Smoke photography is interesting. There are 2 parts to it :

1. taking the smoke photos
2. the post processing of the photos

Taking the smoke photos

The keys to a good smoke photo are

• gray smoke (chinese joss sticks are the best source of gray smoke based on my own experiences)
• black background
• side lighting - you need to light the smoke not the background
• fast shutter speed of 1/250sec or faster

Post processing of the photos

Once the photos are taken, you will need to post process them. make sure you get the background to be completely black by using the Level tool of Photoshop. Then invert the image so that now the black background is now white.

To add color the smoke, use the Hue and Saturation tool.

Enjoy shooting!