I recently did a 90 minute shoot with two subjects and five smoke grenades (or smoke bombs). I have been sharing photos on Instagram here and there and was asked to write a blog post about my experience using them. So here you go!
First of all: I bought my smoke grenades from this website. Enola Gaye Wire Pull Smoke Grenades. I used Red, White, and Green smoke grenades during this shoot. They have military grade available but I did not buy those. I hear those last longer and likely create more smoke. Amazon also sells them but this site was cheaper. Each one lasted about 5 minutes (give or take)
Once you get the smoke grenade, I suggest making sure you have an assistant with you to help. I didn't want my subjects holding the smoke grenades so I needed an assistant. It's also possible for the smoke grenades to stain light colored clothing so that is another reason I didn't want my subjects holding it when being photographed. I suggest your assistant wear all black to prevent staining.
Okay so to use the smoke grenades, you want to grab the wire tab, away from you and then pull it, again, away from your body and others.
When pointing towards the sun, the red smoke bomb lost some color.
It was really interesting to see how the colors photographed.
To get the above effect, I shot towards the sun when it was probably at a 50 degree angle (an hour before sunset) and let the sun rays engulf the smoke.
Just a lot of waving the smoke grenades up, down, and around.
Once you are finished, the grenade will be HOT so it's a good idea to put it some sort of container or let it rest on something until it cools down.
This was the red smoke grenade and for some reason this shot had some purple hues.
Played with color hue in Lightroom to change the green to blue!
I jumped in for a few photos and I really liked the green smoke in the background as it faded into the trees.
Thank you for checking out my blog, all about using Smoke Grenades/Smoke Bombs! Feel free to ask anything in the comments below. I would love to hear your feedback!
If you're interested in booking a shoot with me using these awesome props, don't hesitate to contact me!
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Until next time!
- Sarah xo