[How is This Shot Taken] Capturing the Ignition of a Lighter

[How is This Shot Taken] Capturing the Ignition of a Lighter

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[How is This Shot Taken] Capturing the Ignition of a Lighter

Do you know how is this shot taken?
Most of you probably know that this shot is taken at high shutter speed. Before we talk about the skills, let’s take a look on what to prepare:

1. Tripod
2. Camera that supports high ISO shooting
3. Lens with 100mm focal length or longer
4. Lighter

The steps are pretty easy. Set your camera on a tripod, turn it to continuous shooting mode and capture the moment of ignition. The trick is how you can increase the success rate of capturing the perfect moment. Below are some of the methods that help:

Shoot with High ISO and Maximum Aperture

To capture the exact moment when the flare comes out of a lighter, we need to use a shutter speed of 1/4000s or faster. If you are shooting indoor, a high ISO setting and large aperture are indispensable. The photo featured at the beginning of this article was taken at a setting of f/4 aperture, 1/4000s and ISO 12800. Besides, feature shots taken with a telephoto lens or macro lens can show more intricate details of flare for more amazing visual impact.

Manual Focusing

Auto focusing may not work well in freezing the ignition moment. Only by adjusting the focus point manually to the ignition position can you increase the success rate of getting a sharp focus.

Continuous Shooting

Continuous shooting can increase our chance of getting a successful shot. Set your camera on a tripod, hold the lighter in your right hand and rest your hand on your knee to facilitate manual focusing. Remember not to move your right hand after achieving the focus. Put your left hand on the camera’s shutter release button and it’s all set. To shoot, press the shutter release button and then light the lighter. Give it a few trials and you will capture the right moment perfectly.
Rest your hand on your knee to prevent it from moving. Besides, since a very high-speed shutter is used, the background will be too dark to see. So even a distracting or dark background won’t hurt
This could be a beautiful ignition shot if the focus is right
The lighter moves easily if you don’t rest your hand on your knee (or a table, chair, or anything that can keep your hand in place)

Seize the Ignition Timing

The flare we want to capture only appears right after we light the lighter. Any longer it will become a flame. Since the sparkling flare is our photographic subject, we don’t have to continue to hold down the trigger after we see the ignition (i.e. no need to form a flame). Repeat the ignition process for a few times to increase the chance of getting a good shot.
The ignition is gone and the shot is left only with the flame
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