How I have done Steel wool photography and how you can do it too

What is steel wool photography?

Steel photography is a photo that is taken using a long exposure to capture the motion of hot amblers. I am artificially recreating this effect by spinning burning steel wool.

What do we need to make steel wool photos?

1. Steel wool

It can come from 0000 to 4 ranging grades. The lower the number the better steel wool so use 0000 or 000 for the best result. Higher grade than 1 will not work at all.

2. Metal whisk

It should have a loop at the end because you have to attach the rope to it. Also, do not use your best whisk, because spinning burning steel wool will probably destroy the whisk so buy any cheap one.

3. Rope

You can use any simple rope or a chain or even a dog leash as they are easy to attach.

4. Lighter

Any lighter works great. You can also use a 9V battery. All you need to do is touch the steel wool with a battery and it will light up.

5. Camera and tripod

Camera has to shoot in manual mode. You will shoot long exposure photography so knowing how to use manual mode will be required. As well tripod will keep the camera steady during the exposure shot.

Bonus Tip: That's basics of what you need to make a great steel wool shot. And also having a friend who will spin the wool or take a shoot while you shoot will make the work much easier. But if You have decided to do it by your self you can set a camera on a timer. And one more last tip if you do not want to see a person in a photo wear black clothes.

What Camera settings should you use?

Because we are shooting long exposure photography the best time for it is at twilight when it is dark. Of course, you can do it a day but you have to have an ND filter for it.

1. Shutter speed

You want to capture enough of lights caused by sparks. I shoot between 5 and 30 seconds. If you shoot longer then you capture more light trails.

2. Aperture

Our goal is to capture the entire screen so I would suggest to choosing an aperture between f2.5 and f11.

3.ISO

Keep your ISO low it will help you from blowing out the brightness of the steel will when it's lit. I use from 100 to 800 ISO.

My settings for the shot below: ISO: 360, Aperture: 5.6, Exposure: 20 sec.

How to create steel wool photography?

1. Attach the rope to whisk.

Don't make it too small because it can be hard to spin, and if it's too long it will hit the ground, I personally keep the length about 2 ft.

2. Stuff steel wool in the whisk.

Don't make it too tight, leave some space for air to get through for better burning. Make the wool fluffy before putting inside the whisk it will make better sparks.

3. Light the wool.

You don't need to make whole wool on fire a little spark in is all you need. When you start spinning the rope it will ignite from the air and it will cause sparks to fly around.

4. Hold rope and spin.

Just simply hold the rope by the end and spin it fast until it burns it out.

5. Start capturing the image when a person starts spinning.

When a person starts to spin the rope press the shutter button of the camera to take the shot. It should burn around 20-30 seconds.

Bonus: You should give a few practice spins before lightning it up. Also, be careful when you are stopping the spinning. Slowly stop spinning without hitting your self. The whisk is extremely hot this process and it can burn you.

Safety

Steel wool photography can be dangerous because we are playing with fire You have to be aware that you are spinning hot piece of molten metal around. Please follow safety tips to keep the environment and your self safe.

1. Wear protective clothing

Try to cover all your skin to protect from burns. Do not use easily burning fabrics. Cover your hair with a hood or hat. And protect your eyes with some glasses.

2. Choose location without flammable materials around.

Stay away from grass, trees, vehicles and wooden buildings that can easily catch on fire. Never do steel wool indoors. Some ideal locations from steel wool photography are beaches, rocky or sandy deserts or large parking lots with no nearby vehicles and buildings.

3. Choose time then weather and location are wet.

Great timing for steel wool photography is after rain or early in the morning when there is still wet after night. And also winter shooting on the snow can be an amazing choice.

4. Bring fire extinguisher.

Always be prepared for the worst and bring security. It's better to be safe than sorry.

5. Do a site walk after finished looking for hot spots.

Carefully walk around the area after a photo shoot and look for burning embers or smoke.

6. Keep people, animals at a safe distance.

Tell everyone to stay away in a safe distance from the location or even better leave children and animals at home. It's not a pleasant experience to have a hot flanker land on your dog fur or children hair.

7. Never do steel wool photography near old wooden historic structures.

Old historic sites like abandoned houses, boats and other historic sites look cool but there is a lot of danger on these sites. There is a lot of occasions in the past when photographers have caught fire because of using steel wool.