It’s nothing new to use smoke bombs in photography, but I thought I’d give it a shot. I went to Savannah in early April, and on my way back I picked up about $100 worth of different colored smoke bombs from one of the many fireworks places along the route. I had ideas about using the smoke bombs for a project involving my fraternity, but I wanted to try them out ahead of that project. I’ve seen a lot of smoke bombs online that produce a lot of smoke for 20 to 30 seconds, but I felt they were too expensive for this project. (Note: These cheaper smoke bombs didn’t always work as well.)

Jessica and I went out to Dorothea Dix Park in Raleigh North Carolina behind one of the abandoned buildings. I found a deserted alley, and  I tried the smoke bomb on the ground with her walking through it. The smoke bombs were producing as I had hoped, but then I went in close. Jessica has some interesting freckles, good skin, and a pretty, symmetrical face. The fact that she has natural hair was a plus for me.

I started off using natural light to see what that would produce; then I decided to get one of my Interfit S1’s and try some high-speed sync. I wanted a little pop in the face without disrupting the color of the smoke. It worked. I wasn’t expecting to come out with a beauty shot, but I did not know what to expect, The red, pink and yellow bombs photographed the best. I’m glad I practiced with these before using them on the intended project.