Tips on shooting campfires?

[Karenj2]

I went camping this weekend, and I was trying to get some good campfire shots... They didn't turn out all that great, so I'd love to get tips for the NEXT time.

 

[mabas9395]

What kind of camera do you have? Does it have manual controls (ISO, shutter speed, etc)?

 

[Karenj2]

Sorry - guess I should have added that info in the beginning.

I have a Cannon S5IS, and it does have options to change aperature, shutter speed, etc. I only got the camera in July, and haven't had enough time to dive in on learning the ins and outs of the camera. (I took photography in HS and college, but have used a P&S for a LONG time since then, and have forgotten alot!)

Thanks!

 

[mabas9395]

Next question is, what exactly do you want to take a picture of? Just the fire itself, or people around the fire? And do you have a tripod?

 

[Pea-n-Me]

Let's see how they came out.

 

[klmall]

Here are two I took a couple of summers ago with my PnS but I checked the EXIF data for you.

Camera Model: Canon PowerShot G5
Flash Used: No
Focal Length: 28.8mm (35mm equivalent: 144m...
CCD Width: 7.19mm
Exposure Time: 0.067 s (1/15)
Aperture: f/3.0
Whitebalance: Auto

HTH!

 

[MarkBarbieri]

If you are just shooting the fire, your camera will probably pick a good exposure. The challenge is shooting both the fire and people around the fire. The problem is that the fire is much brighter than the people. If you expose the people properly, the fire will be too bright. If you expose the fire properly, the people will be too dark. My advice is to try a few of both. Aim at the fire, push the shutter half way down and hold it, recompose, press the shutter the rest of the way. Then try others where you press the shutter half way while aiming at the people.

If you want to get serious about shooting campfire shots, you'll want an off-camera flash and an orange gel. Set up the flash near the fire with the gel on it. The flash will light the people. The gel will make the light from the flash look like light from the fire.

Here is a shot taken without a flash

Here is a similar shot taken with a flash and a gel. You can see some spill light from the flash on the grill. The warm glow from the flash lights my wife and my son's faces.

 

[DueyDooDah]

If you're looking for artsy fire photos, then it's a matter of shutter speed. You'll want to set up for shutter speed priority and pick how long you want the shutter to remain open. Know that a short timeframe will stop the action while longer settings will start to soften the flames (to a point) and give an eerie effect. Too long and it just looks wrong. As always, a tripod is very useful.

 

[mabas9395]

Here are a couple of mine

 

[Karenj2]

Let's see how they came out.

Sorry it took so long - I planned to load some pictures at lunchtime, and forgot that I'm not allowed.

Anyway, here are a few pictures... I wanted to get the people's faces, but a bit more clarity in the flames.