Practical Photography - UK (2020-02)

y

oumight’veseen

imagesof steaminghot

beverages in coffee

shop advertisements

or carefully-curated

instagram feeds, but how

do the pros make it look

quite so appealing? the key is to cheat.

if you’ve ever tried to shoot a cup of hot

drink, you’ll have found it looks flat and

cold with the steam barely visible in the

shot. the trick is to create additional

‘s team’ behind the cup using incense.

it’ll instantlymakea drinklookpiping

hot andinviting.

Setthescene

there’sa littlemoreto thisshotthan

si mplyshootingyourcupof drinkon

a ta ble.to achievethestilllifelook,

you’llneedto setthescenewithother

it emsalonga theme.thekeyhereisto

sell thecosyfeel– warmblankets,fresh

mincepies,seasonalspicesandcakeare

the orderof theday.gathertogetherany

it emsthatyouthinkmightsuitthescene,

and thenspendsometimepositioning

themuntilyouachievea pleasing

compositionwherethedrinkis thestar

oftheshow.if yourtabledoesn’tfit with

the vibe,trysettingdownsomecoloured

fa bricgentlyruffledaroundyourmug

asthebaseof yourimage.Whenyour

sceneis dressed,it’stimeto considerthe

backgroundoftheshot.

Cr eatea softerlook

togetthemostlightpossibleintothe

scene,you’llbe shootingatan aperture

off/5.6.thiswillalsohavetheeffectof

throwingthebackgroundoutof focus,

whichwillhelpto avoidthedominance

ofanydistractingelementsandgivea

pl easantlysoftfeelto theimage.tryto

choosea backgroundwitha bit of texture

thatwon’tbe lostata wideraperture.

Alsoconsiderthecolour– it won’tbe

easyforthesmoketo standoutagainst

anythingthat’stoolight.thin, textured,

greycurtainsmakea greatoption,or you

can setup in frontof a fireplace,bookcase

ordisplaycabinet.

Lightsomeincense

tosimulatethesteamingeffect,you’ll

needto usesmokefroman incensestick.

it’sthickerthansteam,andso it shows

upmoresubstantiallyin photographs.

it’ll alsolingerforlongerin theair,

gi vingyoumoretimeandcontrolto set

uptheshot.You’llneedto geteverything

in toplacefirst,thenpropa smallincense

st ickbehindthemug,makingsureit is

notvisiblethroughyourcamera.You

mightneedto shortenthestickto stopit

pokingoutintoshot.incensesticksare

designedforindooruse,butalwaysbe

carefulwithfire– theendof thestick

will be smoulderinghotso makesureit’s

properlysecuredandavoidcatchingany

clothingor skinon it.

66 PrActicAl PhotogrAPhY

Still Life Projects

AboveShootingdownon yoursubjectwill

makeit tooobviousthesteamis coming

frombehindthemug.

Above We used a tealight to hold our

incense sticks in position.

tip

ShootlotS

ofimageS

Smokeis unpredictable.Take

multipleshotsto ensure you

haveat leastonewith

a pleasingsmoke

shape.

give the appearance

of Steaming hot

drinkS with incenSe

project #1

shootingfromtoohigh