about
10 15 minutes, so you get an idea of how
quickly that dissipated. Okay, let's start
with a little bit of smoke, just behind me.
The thick fluid gives really dense smoke
with loads of texture,
so when it gets to this stage, and the
room is basically filled with smoke, it's
getting really hard for the camera to
focus. Now it would be an ideal time to
empty the room of smoke, but if you need
to keep on shooting. Here's a quick tip,
go closer to your model, the closer you
are, the less smoke there is between you
and the subject, and you should be able
to keep on shooting. So let's do that,
here we go!
The only downside is.. it's very hard to
control because once it's in the room
it's difficult to get rid of. In fact I
only use two short bursts of smoke
throughout this entire session. So there
we go, we've got to the point really
where it's getting very hard to focus, so
we're going to call that a wrap. We're going to
clear the room of smoke, and we'll see
what pictures we've got.
So great work Meg.
Smoke can make your small home studio
seem enormous, but it's definitely
something you want to do right at the
end of the session. Getting the smoke out
of your studio, well there's a few ways
you can do that. You can try of course,
the old trusty flap it around with a
reflector, but if you have a large studio
fan, these are the things that are fantastic for
blowing smoke out of a door or window.
Now if you've enjoyed this video, and you
want to see more, don't forget to leave
me a comment below, and of course the
best thing you can do is of course...
Subscribe to AdoramaTV.
I'm Gavin Hoey.
Thanks for watching.