Photograph Fireworks

Whether you're celebrating Enjoy Independence Day, Canada Day, Guy Fawkes Day, Diwali or just having fun with fireworks, it's always tempting to take pictures of the fireworks exploding in air. After all, a good fireworks show is an amazing spectacle, and you've probably got a camera on you anyway. Unfortunately photographs of fireworks usually don't hold a candle to the real thing. Still, you can make your festive pictures as good as they can be by sidestepping commonly encountered problems: graininess, blurriness, or under/overexposure.

Steps

  1. Change your approach from treating light as Take Night Photos With a Point and Shoot Camera to treating it as subject. This requires a different way of thinking about how you use the camera because fireworks create their own exposure.[1] In order to preserve color and shape, you will have to be prepared to vary the exposure and to account for other elements such as smoke from fireworks, or building lights in the background. Knowing how to focus the camera properly is also going to be important because passive autofocus systems cannot manage in darkness or low light situations,[2] so be prepared to go beyond the simple point and click.
    • A fireworks show involves many, many fireworks, so be ready to experiment, preferably with a digital camera so you get instant feedback. Since fireworks produce basically monochromatic light (from chemicals), their colors will be distinct at a variety of apertures and ISO settings. A long exposure is required to let a few fireworks trace out their patterns. Different aperture and ISO settings will affect the brightness of the surroundings – bright surroundings are distracting, but subdued rather than completely black surroundings are much more interesting. Choose the amount of foreground and sides to include with this in mind. (The aperture setting isn't very important for depth of field with far away fireworks, since they'll be essentially at infinity, and any foreground should be dim and indistinct in any event – it mainly matters for overall exposure, and a relatively wide aperture and low ISO will give less "noise" than a small aperture and high ISO.)
  2. Get a good position! Try to determine approximately where the fireworks will be bursting and get a spot with an unobstructed view of that area. If the fireworks are popular, you'll need to show up early to get a good spot. Figure out the wind direction and get upwind of the fireworks so that your shots aren't obscured by smoke blowing toward you. Find a spot where you can avoid getting a lot of extraneous ambient light in the picture, as this will cause an overexposure.
    • When scouting out your location, choose some interesting features to serve as the background. This will make your photos more exciting for others to view.
  3. Set the camera on the tripod. Fireworks generally accompany celebrations, so it's not surprising if your memories of them are a little blurry. Your pictures, however, should be crisp and clear. Photographing fireworks requires long exposure times, so a tripod is your most important ally. No matter how steady your hand is, it's not steady enough.
    • Don't extend the legs or center column of the tripod. Keep everything close to the ground to keep the camera as steady as possible.
    • A flashlight can be used to fill in shadows.[3]
    • Ensure that wherever the tripod is set up is safely out of the way of other people tripping over it. If you're in a crowd, ask a friend to act as a shield to ensure other people don't walk into your camera shooting while you're looking upward.
  4. Ensure the camera settings are correct. While some digital cameras have a "fireworks mode", where you don't have to worry about the settings, knowing how to fix the settings to work to the best advantage for taking great shots of fireworks is essential. It's best to set these well ahead of time, as it may be difficult to see your camera controls or your checklist in the dusk or dark. Double checking before you set off the take the photos is a good way to get used to changing the camera settings and knowing the limitations of your camera. The changes that you need to consider making to the settings include:
    • Set the focus to infinity. You're generally far enough away from fireworks that you can adjust the lens focus to infinity and leave it there. If you want to get a closeup of a small part of the burst, you may need to adjust the focus as you zoom in. If you want to include buildings or people in the background, you may want to bring these into focus. Avoid the use of auto focus if possible; as already noted, most cameras have difficulty adjusting Use the Manual Focus on an SLR Camera in low light conditions.
    • Use a smaller aperture. Set the aperture in the f5.6 to f16 range. F8 is usually a good bet, but if you're shooting with ISO 200 film you may want to kick it up to f16.
    • Turn off the flash. The fireworks are bright enough, and your flash wouldn't effectively reach them anyway; however, it will dull the atmosphere of the shot, thereby lessening its impact.
    • Take off any filters or lens caps before shooting.
    • If your lens has IS (Canon) or VR (Nikon), turn it off before shooting. If you are shooting with an SLR or DSLR camera, chances are your lens has the IS (image stabilization) or VR (vibration reduction) feature built in. And if you have IS or VR (it is essentially the same thing, but Canon and Nikon just had to label it differently), then chances are you are used to leaving it on close to 100 percent of the time - which is generally a good idea. IS/VR is meant to sense the vibration (the shaking of your hands, mostly) and compensate for it. When it does not sense any, it... creates it. Turn it off in order to get sharper images. (This tip goes not only for shooting fireworks, but is valid any time you shoot off a tripod.)
  5. Frame the picture before shooting. Look through the viewfinder during the first few bursts and figure out where the action is. Point your camera at that spot and leave it there. You don't want to be looking through the Use a Viewfinder for Artwork while you're trying to shoot, because you'll likely shake the camera or your timing will be off. If you're trying to get closeups, of course, your framing will need to be more exact and you'll probably have to play with it more. Once again, frame carefully to exclude other light sources that might distract from the fireworks or cause your photos to be overexposed.
  6. Keep the shutter open to capture the entire burst. Despite what it may feel to you, provided the sky is very black, leaving the shutter open won't result in overexposure.[1] Set the exposure to the maximum length. To get the sharpest image it is best that nothing comes in contact with the camera during the exposure. Use the automatic long exposure of 30 seconds or more. If your Clean an SLR Camera does not have an automatic long exposure the use of a cable release is okay. Use the BULB (B) setting, which will keep the shutter open as long as the button is depressed. A rule of thumb is to open the shutter as soon as you hear or see the rocket shooting into the sky and to leave it open until the burst is dissipating. This will usually take several seconds.
    • To capture the best effects from bursts, exposure times will usually be about half a second and four seconds but judge it as you see it.[1] For ISO 100, photography expert John Hedgecoe recommends trying 4 seconds at f5.6.[3]
    • When taking a reading for exposure, don't point the camera at the center of the light source; if you do, the shot risks being underexposed and the trails of light will be faint. Instead, experiment with a range of shutter speeds and if it's possible, bracket the exposure.[3]
    • To use auto focus in the dark of night, try to first take a picture of lights on the horizon. Then when you set off the next exposure into the pitch black of night the lens will already be set at infinity. Also, try starting the long exposure when there is a large fireworks burst. The auto focus may work on this pattern and therefore ensure that a subsequent burst during the exposure will be in focus too.
  7. Spice it up. Even good pictures of fireworks can be boring if there's nothing to distinguish them. You can make more interesting photos by including buildings in the background or spectators in the foreground. Choose your shooting location to try to get an unusual and unique perspective on the show if possible. Ensure that the camera is stable on its tripod and that the focal length and frame is right for the height of the fireworks.
    • For a wide angled shot of fireworks in a setting such as a well lighted Take a Cityscape Photograph, judge the height of the first few fireworks bursts and use that as a reference for framing the whole scene. Vary the exposure times set on your tripod-locked camera so that it captures both single and multiple fireworks bursts.[4]



