Considering doing a shoot where the model will be supposedly using a cigar. She will not actually be smoking, but we do want to make the end of the cigar look lit and have smoke tendrils and perhaps fake blowing smoke out of the mouth. Looking for tutorials on now to create a realistic effect.

TIA

shoot smoke from burning incense on a black background, light it from the side.  Gently blow the smoke around, swirl your fingers through it to create shapes, etc.....
copy the smoke onto your image as a new layer and set the blend mode to screen.  Scale and distort to fit.  You can use curves to adjust the intensity of the tones as needed.

+10  Right on! 

There is also a vendor called "Rons Brushes" on Deviant Art and elsewhere... that has absolutely superb Water and Smoke brushes for Photoshop.  They are so very well made and are easy to use and transform.

PS: Take a quick look at the above's portfolio...  "Downtown Pro Photo's"...   what incredible smoke and wave and swirl and color artistry he creates...totally gorgeous!  He really knows what he is talking about above.

Thanks, I hadn't thought about shooting real smoke. That will be a fun project.

They nailed it, special effects always work best when shot for real. The black background also works for stuff like water splashes, creating custom lens flares etc.

In Photoshop:
1. New Layer
2. Brush tool, white, opacity 42%, experiment with brush size. Zero hardness.
3. Draw swirly tendrils
4. Go to Filter, Other, Maximum. Move slider until it looks good.
5. Invert temporarily so you can see it better for next step.
6. Filter, Liquify
7. Select twirl brush (you may need to check "advanced mode"), play with sizes and pressures. Apply.
8. Invert again so it's white
9. Adjust layer opacity.
Voila!

If a more hazy look is desired you can also do a really low opacity large brush on a new layer and apply maximum to it in addition to your smokey tendrils.

Takes some practice but even my photo professor who has the most discerning and critical eye ever thought it was real.

Try not to lose the color in the midtones.

Try not to add too much color in the highlights.

Instead of shooting smoke, you could also find a vaper

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eI_dvzMaqPE

Photoshop brushes:

https://www.daz3d.com/rons-detail-smoke

https://www.daz3d.com/rons-steam-and-smoke