So, instead of leaving you high and dry this weekend, I thought I would post a fun tutorial on a type of time lapse trick photography. Ever wanted to hold fire in your hands? Well, now you can … sort of. The effect is pretty simple and Ill explain it after the jump!

OK, so first off you’ll need a camera that is capable of long exposures. Generally speaking 10-15 seconds seem to be optimal for my cameras, but depending on a few variables anywhere from 5 seconds to 20 seconds could work too. Most trick photography is simply a matter of trial and error when it comes to settings. It’s digital, so shoot until you have the look you want. OK, lets get started with a look at the effect we’re going to pull off.

As you can see from the image the young lady appears to have a hovering ball of fire above her hand. The great thing about time lapse in dark locations is that you don’t see the person in the frame who is making the fireball … namely, me. Yes, its TRUE, Im in this picture. There was no Photoshopping done, just a slight bump on the Blacks in Lightroom. To understand this, you need to know a little about how a camera works. The sensor in the back of the camera works in the same way as film does, it “soaks” up light and displays an image. Too much light and the image is blown out white. Too little light, and the blacks are “flat,” meaning they contain no real usable data. But something that seems like a logical jump, but few people realize, is that if there is not enough light on your subject, but plenty on the stationary items in the shot, the main subject becomes “invisible” to the sensor. Therefore, in the above picture, the model is being lit with a cheap disposable lighter, but the lighter also creates the fire in her hand. However, because I am moving so quickly (in comparison to the available light) I don’t appear in the frame. Pretty neat huh?

So, to pull this shot off you need some models who are able to stay pretty still for the required time limit. (FYI: blinking is fine, a human blink isnt slow enough to register for a time laspe photograph unless the model does it over and over and over again) Next, you need to conceptualize the picture prior to shooting it, because you need to be able to “see” where the fire is going to be in the final image so you are able to move the lighter accordingly. Remember, the lighter is the only light source in this image, so how you image the fire should be in a location where it can also light the subject.

Next, with the lights on, activate the AF on your camera with a half-press of the shutter. From this point the model shouldn’t move. Now, deactivate AF on the camera (on most lenses this is a switch found on either the camera or the lens itself) and turn off the lights. Let your eyes adjust to the dark a little, we don’t want to be tripping over studio gear or models. Then move to the side of the model. Activate your camera with a remote method, wired or wireless is fine but I prefer the wireless options. Now place the lighter at a proper starting point to achieve the effect you’re trying for. Remember, because of the darkness the camera hasn’t take an image yet. Light the lighter(s) and move in the pattern you are going for. When finished, step out of the frame. For a camera set on ISO 100, f/22, and 15 seconds the optimal time is roughly 5 seconds. The extra time on the camera is just padding to ensure you have time to carry out the shot to completion. Then the camera shutter closes move to the camera and check out the image. Don’t turn on the lights if you plan on doing another.

Technically speaking, the model could move after you step out of the frame, but generally I ask them to remain motionless. Unless you are in a cave, it is very difficult to make a room completely light tight, so not moving just ensures the lights stay lights, and the blacks stay black. Experiment until you get the effect you like.

In post production, you could photoshop out anything you don’t like, or even touch up the “fire” if you like. Generally speaking though, I don’t like the effect this gives and try to abstain. Just increase the Blacks and Contrast in Lightroom/Aperture and crop as needed. Variations on this could be using LEDs to create “energy fields” or even a common household flashlight can render some interesting effects. A laser pointed at the subjects and slowly moved over them can also create some fantastic effects! Trick photography is all about trial, error, and experimentation. It also helps you to learn what your camera can, and cannot, do well.

Now, if you’re itching for something more extreme, keep an eye out for a future post where I show you to pull off a fire ball in your hand WITHOUT trick photography. Yes, doing it for REAL with common things you can pick up in any town, and may even have around the house already.

Feel free to join and post your trick photograhy experiments to the Three Five Photography flickr group at Three Five Photo Blog Flickr Group. Ill be back on Monday with the promised post on the Rule of Thirds. Have a great weekend!

Infrared photography is an excellent option for getting intriguing shots in the middle of the day. Infrared light is defined as a band of frequencies of the Electromagnetic Spectrum that is invisible to the human eyes. Cameras, however, are highly sensitive to IR light. So much in fact that camera manufacturers go to great lengths to create sensor filters that block this light. But, like most devices, there is no real 100% solution, and therefore some IR light is able to pass through the filter. All you need to try this out is an IR filter for your lens. The filter blocks all visible light from passing through to the camera sensor, so yes, it IS supposed to be completely black. Laugh if you like, but I have actually been asked if a IR filter was “defective” because it is opaque.

IR photos generally require longer than normal exposures, amount of time is dependent on the camera and the amount of IR available. At this point it is strictly trial and error to get the right image. Be advised that the picture will come out of the camera very red, this is just the nature of how the camera reads the light. Cameras can read IR light, but obviously LCDs cannot display it, and even if they could you wouldn’t be able to see it. Therefore the camera CPU pushes the image back into the visible spectrum, and since Red is the first frequency in the visible spectrum, the image comes out red. Don’t worry though, this will be fixed in Photoshop.

Traditionally speaking IR Photos are Black and White, which makes post processing very easy if this is the look you’re going for. If you want the “false color” effect, bring up the Channel Mixer in Photoshop and invert the Blue and Red channels. Then with some slight tweaking you can produce an amazing set of outcomes that is bound only by your imagination. Get Creative! Below is one of my personal IR shots. The IR look can make otherwise mundane shots into something spectacular.

Other options include going inside to get images that shows the mid-day light spilling into the interior in interesting way. Another, is to shoot in the shadows, this too can show some interesting play between light and shadow. So what if there is no light at all? While most people put the camera away, or fire up some harsh on camera flashes, were going to try our hand at time lapse photography. Time lapse is a method where light is minimal, and works best after dark or in a dark room. It requires very long exposure times, sometimes in excess of 1 minute.

Your camera will need to have a “Bulb” mode (be aware that many times DSLRs require some sort of remote trigger to activate the bulb mode) which allows you to open the camera’s shutter for as long as you require. Long exposures allow you to pick up very faint light, or to capture light in novel ways. One such way is “light drawing,” below is an example of a light scribble made with a Nikon D40 and a LED mounted on a finger.

So, there you have it, a great tip and two new ideas on how to push the boundaries of your photography outside the basics. Stay tuned for more information and new tips!