This is going to be a great steel wool photography tutorial also called wire wool photography. We’ll look at best practices and what camera settings to use and how to get creative with this technique.
This is a really fun task to do and is created with long exposures. As the steel wool is spun, oxygen mixes with the sparks and glows, creating these lovely light trails which look great with long exposure photography.
The steel wool photography settings we used were:
M – Manual mode
ISO – 100
Aperture – f16
Shutter Speed – 25 seconds
Set White Balance to Daylight
Manual Focus – Light model with a torch first, focus, then switch the lens to manual focus.
The equipment we used was a Canon 5d Mk iv with a 24-105 lens and a 16-35 lens and of course a tripod.
Also, please be safe whilst doing this. Wear non-flammable clothing, safety goggles and gloves. Have a fire extinguisher to hand and make sure you are in a clear open space where nothing can catch light. Wait around for 10 minutes after the shoot to make sure nothing is left smouldering and if you are under 18 please do this under adult supervision.
I hope you liked this photography tutorial. If you did please like it, share it with your friends and subscribe to our channel for more. We upload new tutorials every two weeks and if there’s anything you want us to cover here at TSoP let us know in the comments below, it gives us great ideas for new tutorials.
Support us:
Check out our Complete Guide to Photography Book here –
Take your photography to the next level in our Online Courses here –
Grab a Freebie:
Get our Free eBook for learners of photography here –
Get 15 Free Lightroom Presets –
Want weekly tutorials delivered straight to your inbox? sign up at
Join our learning community on social media:
Facebook ►
Instagram ►
Twitter ►
Pinterest ►
Thanks for watching and remember – Learn more at The School of Photography.
Maya Step
1 second ago
hi, thanks for video, i already tried to do this and wooow photos was perfect, but cant you tell me how to light face of model, with what kind light and in which time ?
Hi I have tried this a few time now and I’m getting different results. Sometimes my pictures come out pretty good and offer time they come out blurry? Can the wether or moon light effect my picture?
Love the voice <3
Well done
Nice, the sheer joy when u get the pic u r looking for.
Whats her name? Umm for assignment purposes
Wow
You are so…..bouncy.
Reminds me of Gavin Hoey, he's bouncy too.
Cheers!
Hi Marc, Great video, I've tried this a few times and had some differing results. I At 1.59 min you explain about pre-focusing then setting to manual. I noticed you left the stabilisation switched on, on the lens. Even when working from a tripod is this something you would recommend? Cheers Andy K
Small tip: Lighting the steel-wool gets much easier, if you take a little 9V battery and strike the wool with it, like you would a match on a matchbox.
Great tuturial. After 6.50 you are speaking about the shot with a wide angle lens, sparks over the top of the camera …. Before trying this with my new Sony A7iii: did you protect your camera and if so in which way? Thanks. Ruud
amazing
Thank you for the videos you post. They’re extremely helpful. I’ve a photography assignment I’m working on, it’s a final project at university, and I plan to attempt steel wool photography. Your video has given me a good bit of knowledge. Let’s see if I can put it into practice.
Simply awesome!!!. The footage of fire is amazing so as the model, she's so beautiful. Thank you for the camera setting tip.
I agree with that guy. I love your accent, i'm American so I am jealous. Having said that I watched your video went out and tried this. I was amazed, thanks to you my very first shot was perfect!! I went for 8 seconds at f9 iso100 and was blown away!!! I think this looks so amazing!! I cannot wait to get on a river in NH this winter and do some steel wool photography. Liked and Subscribed. Thank you Sir!! 🙂
Thanks for posting this, it clears up some questions I have had about this. One question I was always wondering, Do you light the wool and wait for the camera to start or are you already swing the wool around before the camera starts?
Which camera & lens r u using in this video?
hey marc I was thinking of testing the photography settings with my angle grinder first what you think? haha
This is a wonderful video! Loved the mini class on steel wool photography. Subscribed on all platforms. I can't wait to go through the rest of the lessons!!
so I saw a similar photo and all we see is a bicycle against a staircase against a brick wall; with big sparkles everywhere along the lines of the bike and a grafiti is drawn on the wall, *but no shadow of the person whatsoever!? And the exposition of the scene is well lit! Can you explain how come we don't see the person at all?