Photographing Fireworks
On this page I hope to help anyone interested to take better of fireworks. We can turn photos like this,
hopefully into photographs like this. The photgraph below was featured on BBC Look North West during the weather.
It is easier than you think to take some really good pictures.
Equipment
Good firework photos can be taken with a variety of camera types, as long as you can set the camera manually. Some cameras have special modes that are designed to capture fireworks, more information will be available in your manual.
In order to take reasonable firework photographs you need the following equipment, in addition to a camera.
1. A tripod - to keep the camera steady whilst the photo is taken.
2. Release cable or remote - so that you can fire the camera without disturbing or shaking the camera.
3. Suitable lens - I normally use a 18 -55mm lens, which allows me to cover a large area of sky.
Find a good position to take your pictures. Don't get to close as you will struggle to capture the display.
Always use a tripod, taking firework photos can result in exposures of many second and keeping the camera still by hand is almost impossible. Also using a release cable or remote will prevent shaking the camera when pressing the release.
I normally turn up early to find a good position and to set up the camera before the light fails. Set the focus to manual and focus the camera on the launch site. Doing this will mean that the camera will not be searching for the correct focus when you press the release.
Set Up
Find a good position to take your pictures. Don't get to close as you will struggle to capture the display.
Always use a tripod, taking firework photos can result in exposures of many second and keeping the camera still by hand is almost impossible. Also using a release cable or remote will prevent shaking the camera when pressing the release.
I normally turn up early to find a good position and to set up the camera before the light fails. Set the focus to manual and focus the camera on the launch site. Doing this will mean that the camera will not be searching for the correct focus in the dark when you press the release.
Camera Set Up
Set the aperture to a value around f22. Don't worry if your camera does not go that far, use the lowest value your camera has.
You can now set the camera shutter speed. You can either set this to a constant value of your choice or use the 'bulb' setting.
Most of the time I usually set an actual shutter speed in seconds, this can usually be anywhere between 6 to 12 seconds depending on the display.
Using the 'bulb' setting the shutter will open when you press the release and close when you let the release go. That way you can infinitely vary the time the shutter is open without needing to change your camera settings.
As the display progresses there will be times when you will have to change how long you leave the shutter open. It is always worthwhile to be aware of how many fireworks are being launched, this will help you guess how long to keep the shutter open. To short and you may only capture individual fireworks to long and you will end up with too many and the scene will be washed out.
In all honesty it is a matter of trial and error, no two displays will be the same.