Shooting Fireworks Displays

[Dbl]

We have done this in the past but I thought I would post some tips that we put up each year for shooting the Fourth of July fireworks.

1. You will need a tripod. If you don’t have that try propping your camera on a brick wall, upside down pail, whatever is handy to make the camera stationary.

2. Use a remote control or the timer function on your camera. Most cameras, even P&S’s will likely have a timer function.

3. Use the following settings as a guideline. Your camera may or may not have some of the same features.

ISO 100, aperture f8 – f10. Shutter speed starting around 5 seconds and experiment with longer or shorter times as you want. If your camera doesn’t allow you to set these things try using the fireworks mode, landscape mode or night mode.

4. Make sure you are zoomed out and that your batteries are fully charged, your memory card has room and shoot on the highest possible quality setting.

5. Bring a flashlight to help you change settings on the camera.

6. Find a good location that might include some nice backgrounds. A city skyline, a fence in the foreground, a lake things that can add interest to the burst going off.

7. Above all enjoy the show, the camera can be secondary to having a nice time with family and friends and enjoying the fireworks.

[Steve Foss]

Good tips, good timing, good thread!

[eyeguy 54]

nice tips! I'm laid up so might not be able to shoot this year. I had great luck also setting the manual focus at infinity.

[Paul]

IN my experience, 5 seconds will be more than plenty. I was looking at past shots, and most of my shots were at .5 sec to 1.5 sec at iso 100 f8 aprox. As DBL said, you will have to experiment as each camera is probably a bit different. YOu may also want to play with your white balance a bit for the best turn out. And no flash.

[Steve Foss]

Another approach is to use the B setting and a remote shutter release. Then get yourself a piece of black cardboard or poster board or other stiff material. Open the shutter while holding the cardboard over the lens. When a firework is about to burst, pull away the cardboard. Replace before the firework trails start to sag. Repeat several times, then close the shuttter.

This takes some experiementation, for sure, but you can get what amounts to a composite photograph this way, and by replacing the cardboard before the trails start to sag, the image will look crisp and dramatic, full of energy. Make sure not to bump the camera when pulling away the cardboard.

To get a better seal against the rim of the lens, you can tape dark fabric over the cardboard.

Just one more option that can work.

Happy 4th everyone!

[MuleShack]

I may have to experiment with the cardboard technique tonight.

Shot some last night with the 4 and 5 second exposure working well between 8 and 11 on the aperture. When they send up the ground flares that really throws off the exposure on the bottom of the frame for the higher blasts.

[Dbl]

Just bringing this back from last year in case some newer folks to photography want to give this a try this weekend.

[dockothebay]

Thanks Dan - I was thinking about looking for this post. I'll be in Chicago and am hoping to be on the rooftop of a condo, looking at Navy Pier! (I do hope that their fireworks are from Navy Pier - maybe I should check that out!)

[polarsusd81]

Dotb, the fireworks in Chicago are from navy pier. At least in the past they have been.

Freaking autocorrect.

[dockothebay]

Thanks Tom!

[captainshane]

Thanks, you posted the answer before I could ask the question!

[finnbay]

Thanks for the reminder, Dan!