Wishing all my friends and family across the globe a VERY HAPPY HOLI! Holi is a festival of colors, love, food and inclusion and is one of my favorite Indian festivals of the very many we celebrate.
Every year until last year we celebrated Holi with friends. This year again it's just the three of us rather four of us- MAZE had to be included of course. I did all the holi cooking yesterday - mutton, pua, thandai as it's a working day today. Plus the rainy weather left us with no option but to stay indoors and cook.
Anyways, I am not here to sing the gloomy weather saga, but to share with you some tips and tricks for making your next photo stand out. I have been experimenting with new props and camera settings for taking my photo game to the next level. It is a lot of planning and coordination with my photographer. But, I have to admit that the end result makes all the effort worthwhile!
THE COLORED smoke
By-far this has been one of the most exciting shoots I've ever done. I spent more time planning than taking the actual photos. I was so involved start to finish- from sourcing the smoke grenades, to safely executing it, and to proactively setting up the shot before pulling the wire ring on the grenade.
- I am using the WIRE PULL SMOKE GRENADE. I've tried smoke cakes but they don't last long and don't serve the purpose of still photography. The smoke grenades have a denser fog which adds that spectacular effect to your photos. These pull ring smoke grenades last about 90 seconds each giving you ample time to take continuous photos.
- these are the safest, and most easiest smoke bomb you'll ever use. You don't need any fire or lighter and I feel safe holding them in my hands. You just pull the wire ring and the smoke starts to release instantly. Check out video for a detailed vlog on how to safely use these.
WHERE TO USE - always use the smoke bombs outdoors, in open air. You could use these for fun portraits, for gender reveal, for halloween or even for HOLI shoot as in my case.
PROS AND CONS - overall these are pretty safe to use. The only downside is that the smoke can irritate your eyes if you are in the path of the smoke. Since I was caught up in the fog for photos, I had slight burning sensation in my eyes which disappeared the second I rinsed my eyes with cold water. They could stain your clothes, but nothing happened to my white clothing.
NIGHTIME photography
I always dread taking photos at night. Flash photography never impressed me but when I shot these- I turned into a huge fan! I love the candy sky and tree silhouettes in the backdrop. These photos were meant to be taken during late afternoon. But, the preceding shoot with family ( photos here ) took longer than expected and it got dark. Since I was determined to complete the shoot, my photographer and I took a chance and the results are right here.
- my photographer used diffused flash light for these shots. If you don't have a flash for your camera you could either use your ring light or car headlights too. You need light primarily on the subject versus entire frame. For the ray light effect I used my Christmas garland that had battery operated twilights.
HOW TO USE - flash photography is notorious for creating that glitchy look, so the subject has to be really still. My photographer set the camera to continuous shooting mode and mounted the camera on a tripod. I then started swirling the garland without moving my body much. The farther the prop swings, the better. The final result is that light ray effect.
WHEN TO USE - you don't necessarily have to use a garland, but it just adds extra drama to your photos. You can use these for Christmas shoots, for your birthday shoots with sparklers or even with flashlights.
PROS AND CONS- upside that it is fun and not much effort is needed. Staying still and keeping the camera steady is the downside. Its hard to stay still for someone like me who prefers action photos.
These are two my newer photo styles. Let me know hat else would you like to see next?
