Steam from coffee cup

Don Mills · Sep 28, 2006

I'm doing a still life that includes a hot cup of coffee. The problem is that no matter how hot I make the coffee, the steam doesn't show up in the print. Any suggestions?

Jerevan · Sep 28, 2006

Stupid suggestion, maybe: put the cup somewhere cold so the steam comes out more readily, against a black background? Back light it?

Or can you see the steam in the neg but not in the print - is that what you mean?

glbeas · Sep 28, 2006

Long exposures would make the steam kinda fade away. I'd try backlight or sidelight with a small flash unit to see what you can get away with.

wilsonneal · Sep 28, 2006

Don Mills said:
I'm doing a still life that includes a hot cup of coffee. The problem is that no matter how hot I make the coffee, the steam doesn't show up in the print. Any suggestions?

We used to do a few things with coffee. First, we never used real coffee. It has an oily surface and on film (color transparency) it looks like oil floating on top of the black liquid. We used gravy base and water.

Then, for steam, we used one of two tricks. If it was winter, sometimes we'd just set up the shot near the fire exit, open the door and let the studio get chilly. This resulted in more steam. Mostly though, we used a product sold by the Set Shop in NYC (if memory serves) that created a realistic looking steam coming off the black liquid. I think if you search their site, in there with the fake ice cubes and the perfectly formed "pours" made of plastic, you'll find the smoke.

I would think that most of the food guys don't worry so much about capturing steam 'in-camera', and instead are doing in in post-production.

Neal

Andy K · Sep 28, 2006

Light a cigarette, suck some into your mouth, then get as close to the coffee as possible and gently blow the smoke onto the surface. It will cling and hang around long enough for you to get your shot.

Gay Larson · Sep 28, 2006

Andy K said:
Light a cigarette, suck some into your mouth, then get as close to the coffee as possible and gently blow the smoke onto the surface. It will cling and hang around long enough for you to get your shot.

And if you quit smoking 17 years ago?????

Andy K · Sep 28, 2006

Gay Larson said:
And if you quit smoking 17 years ago?????

You don't have to be a smoker to use that trick/effect.

butterflydream · Sep 28, 2006

How about dry ice?

Jim Jones · Sep 28, 2006

I've used Spotone on the negative to make the effect of steam.

epatsellis · Sep 29, 2006

all I've ever used is dry ice...

erie

HerrBremerhaven · Sep 29, 2006

If the air inside your space is a bit cool, and the water/coffee is very hot, then you will get steam for a short period of time:

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One of these is direct from the tea kettle, while the other is stirring that a couple minutes later. When you make coffee this way, it stays hotter longer when you start off near boiling.

A larger surface area on the cup will also loose heat fairly quickly. You can try another trick with temperature difference if you cool the cup/mug in the freezer prior to using it for your shots. Experiment a bit, and you should be able to find a nice combination.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

wildbill · Sep 29, 2006

The special effects guy we had today had a box about 16 inches square that he'd plug in and would produce a steady stream of oderless steam that simulated the grill steam we were shooting next to at a Benihana restaurant.
We've used A-B smoke for food commercial stuff. It's an acid and a base sprayed onto each other that makes "steam". I think you can also try acetic acid and ammonia using the methods in the link below. Don't breath this stuff!
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Hope this helps
vinny

pesphoto · Sep 29, 2006

steam chips

Gerald Koch · Sep 29, 2006

Years ago commercial photographers used a drop or two of titanium tetrachloride to simulate "steam" over a coffee cup. Titanium tetrachloride is what the military uses to make smoke screens.

Steam from coffee cup

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