Fireworks Photography Tips

Take Your Event Photography to the Next Level!

If you are celebrating New Year’s Eve, Memorial Day or July Fourth with a bang, it's time to catch some fireworks displays on your camera. Here are some simple techniques for taking great shots of fireworks.

1

Getting Ready

When you are going to photograph fireworks, be prepared. Make sure you have enough memory cards and extra batteries. You will need to take a tripod, a wide-angle or a telephoto zoom lens, and remember to arrive early. Place the camera on a tripod, and turn the mode dial to M (manual) mode; we want f/8 - f/16 for a greater DOF (depth of field) and a long exposure anywhere between 1-10 seconds. Use your camera’s self-timer or a cable release to take the photo with absolutely no blurring. For dramatic effect, try to capture multiple fireworks trails across the sky.

2

Include People

Position yourself in a good spot at the center of the action. It’s a great idea to include the heads of other visitors, as it gives a sense of perspective and dimension. Place you camera on a tripod and choose a large aperture to keep things fairly sharp. Set your ISO at 100 to keep the digital noise at a minimum. Wait for multiple fireworks to go off, and use a cable release to take the photo. Don’t use flash because it could ruin the effect in the image, and take a longer exposure to catch various stages of breathtaking fireworks.

3

Use a Slow Shutter Speed

When it comes to shutter speed, you should pick a slow exposure, anywhere between 1 - 15 seconds in order to capture the light trails. The longer the exposure, the more lines will appear and the longer they will look. Any faster would not catch the extended moment of the fireworks exploding. You should take the image using the camera’s self timer or a cable release so that you avoid touching and jiggling the camera. If you don't have anything to hold your camera steady, increase your camera's sensitivity to light by increasing the ISO. This will give you shorter exposures without blurs, but be prepared for more grain or ‘noise’ in your fireworks pictures.

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Fireworks Photography Tips | Event Photography Tips

 

Incredible Long Exposure Fireworks Photos by David Johnson

By EDW Lynch on August 31, 2012

Canadian photographer David Johnson captured these incredible long exposure photographs of fireworks during this month’s Casino du Lac-Leamy Sound of Light fireworks festival in Quebec. Johnson created the flower-like effect by adjusting focus during the exposure.


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Incredible Long Exposure Fireworks Photos by David Johnson