Toronto Photography Meetup Group

Im trying a photo concept but cant figure out how to do a bursting light effect using flashes?? Ie for example a picture of a kid looking at there closet at night with the entire closet lite up door slightly closed with white light bursting out of the crack the the door is open.. How can I achieve that effect? Kind of like this light but white and bursting out of the door
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kevinmcneal/3797702749/

Better yet like this

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl= ... X%26um%3D1

you're going to need some smoke or dust and direct beams of light as opposed to diffuse lighting.

would snooting a few flashes work?

You need a big ass light.... or a small ass light with a long exposure, and lots of haze in the room! Do you smoke? Have a cigarette, let the smoke build up, and then attempt the effect. Or rent one of these: http://www.smokemachines.net/buy-df-50-hazer.shtml

Lxdesign is right. The reason you can see the light beams etc is because there are particulates in the air. You can get this (as mentioned) by using a hazer which is pretty pricey. You might be able to rent one through AirMagicFX for under $100/day.

The other option is to buy a "Fazer" machine for around $250. which is a hybrid fog machine but it disperses it immediately so you don't get that heavy fog where you can't see your light beams.

The third option is to use a clay/dust bag. It's basically a semi-porous bag with a very fine clay powder in it that you walk around the room and slap between your hands to disperse a the clay dust. Dust and delicate camera sensors and lenses don't work too well.

hmmm .. Ok so what Im trying to recreate is similar to the poltiergiest cover with the girl and the tv but with bursting light coming out of it as opposed to what it is now .. I really like it but my dad will hang me by my neck if I put smoke in his house haha .. Dry ice maybe? can you buy that stuff by itself?

snooting would make it too hard and concentrated, not soft and diffused like the first one.

You can try substituting a clay bag for talcum powder. I believe talc is heavier than the clay dust so you may need to reapply every so often until you get your shot. You'll get a light film of talc everywhere though but it would probably make the place smell like a baby nursery. lol

Dry ice does not suspend in the air. It tends to accumulate near the ground level. You can try picking up a cheap fogger ($30 or so) and burst the fog into a strong fan to disperse it into the air (sort of what a fazer does) but only do small bursts at a time until you get your desired effect. You'll have to turn off your smoke alarms first or your dad will kick you out of the house!