You meter for the brightest part of the image so that you keep the detail in the highlights. You’ll need to … Then keep the shutter open for a long exposure to build a long trail of light while also brightening the shadows and dark areas. Wide apertures will allow too much light hit the sensor as the fire is moving, thus making your fire look more like light trails instead of showing any flame detail.

Aperture. The steel wool will burn for about 20 seconds, so you need to be ready to take those shots.

A chain, wire whisk, a connector, and steel wool, are all you need to create amazing fire spinning images. For this experiment you’ll need a candle of just about any type, a dark area to help highlight the flame, a tripod or some sturdy surface to hold your camera and patience. In a lot of ways, photographing fire artists is like photographing a fire works show.

Aim for a shutter speed of around eight to 15 seconds – there’s no harm in underexposing the background for dramatic effect (I find the steel wool burns for about ten seconds). Shooting a single flame is one of those tasks that seems simple at first, until it’s attempted. It’s best to use manual focus and focus on the end of the wick. The flame itself will not be in super clear focus as it is producing the light while being a three dimension…

In order to capture great detail in your fire trails, you need to use a sharp and narrow aperture. Put your camera on a tripod, and set your exposure using manual mode. Exposure. Light the steel wool and start spinning! If you’re lucky, you may get 2 … A few lumps of fine steel wool (thick stuff works okay, but the finer steel wool is better: 0-0000 grade) A small chain, roughly half a meter in length (1.5′) A wire whisk commonly used in baking