It's that time of year for warm and soothing cuppas

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Tina Boes

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Jul 25, 2021
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I've been working on my holiday photos again, and I always do some with hot drinks for cold snowy days and nights. I am still working with the hot coffee, the steam rising is a serious challenge for photographing. I'm getting close though. I've tried so many things, the soaked and microwaved cotton balls behind the cup seem to be the best answer, but getting them in the right place is tricky. I do not want to use flash, that's what makes this tougher for me. Stubborn. LOL

First is a hot cuppa with a cinnamon stir stick and cinnamon rolls, then a lovely cup of hot cocoa with the same.
Nikon D7100, 58mm, ISO 800, 1/400 sec (need fast shutter speed for the steam), f/2.8, tripod, remote trigger, continuous light from left and right with varied intensity and diffusion, on black glass with Christmas tree in back.

Coffee and Cinnamon Rolls-.jpg cinnamon buns and cocoa-.jpg
 

nataliaflejszar&Photo

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Apr 18, 2020
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I've been working on my holiday photos again, and I always do some with hot drinks for cold snowy days and nights. I am still working with the hot coffee, the steam rising is a serious challenge for photographing. I'm getting close though. I've tried so many things, the soaked and microwaved cotton balls behind the cup seem to be the best answer, but getting them in the right place is tricky. I do not want to use flash, that's what makes this tougher for me. Stubborn. LOL

First is a hot cuppa with a cinnamon stir stick and cinnamon rolls, then a lovely cup of hot cocoa with the same.
Nikon D7100, 58mm, ISO 800, 1/400 sec (need fast shutter speed for the steam), f/2.8, tripod, remote trigger, continuous light from left and right with varied intensity and diffusion, on black glass with Christmas tree in back.


Great pictures, I like them every much, 3especially the cup,is beautiful! But the all compositions are great, and my favourite is the second one,also because the nice for an eye brighting šŸ‘ŒšŸ˜Š. Nice work! šŸ˜Š
 
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Chavezshutter

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Ohh I like those, I like the second one as well, bit brighter and those bokeh light balls add a nice atmosphere. I use incense when I shoot coffee, works well for me. I think i prefer the coffee scroll/pastry more closer like in the first photo where its still can be seen more clearly and not too out of focus. Both shots are great, well composed and a nice scenešŸ˜Š
 
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Helix_2648

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I prefer the second one as well because it's brighter and the cream with the bokeh gives the picture the certain something!
 
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Tina Boes

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Jul 25, 2021
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Ohh I like those, I like the second one as well, bit brighter and those bokeh light balls add a nice atmosphere. I use incense when I shoot coffee, works well for me. I think i prefer the coffee scroll/pastry more closer like in the first photo where its still can be seen more clearly and not too out of focus. Both shots are great, well composed and a nice scenešŸ˜Š
Incense was a thought, I had read online from some photographers who use it. But, do you find the color of the incense smoke to be off compared to real steam? I used a lit cigarette behind it and noticed I didn't like the color of the result. It looked too much like smoke rather than steam. I have a fabric steamer here I was going to try, but it is so big! No way to hide it. LOL
 

Calopteryx

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Nov 25, 2021
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I like the lighting and bokeh in the second one, but the rising steam in the first photo is also a nice touch.
Comfy winter vibes ā˜ŗļø
 

Chavezshutter

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Aug 4, 2020
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Incense was a thought, I had read online from some photographers who use it. But, do you find the color of the incense smoke to be off compared to real steam? I used a lit cigarette behind it and noticed I didn't like the color of the result. It looked too much like smoke rather than steam. I have a fabric steamer here I was going to try, but it is so big! No way to hide it. LOL
Some incenses do have a blueish smoke which might not look right, the ones I use have a much more whiteish smoke which looks fine but in a pinch if I had to use the blue ones I would shift the white balance on the smoke to take out the blue tones and make it look more like steam.
 
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