CAPTURE A BIG BANG

Tom Welsh shows you how to use a smart trigger to capture events that happen in a fraction of a second

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1 HOUR Smart triggers enable you to do more with your camera. They differ from a standard cable release in that they're 1 controlled by what you're shooting. The Hähnel Captur Pro triggers we used for this shoot (£100/$120) can be triggered by an infrared beam, light or sound, and even by a laser. Along with these advanced functions, they feature a long-exposure Bulb mode and interval timer.

Smart triggers are ideal for shooting split-second events which our human reactions simply aren't quick enough to catch you could set them to react to light to capture a lightnings strike for example. In this tutorial, though, we're using the infrared beam to trigger the - shutter at the exact moment a falling balloon full of water bursts on a knife blade. This requires two triggers to be positioned either side of the blade to create an invisible beam that, when broken by the balloon, will fire the shutter, and an off-camera flash, at the same time to capture the explosion of water. Here's how it's done...

STEP BY STEP FREEZE THE ACTION WITH SMART TRIGGERS

1 BLACK OUT THE BACKGROUND