Fire Dice Tutorial

Equipment:
DSLR
Tripod or other camera support
Remote release
Off Camera Flash, snooted with black card and an elastic band
Torch
A1 or A2 size Green Card (available from craft stores)
Casino Dice (sourced from eBay)

Set up:
Place the green card on a table top, curve up and stick to wall with Sellotape or Blu-Tack to create the background.

Place the torch to one side with its light aimed straight across the card (as opposed to pointing down at the card). This is what will create the trails.
On the opposite side to the torch place a snooted off-camera flash set to slave or wireless mode and also set to rear curtain sync,   raised up and pointing down at the card to create a spotlight effect.  The light from this will “freeze” the dice.
Place the camera on a tripod, bean bag or similar stabilising surface. Set it to commander flash mode and enable the shutter to be tripped remotely. You can trigger the shutter without a remote release but it is easier with.
Place the dice on the card in line with the torch light and where the flash light will hit them. Make a mental note of this spot as this area is your “landing zone”, where you will throw the dice.  Focus on the dice and then switch to manual focus so that the camera won’t “hunt” for focus when you actually start throwing the dice.
Reduce any ambient light that could influence the exposure and over-power the torch light so your trails aren’t clearly defined.

Camera settings:
Choose an aperture of at least f/10 as this will give you a wider depth of field and greater area of acceptable focus.  Set the shutter speed to a relatively slow speed of 1/3, ½ or 2/3 second. Set the ISO at a setting that will give you the look you want to create; I went with an ISO of 400. Set camera and flash to commander flash mode and then set the camera or lens  manual focus and focus on the spot where you will throw the dice.

The Theory:
To give you an idea of how these images are created you need to be aware that you are actually taking what amounts to two exposures. One slow exposure of ½   second, which causes the trails and ghost images as the dice move through the torch light. Then because the flash is set to rear sync, it goes off at the end of the ½ sec when the shutter is open and freezes the action. Because it is much stronger and faster (maybe 1/5000 second) than the torch light it creates a more solid and sharper image of the dice.

Procedure:
Once you have the equipment set up as above. place the dice in the landing area and  take some test shots to get the light/exposure the way you want it. Make adjustments to ISO, flash power (I had mine at varying degrees between 1/10 and 1/20 power) and any ambient light. Do not change your shutter speed to change exposure as this will also affect the trails.

Once you are happy with the exposure you can start throwing the dice through the spot you prefocused on, your “landing zone”. I found the best way to do this was to trip the shutter with the remote and at the same time throw the dice. You may need a few attempts to get it right. By checking your camera’s LCD screen you can tell whether you are throwing the dice too early or late to have them captured in the spotlight. Be prepared to take hundreds of shots as there is an element of trial and error trying to get the right “bounce”.

Other tips:
Make sure your hand is out of shot. I recommend throwing the dice from about 12 to 18 inches away from the “landing zone”. Don’t zoom in on too narrow a field of view as this will make capturing the dice harder; it’s better to have a wider angle of view and then crop in post.

Make sure you throw the dice through the torch light.

Try spinning the dice as you throw them to create more dynamic trails. You can also drop the dice vertically from above to land on a pre-focused spot.

Experiment with different shutter speeds, trying out exposures as slow as 1/3, ½, 2/3 sec. The longer the shutter speed the longer the trail will be.

Good Luck.

About the Photographer:
Damian Burcher is a UK based semi-professional photographer  who covers many genres but specialises mainly in wedding photography. He has had work featured in The Guardian and The Telegraph and has been runner up twice in Nikon’s in Frame photography competition. In the autumn of 2012 his work was featured at an exhibition showcasing the best in photographic talent at the Getty Images gallery in London. You can see more of his work at www.damianburcher.com.

www.damianburcher.com
Pictures and Words Copyright Damian Burcher