Fire Dancing

Ursus

Never tried to shoot anything like this before, but some didn't turn out half bad, I think.

I hope to have more opportunities to do so in the future, though, so if anyone has any tips, I'd appreciate the feedback.

InsuredDisaster

No replies yet so I'll put in my two cents. I think the first shot is really cool with the spiraling flames. Since you asked for some feedback, I'd really have liked to see the guy a bit better if possible.

A possible change that I might make in the first shot would be to switch to a vertical crop thus cutting off the extra bit of light on the sides. I'd also try to darken the sky a bit. This is just what I'd try but perhaps you are happy with the look of the photos you've posted already. Just a suggestion.

I'm not really sure what equipment you have to work with, and what sort of access you have for these events. I might try putting an off camera flash to the left or right (and possibly other locations) with just enough light to freeze the action a bit and light up the guy a bit better. I think as is, there is a sort of cool "ghost effect" but the guy is still a bit unclear.

Finally, it is not super important when looking at just the guy, but I believe that you have some camera shake which is made pretty clear by the extra lights on the sides. A tripod might limit your mobility somewhat, but at the same time it might improve the overal sharpness of the image (and even reduce the need to use an off camera flash to freeze the guy's face.)

Just some suggestions.

I really think your first image is cool. I like the fire.

Ursus

InsuredDisaster wrote: »

No replies yet so I'll put in my two cents. I think the first shot is really cool with the spiraling flames. Since you asked for some feedback, I'd really have liked to see the guy a bit better if possible.

A possible change that I might make in the first shot would be to switch to a vertical crop thus cutting off the extra bit of light on the sides. I'd also try to darken the sky a bit. This is just what I'd try but perhaps you are happy with the look of the photos you've posted already. Just a suggestion.

I'm not really sure what equipment you have to work with, and what sort of access you have for these events. I might try putting an off camera flash to the left or right (and possibly other locations) with just enough light to freeze the action a bit and light up the guy a bit better. I think as is, there is a sort of cool "ghost effect" but the guy is still a bit unclear.

Finally, it is not super important when looking at just the guy, but I believe that you have some camera shake which is made pretty clear by the extra lights on the sides. A tripod might limit your mobility somewhat, but at the same time it might improve the overal sharpness of the image (and even reduce the need to use an off camera flash to freeze the guy's face.)

Just some suggestions.

I really think your first image is cool. I like the fire.

Thanks very much for your feedback. It is helpful.

Without going into details, I can say this was an opportunity I did not expect, so I kind of had to grab my camera and go for it, and I had very little control (read:zero) over the environment. Setting up reflectors or flashes under the circumstances was just not possible.

Perhaps you're right about the crop and lightening the sky. For the first, this picture was taken for friends, and I wanted to include some context in it, and for the second, my ISO was pumped up so high (1600) that I was afraid to manipulate the picture too much and make it too grainy.

I totally agree with you about the sharpness of the guy and the use of a tripod. Hopefully, I'll be able to arrange another opportunity to do this again when I know a little better what to do.

Thanks again for your suggestions.