How to Generate and Photograph Steam

I will appreciate any help from this forum.

I plan to photograph a still life set up that will include a cup of

coffe with the steam rising from the cup.

My question is this, how can I generate the steam short of using

piping hot water. Is there a method of generating steam for

photographing that does not involve using hot water.

Mo Kenny

cigarette smoke - don't worry about keeping the drink hot. Find yourslef a heavy smoker who will be will to keep blowing smoke into the top of the cup/mug - a bit of practice and it'll look great! No kidding.

<i>Find yourslef a heavy smoker who will be will to keep blowing smoke into the top of the cup/mug - a bit of practice and it'll look great! No kidding.</i><p>

Just make sure he does not drink the coffee...:-))

 

Another alternative would be a little...very small piece of dry ice.

Steam chips available from Calumet and Trengrove Studios.

 

www.calumetphoto.com

 

Trengrove Studios Inc.

New York, NY USA

800-366-2857

212-268-0020

Trengove Studios in NY

 

http://www.trengovestudios.com/

Cigarette smoke blown very slowly through a straw. Back/sidelight the smoke and check with polaroids

<a name="1">I</a> saw a book once in which the photographers used a double exposure. I think that they used real steam photographed against black velvet, and then marked off the ground glass.

It's helpful if you use a dark background. The steam will tend to disappear if the background is light. The one time I tried the cigarette method, back in the days when I smoked, it didn't work very well. I couldn't get the smoke to look like it was rising from the soup, instead it tended to look more like I just set the bowl of soup down in a smoky room. But I've only tried that one time so I'm no expert.

smoke doesn't look photograph like steam,. it is too heavy. Use

the steam chips.

I've made this shot commercially for major suppliers.

Forget cigarette smoke. Coffer producers and distributors are much more interested in making the coffee look freshly poured, as well as hot.

Making it look freshly poured is the trick. I know the answer. Any takers on what the answer is?

Hire a good stylist(s) and have them make many cups of sweet, yummy, piping, fresh, hot coffee and shoot 'em cups quickly. The stylist(s) will have 'em ready to go one after the other.

 

Getting the steam and surface of the brew in the cup just right, that's the trick. Also doesn't hurt to use a few simulated bubbles around the edges of the cup where the surface tension of the brew sticks to the edge of the cup. Looks mighty nice.

 

Mmm ... sweet, sweet beer, er ... uh ... brew!

Instead of simluated bubbles, a small straw and a short puff of breath does the trick to make them bubbles.

 

Mmm ... bubbles!

We use all kinds of stuff around the studio to generate smoke or steam. For keeping liquids hot such as coffee, tea or soup we use the small travel size electrical (cup of water) heaters. Lighting the steam use a small snoot with strong narrow cross lighting.