It was our first-time shooting with smoke and obviously, smoke bombs are a necessity.
We scouted a location, which was kind of a dugout in the forest. The wind was a nemesis to the smoke bombs but we figured it out. Keep in mind that a smoke bomb runs for about 60-90 seconds! Some shots we had to take within ten seconds and we had to wave the smoke bomb around, because there was just too much smoke around. We had to walk with the smoke bomb two steps forward, to make the smoke trailing behind us, and that’s the moment to take the shot.
Basically there is just a very short timespan (mostly at the beginning of the shooting session) where you cango for the good shots.
If you ever try this, here are some hints: Always face the bomb away from the person holding it. Gloves are also a good call, smoke bombs can cause some staining on your skin and clothing. They can also give off sparks, so just make sure you and your stuff are prepared for a little firecracker action.
Here are some impressions of our first smoke shooting:
Photographer: Flo Moshammer / FEO