Wedding, sports, and event photographer Josh from Michigan-based SBJ Studios has gone viral for his flaming hot portraits that he creates by setting his Canon lens on fire. Yes, really.
As highlighted by Digital Camera World and featured by ESPN, Josh’s portraits combine creative practical effects, action-stopping flash, and, of course, lots of safety precautions, to create fiery portraits that athletes love.
For a recent photoshoot of a tennis player, she wanted her portrait surrounded by flames. While photo editing software could maybe do a passable job, nothing beats the wrong thing. Josh lit the front of his Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 lens on fire and captured a portrait of the athlete through the flames. The photographer states on Instagram that he captured the image below at f/4.5 with a shutter speed of 1/8,000 s.
Although Josh describes himself as “Southwest Michigan’s dumbest photographer,” SBJ Studios’ trademark fire and smoke portraits are extremely popular and not at all dumb, as a YouTube compilation of recent fiery photo shoots demonstrates. SBJ Studios has attracted people from all over the country to have their own fire portraits taken, including those traveling to Michigan from New York, Texas, Florida, and beyond. They have also had clients bring SBJ Studios to them in far-flung locations such as Alaska, New Mexico, and Connecticut.
Josh tells PetaPixel that their fire portraits, which they have been doing for about a decade now, “really blew up in September 2022” when they went viral.
“It’s been a wild ride ever since. I’ve been waiting for the ‘trend’ to die down but it just doesn’t,” he continues.
“We were the ones to kick off the trend and now every week more and more sports photographers are trying their hand at it. Some do okay, and others not so much. There is a lot more that goes into it than just knowing the mixture.”
As expected, some clients are a bit more nervous or excited than others about getting their hands on fire.
“Some can’t wait and jump right in,” Josh says. “Others have some hesitancy but when they get that first experience and realize it’s not what they thought [concerning danger], they drop their guard.”
The photographer says that every so often, someone is really afraid or nervous.
“That’s where my background in teaching and my Master’s degree in human behavior comes into play,” the photographer says. “I’m really good at reading people and kids and understanding even things going unsaid.” Sometimes, someone is just too nervous, so they pivot to a different type of dynamic and exciting portrait without fire.
But what about doing fire digitally? Some commenters suggest that using Photoshop to create the fire frame would look better, which is unlikely. Fortunately, most people appreciate SBJ Studios’ use of practical effects to create the photo in-camera. Plus, it’s a fun experience for the portrait subjects, albeit one that could make a few parents a bit nervous.
“No kid is going to school and Monday and exclaiming to his friends, ‘Oh my god! I did this photoshoot and pretended to hold fire and the guy is going to edit it in there later,’” Josh tells PetaPixel. “But they certainly do go and brag to everyone that will listen that they held real fire in their hands.”
Josh also believes that the real thing looks significantly better than any Photoshop trick could.
“We have had a number of contentious photographers and graphic artists tell us how “easily” fire can be created in PS that looks just like the real thing. We challenge them every time to show us and no one has yet to be able to meet that challenge. Fire creates, arguably, one of the hardest images to digitally create because you are talking about a countless array of points of light hitting multiple surfaces and having countless different effects. We can do it safely and practically and give our clients an amazing experience.”
He adds that he has been doing this fire method for about a decade now and has never once damaged any equipment or had anyone experience even a superficial burn.
“For us, it’s all about understanding the science, controlling the variables, and respecting potential risks so we can minimize them as much as possible,” Josh explains.
In case any photographers are champing at the bit to set their own lenses on fire, they should completely understand the dangers of working with fire and exercise all necessary precautions. SBJ Studios offers virtual fire and smoke workshop that covers the required chemicals, safety precautions, and editing techniques. Nobody should, under any circumstances, set their camera gear on fire without a complete understanding of how to do it safely.
Josh says that the workshop compiles SBJ Studios’ decade of experience, practice, and perfection. He also says that they are planning to launch a new “mega version” at the end of the month, which will include access to a private Facebook group to ask questions, exclusive Photoshop actions, a new in-depth editing tutorial, and more. Those who have purchased the current version should check their email for more information on accessing the upcoming iteration.
Image credits: SBJ Studios (Instagram, Facebook, and website)