Tips on... <Fire>

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Basic Settings

Focus can be very tricky, one trick is to use an item close to the flame and focus on that

Use a small aperture to widen DOF and capture as much detail as possible

You can get away doing that hand holding the camera, but is much easier using a tripod

Keep it simple

In terms of composition its best to keep things uncluttered. The shadows cast by flames ca be a little difficult to counteract., and more objects in your shot will create more shadoes

The glow from candles and log fires can be invitating, so enhance this with a few props.

Including candles on a shot convey warmth, home feelings.Make sure to enhance this feeling with eartly materials like fruits, colors,etc

A good setting for this type of environment is f 5.6 and a shutter of 1./200 to begin with

Reflectors

Look for natuarally relflective materials in your surrounding environment. For example if you are taking a portrait of somebody on a table with a candle, adding a white tablecloth will increase the light that bounces back, difussing the hard shadows that can sometimes happen

Temperature

When shooting photos by candleliht be aware of the color temperatyre of the light they yield, so you can end up with the most accurate WB. A match flame burns at 1,700 degrees Kelvin, candlelight at 1,850.

Include night skies

If you are shooting outside using a wide angle lense to include some sky can yield interesting results. If you are workign 1hr before sunset you will see a good contrast of the deep blue sky and the orange of the flame. If you are doing late at night, this can cause an interesting red fiery sky.

Adding more light

If your setup looks a little bit dim, introduce artifical light, but try to avoud flash as it could ruin the warmth feeling of yout fire source. Try adding a small lamp that can be dimmed or a torch lioght that can be focused to certain areas of the exposure

Fire placement

Unless you want to create silhouttes you will need to place your source close to your camera, but putting it below the eye line it will create a spooky scene. Moving the light source close to the face at eye level will create a more smooth soften even light on the face

Occupational fire photos

A good opportunity to take advantage of fire, are jobs that work wih fire, such s a blacksmith or welder.

If you want to get shots of welding , setup the shoot before the welding commences, prefocusing on the work area, use a tripod.