Too much smoke
Heavy and low to the ground

Too much smoke

Back to Top

Q. I am SO frustrated. I have this nice smoke machine and am trying to do some smoke effects like the ones in some of your gallery portraits. The problem is that after I shoot some smoke where I want it and get the shot, the smoke stays in the air for a very long time. If I do 2 or 3 shots, we have to stop, open all the doors and evacuate the smoke from the building before we can continue. Is there a way to solve this problem? What am I doing wrong?
Frustrated in Texas

A. Dear Frustrated
The problem you describe is one that I am asked about frequently so I need to answer it here in the info library so everyone can read it. The reason your smoke is hanging in the air for such a long time is because you are using the wrong kind of fog fluid. What you are using is used by night clubs and DJ's so that it remains in the air for a long time and allows the lighting devices to create beams of light that look very cool. For studio photography work, you need a different kind of fog fluid that is designed to dissipate quickly and NOT hang in the air for more than a few seconds. The very best fluid I have ever used is called ROSCO STAGE AND STUDIO FLUID. It is specifically formulated to hang in the air for only a few seconds, making it perfect for photography so we can shoot again and again without it accumulating in the air. It's the only way to fly!  It's a little hard to find but I get mine from Scott Tallyn's Professional Photographic. He has a web site with lots of photography products. Click here to visit my supplier page about Scott. It will take you to his site .
Happy smoking!

Back to Top

Heavy and low to the ground

Back to Top

Q. I am guessing that what I am trying achieve is not possible with a fog machine. I really want to get a nice low layer of thick fog that it holds itself and won't dissipate. I am trying to get results similar to dried ice. Any ideas?

A. To do the low fog effect you want is pretty easy but you have to do a little construction. You will need an old ice chest that you don't mind cutting holes in.
Put a hole in each end near the top. Get some flexible pipe that is ok in water and resistant to the heat from your smoke machine. You will have to improvise with plumbing fittings or whatever you can find to make the connections. Connect the pipe to one end of the ice chest on the inside. Now coil several feet of pipe around and around in the bottom of the chest. The pipe should be 1 1/2 to 2 inches in diameter. (not extremely critical). You can fill the chest with ice or dry ice in water. With the dry ice in water, the cooler will itself generate some fog. If that is a problem, just use simple ice and water. The idea is to cool the pipe way down which will in turn cool the fog. When you squirt the fog into one end (you need somewhat of a tight fit to avoid losing a lot of smoke) and it exits at the other end, it will be cold and will hug the floor just like in a horror movie. Once you have built your fog cooler, you will have it whenever you need it.
Ssssssmokin!
Oh, one last thing. This is a situation where you want to use the regular fog fluid that hangs in the air for a long time. - Scott

Here is an e-mail that came in referring to the above article.

Back to Top

You may send me your question by clicking on the E-mail button. I will either e-mail you with the answer, or if the information would be helpful to others, I will add it to this library. Your questions will help keep this library growing.

Thanks for participating!           Back to Top