Shooting Independence Day Fireworks

Jennifer — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:05:19 +0000

So, I made recent inquiries (to the Loudoun Photo Club and on Twitter) for tips on photographing fireworks since July 4th is quickly approaching. I thought I would consolidate the advice I received into this post, test it out, and then show the resulting photos from this weekend in a future post. Thank you to all who sent your suggestions! Feel free to add more to the comments.

Use a tripod to keep the camera steady.
Get to the display early to find the best vantage point.
Consider having foreground or background elements in the image as they make the scene more interesting and add scale.
Use manual focus and focus on an object close to where the fireworks will be set off from.
Plan to take lots of photos and delete about 75% of them.
Set shutter speed to “bulb” mode. This allows you to keep the shutter open while you press the button and the shutter won’t close until you release the button.
Use a remote or cable release instead of the on-camera button to prevent camera shake.
Open the shutter when the rocket starts it’s flight and close as the firework explodes so there is not a gaping black whole in the center of the firework. Should be about 2 seconds, but can range from 1/2 second to 5 seconds. Keep the shutter open longer to have multiple bursts in one image, but not too long or you’ll end up with “big blobs of light.”
Most recommended setting the aperture to f/8, but the suggested range was anywhere from f/8-f/11.
Set White Balance to Tungsten.
Set ISO to 200.

One person recommended this page and which seems to have some good information: http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks

Have a very happy and safe Independence Day!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to photograph any fireworks this year. So, I’ll have to wait until next year to try out these techniques.

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Shooting Independence Day Fireworks

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