HOW TO...
Secrets of Dazzling Fireworks Photography

Heart-stopping, dazzling displays...the crowd chanting "Oooooh and Aaaaah"...the bursts of electric colors...

One of the most interesting perennial questions we receive from our loyal readers and photography learners has to do with fireworks photography.  People ask us, "How do I take pictures of fireworks", "How can I preserve the color of fireworks", and "What happened to the colors in my fireworks pictures?".

Answering these and other questions about fireworks photography, our staff writer and photographer, Stephen Kristof, shares some more easy-to-use, yet really effective secrets used by professional photographers around the world.  Read on and in no time, you'll be capturing the excitment of the fireworks display that can be appreciated all year long!

© 2011, Stephen Kristof
Nikon D7000, Nikon 18-105mm at 85mm; f/25, 4 sec., ISO 100

How to Take Pictures of Fireworks
By Stephen Kristof
Staff Writer/Photographer
© 2011, FreePhotoCourse.com; all rights reserved

Have you ever tried to take pictures of a fireworks display?  Whether the performance was in your own backyard or on the riverfront of a big city, the display itself can be so very exciting, but if you're like most people, the pictures can leave quite a bit to be desired.

So what is it that the pro's do to capture the depth of colors and clarity in their fireworks pictures?  The answers are easy to understand and use, so read-on an you will soon be your neighborhood's designated "fireworks photog"!

First things first, though.  You'll need some basic equipment before the "big night"!  A DSLR camera or a point-and-shoot with manual controls is a must.  A tripod is just as important.  And a little bit of patience is another important thing to bring along.

Finally, if you want to take professionally-styled images of pyrotechnic displays (aka fireworks), then you really need to understand the basics of manual exposure control.

5 Secrets for Amazing Fireworks Pictures:

1. A Tripod is ESSENTIAL!
If you think you can take pictures of fireworks without a tripod, think again.  Sure, you may be able to get some basic pics of squiggly colored streaks, but they will not look anything like the professional fireworks pictures you've seen that adorn the pages of newspapers, magazines and webpages.

Because of the power of the blast, fireworks generally sport two main types of movement.  Mortars are often rifled so that the load spins evenly as it travels upward toward its final plateau where it will burst.  Blasts are almost always straight-line because of the immediate force.  They are also generally even and symmetrical.

This means that, unless the fireworks are meant to have a "fish" or "squiggly worm" effect, almost all of them will not have the signature shake that comes from hand-holding a camera during a long exposure.

2. Use a Timer or Remote Control
Believe it or not, using a tripod will not solve all of the problems associated with camera shake.  Expect to use exposures of anywhere from 1/2 second to 10 seconds.  Pushing the shutter button manually can actually move the camera enough that some significant shift or shake is apparent on each of your photos.

The secret to this one is using an electronic remote control.  If you have not yet invested in this handy little gadget, consider using the self-timer on your camera.  Set it for the shortest lag or delay (ie. 2 or 5 seconds).  This way you can press the shutter manually and then a few seconds later, the shutter will open automatically without recording the movement caused by the pressure of your hand.


3. Mirror Up!
Some purists (ie. most professionals) believe that when a mirror retracts in a DSLR camera, it will create some movement or camera shake.  It actually does.  I would suggest that if your camera supports a "mirror up" or "live view" funtion, that you use it for your fireworks photography.  This way, you have the benefit of no movement that would otherwise be caused by the moving mechanical parts of your camera.

even with a tripod, your camera has all sorts of pre-programmed functions, one of them being a special effects or fireworks setting.  If you want to create decent looking pictures at this particular type of holiay event, you need to


4. LOW ISO
When it comes to exposure, the first thing you'll want to consider about fireworks photography is that most people have it all wrong!  The assumption is that, because it's dark and you're shooting at night, you'll need a really high ISO.  That is mistake #1 and it generally results in bland or no color and blown-out whites.
 
Fireworks are very bright, indeed!  The magnesium in many fireworks burns so brightly that the displays actually illuminate buildings and features on the ground.

The advice?  Set your ISO to 100 and not a bit higher.

5. HIGH F-STOP
This one is along the same lines as the previous tip.  If you know something about manual exposure, you likely assume that a low f-stop (wide open aperture) is necessary to take fireworks pictures due to the night-time element.  This is just as wrong as the previous asusmption.  Again, the fireworks are very bright and, as a result, low f-stop numbers will result in overblown exposure, wide-streaks rather than finely detailed and washed-out color.  You will have to bracket a bit, but assume that you will be using f-stops in the range of 8-32.


4. LONG EXPOSURES
The low ISO and high f-stop combination will allow you to use long shutter speeds of anywhere from 1/2 of a second to 10 full seconds.  Don't assume that you want to get every single burst in a frame.  You may want to isolate one single mortar in a frame, which would require some zooming-in and a shorter exposure.  On the other hand, you may want to display a variety of different bursts in the frame (like my picture at the beginning of this article), which would require the shutter to be open for multiple seconds.

 

Professional photographers know and use these secrets, and now you can too!
In no time, you'll be creating awesome fireworks images just like the
pictures on the above!

Next "out of this world" How-To Photography Article:
How to Take Pictures of Space Launches and Rockets

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