Creating fiery in-camera effects can elevate your photography to new heights without the need for extensive post-production. In this article, fashion photographer Lindsay Adler guides you through the techniques of adding a dramatic touch to your imagery with smoke and gels.
Step 1 - Backlight is key
Whenever you photograph smoke, water, or other particles, backlight is key! This is the illumination that helps the smoke to glow and pop from the background. Try rim lights or a light directly behind the subject, pointed back at the camera. For the backlight in this setup, we used two Profoto D2 with two RFi Softbox 1x4' Strip and orange gels on each side of the subject at a 45-degree angle.
Step 2 - Warm colors
To achieve a fiery in-camera effect, use warm colors. Choose a warm background color, warm gels, and even warm colors in the wardrobe or makeup. Choosing red, yellows and oranges (a warm analogous color harmony) will really sell the fiery atmosphere. In this photoshoot, we used orange gels on the rim lights and a red gel on the background.
Step 3 - Add smoke
Where there is fire, there is smoke! To achieve a fiery look, you’ll want to add some sort of smoke to the photographic scene. You can try a traditional, inexpensive smoke machine to add texture and smoke in the air. For this shot we used a more precise, handheld, and battery-operated smoke machine called Smoke Genie. This allowed us to put smoke in her hair and behind the subject. Try this tool, the Smoke Ninja, or other portable smoke machines on the market.
Step 4 - Light for drama
A fiery scene shouldn’t look high key or soft. Instead, try hard light and more restrictive modifiers, like grids, to create shadows and depth. For this shot we used a total of four lights.
Lindsay's lighting setup
Main light: Profoto D2 with 10° grid (pointed towards the subject's face)
Rim lights: Two Profoto D2 with RFi Softbox 1x4' Strip and orange gels (to illuminate the hair / fog)
Background light: Profoto D2 with a red gel (no modifier) angled towards the ground (for separation / gradient)
Background: Savage Universal Fashion Gray
About the photographer
See more of Lindsay Adler's lighting setups on her Share the Light profile.