Photographing a Fireplace or a Barbecue

A fireplace or barbecue fire poses an exposure problem that’s the reverse of snow or the beach : here, a very bright subject stands out against a very dark background, and the camera often struggles to find the right balance between the two.

Exposing for the flames, not the darkness

Automatic metering, dominated by the surrounding darkness, tends to overexpose the flames until they burn out into a featureless white patch — using spot metering (or negative exposure compensation) centred on the flames themselves brings back their orange and yellow tones, even if it means darkening the rest of the scene further still.

Accepting a dark, almost black background

This kind of scene isn’t about finding a balance between shadow and light : an almost entirely black background, which showcases the flames as the image’s sole light source, generally works better than a setting that artificially tries to brighten the background.

Choosing your shutter speed for the effect you want

A fast shutter speed freezes each flame and spark sharply, for an almost graphic result — a slower speed stretches them into a fluid, continuous motion, closer to the real sensation of dancing flames. A tripod becomes necessary as soon as the speed slows enough to introduce this deliberate motion blur.

The subject around the fire, once exposure is under control

Once the fire is correctly exposed, a face lit by its orange glow, or food grilling over the embers, adds an extra dimension to the image — provided you keep the same exposure logic : the fire remains the main light source, and the rest of the scene has to adapt to it, not the other way round.