How to shoot Fireworks

I had earlier posted of the biggest and most expensive firework event taking place this weekend.

Shooting Fireworks is always magical with the beautiful colors and the illumination produced. Generally people tend to think to shoot firework they may have to invest on powerful camera gears or telephoto lens. You can capture beautiful stunning images using a standard kit lens available depending on the camera make unless you need to fill your frame with fireworks then generally a telephoto lens (70-300 mm) will serve the purpose, else you may need to crop the picture.

Few quick tips to get those beautiful streaks of lights in your image

1. Check your location: It’s important to reach early, so as to get an unobstructed view. Check your horizon and the background, reflection of lights on the water or having a nice backdrop will add more dynamic change to your picture.

2. Use a Tripod: Since we would be using long exposure, there is every chance for camera shake. If you don’t have a tripod, then make sure to brace your camera against wall, railing or even a car to keep it steady. If you have no options then you may need to increase the ISO, this will give you shorter exposure without blurs but will also introduce noise in your image. You will need image noise removal application to reduce the noise during the post processing stage.

3. Remote Release: A wired cable release or a remote release will help you to eliminate the minimum camera shake. If you don’t have a remote release, the best would be to use the self-timer of the camera after setting the desired time. You may loose on the initial few shots of firework as you tend to calculate the time the shell reaches the sky and burst out.

4. Focus Setting: On a DSLR camera choose the M (Manual) mode and manually focus your lens to infinity (∞). You have to readjust the focus . On a Point & Shoot camera, you can use the Firework mode, landscape mode or the least night portrait mode depending on the availability on your camera.

5. Flash off: Camera flash or flash-guns are not powerful enough to reach fireworks.

6. ISO, Aperture & Shutter speed: The higher your ISO, the more sensitive your camera is to light. When shooting longer exposures (long shutter speeds) high ISO can introduce a lot of digital noise to your photograph. An ISO setting of 100 is a good bet. Check the following setting and experiment accordingly. (ISO 50 – Aperture range: f/5.6 – 11; ISO 100 – Aperture range: f/8 to 16; ISO 200 – Aperture range: f/11 to 22). Long Shutter speed will help to capture a perfect shot, you may need to experiment by using 2 sec to 10 sec or more depending on the duration of firework to see what works best. If you have a B (Bulb) mode setting you can use it to control exactly how long your shutter is open. The trick is to open the shutter right at the beginning of the burst and close it when it reaches its peak. Allow the smoke to disappear before you take the next shoot.

7. Take plenty of pictures:  Carry more than 1 card, shooting firework is quite addictive. Try different setting, preview your first few shots to know you are satisfied with the settings.

Finally enjoy the show and be safe.