How to shoot fireworks!

            So for this week’s topic I think it’s a very relevant one since the Fourth of July is tomorrow.  Lots of people always want to shoot the fireworks. Everyone always asks the same thing, what settings should I use? What’s the best way to capture them? For me I like to go and set up a little bit early this way you know what you are going to have in the way of a foreground. Without a foreground your images might look a little plain.  You will want to make sure you have a sturdy tripod and a remote cable release. I like to set my camera to bulb mode and use a wireless trigger to operate the shutter. This way I can hit the shutter and count how long its open for. If there are a lot of fireworks set off at once it will be a good idea to use a shorter amount of time. I also like to shoot with .8-15 seconds this way I get the trail of the firework going up in the air.  You will also want to make sure the camera is in Manual focus. Then to set the focus I would turn it to infinity and they back just a bit.

Photographing Fireworks!

What you'll need:

Camera with a manual setting.

Remote shutter release.

Tripod

Secure the camera in the tripod composing your shot. Connect the remote shutter release so that it's being used to trip the exposure.

Fireworks settings:

Shooting Mode-Manual

Focus Mode - Manual

ISO 100-200

Aperture F/5.6-F/8

Shutter Speed of 0.8"-6"

Advanced considerations:

Vary the shutter speed slightly using the "bulb" setting according to the event and number of rockets.

Use white balance presets and film emulations that give greater colors and saturation.

Most important, have fun!!!

Happy Shooting,

Thursday Ambassador