You've probably seen them...

For the past 3 or so years, smoke bombs have become increasingly popular for wedding party photos and you can see why! They're a great option if you want fun wedding photos that are a bit edgy and even include your wedding colours. Or maybe you just wanna play with fireworks- I don't judge!

I don't like waffling blog posts so let just get straight to the good bits...

Tip #1 where to buy your smoke bombs

The ONLY smoke bombs I recommend are enola gaye. They are used in TV and film and are the safest available to the public. You can find cheaper ones online however I they're not worth the risk in my opinion. Often they're even duds and won't work at all. You can have a look at Enola Gaye smoke bombs here

Tip #2 What kind of bombs and how many you'll need

I usually buy the WP40 bombs, they burn for 90 seconds which gives you plenty of time to get a variety of shots. You can choose your colours when buying them individually so you can tie them in with your wedding colours!

How many you'll need depends on whether you want them for couples photos, group shots or both! One or Two bombs will be sufficient for couples photos whereas for group shots I'd advise one bomb for every other person. While giving each person a bomb would look cool, you tend to get too much smoke going round and loosing everyone into a big cloud of mixed colours- not a great look.

Tip #3 when to do them on you wedding day

I will usually do smoke bombs shots in the late afternoon or around golden hour. It can be a nice way to segway from the end of your wedding breakfast into your evening reception and gives you something to do during that time. If you're doing them as group shots however, it's very important to not give one to one of your mates if they've had a few drinks! At the end of the day these are fireworks and need to be organised safely. Everyone needs to be listening to the photographer in order to get the best photos.

Tip #4 and finally, how to get the photos to look epic!

• Tell your photographer beforehand that you want to do these photos so they can plan out where to do them.
• As you start the bomb, do some cute little swirls around you before the smoke starts to fill up around you and you cant see defined patterns.
• Walking shots always look good so hold them up high and away from anyone elses' face!
• Make sure your all linking arms, holding hands or staying connected in some way. If you stand apart it kind of looks like a band photo...
• Having a boring background actually works well for these so look for a wall, a shutter, a lane, anything bland so that you and the bombs stand out!
• Don't forget to ask a mate to record it too!
• Once the bombs have gone out, have a bucket (preferably with water) handy. They will be hot (and smelly) and need to cool down before going in the bin.