Not sure about steam, but I have done a few smoke shots. Use a dark background to make sure the smoke/steam can be seen. I would go with 1/200s or 1/250s to freeze the smoke and get sharp lines
The trouble is, i get nothing, just the black background... :(
All the help tutorials and comments so far seem to be about smoke. You're trying to capture steam (vapor). I assume you are using flash and probably trying to side light it? What is the ambient temperature at your studio? Is the humidity high, or low?
These things can affect how much steam you get in a shot.
I'd think that the lower the temp, and higher the humidity the better, but I'm just guessing. I'm gonna try some shots this coming week. If I get any good ones I'll post here with my technique. Thanks for the idea. I've never tried this.
Edit:
Oh, forgot this. Your camera may be exposing for the cup if it's in the shot. This may de-emphasize the steam. Try using manual settings and play around with exposure settings.
The trouble is, i get nothing, just the black background... :(
Can you see the steam ? if yes, you should be able to capture it as well. You need to be in manual mode and try different exposures unless you have a light meter to read the the light falling on steam.
