How to Get Better Firework Shots

The long weekend is right at our fingers tips! Holidays are known for tasty backyard BBQ’s, relaxation on a patio and maybe even a celebratory firework display to round it all off. So how do you take great looking firework shots? Here’s our most useful tips!

– What to do with your shutter speed, aperture and ISO: there is a lot of movement in fireworks so it’s better to capture this with a slow shutter speed. Since you’ll be letting in a lot of light with your shutter, use a lower ISO value. Also use a smaller aperture opening to get wider depth of field.

– Use a tripod: In any situation where you’re using a long exposure, make sure to set your camera up on a tripod to avoid camera shake. This also means getting to your location nice and early to set up with an unobstructed view. Get as high above the crowd to avoid heads in your shot (ie. stand at the top of a hill or shoot from a balcony).

Source: http://ewallpaperhub.com/fireworks-wallpaper/

– Shoot with a wide lens: fireworks move and when you’re standing there in the dark you’re going to have to predict where they’re going to fire. Shooting with a wide lens will capture more of the sky and increase your odds of getting that perfect shot. Remember that you can also crop into your images after the fact.

Source: http://fireworkevents.co.uk/

– Get your focus right before the show starts: your auto focus is going to struggle because it’ll either be too slow and you’ll miss a shot or it won’t be able to focus at all. Before the sun goes down, prefocus on the sky where the fireworks will be using manual focus, using wide depth of field will also make this easier as your range of sharpness won’t be so narrow or specific.

– Give your fireworks some context: Include some of the foreground or surroundings to ground your image and give it a sense of surrounding.

Photo by JN Visuals,  http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2255449/Happy-New-Year-Enormous-firework-display-lights-central-London-UK-celebrates-2013-style.html

To learn more useful tips, check out any of our photography workshops and classes!