Tips

  • Use slow film or ISO setting on a digital camera. The burning embers give off plenty of light for proper exposure. This trick has the extra benefit as to force an automatic camera to take as long of an exposure as possible. It's a bit counterintuitive, but you should stick to film speeds between ISO 50 and ISO 100. You can usually get away with speeds up to ISO 200 in a pinch. Some photographers prefer tungsten film or digital camera setting, while others prefer daylight film or setting. You will get different results with either. If you have a digital camera, set the ISO somewhere between 50 and 100.
  • These steps can be applied to similar bursts of light, such as welding and sparklers.
  • When trying to capture multiple bursts, cover the lens (without touching the camera) with something black between bursts. A black hat or piece of heavy black paper works well. This prevents other light sources from overexposing the film between bursts. Simply place the cover in front of the lens after one burst has dissipated, and take the cover away when the new one rockets into the air.
  • Use a timer if you have one, to help avoid vibration from movement.
  • The choice of lens is up to you, depending on how far from the fireworks you are and what perspective you want to achieve. A zoom lens is best if you want to try a variety of shots.
  • Try holding the cable release button down halfway before you start the shot. Press it the rest of the way when you want to start the shot. On some cameras this reduces the lag time before the exposure begins. This tip is most useful if you cannot turn off the auto focus feature of the camera.
  • Check the wind direction to know which direction the smoke will go to. The best is to be the direction that the smoke is going away from.
  • If you are near the site where the fireworks are being burnt, use a mobile or a two-way radio to know when the fireworks have been launched from the ground. This is so you can capture full photos of fireworks without rushing and forgetting something or accidentally changing settings.

Warnings

  • If photographing neighborhood fireworks or in close range to the fireworks, look out for falling debris.
  • Depending on the types of shots you want to get, you may find that not all these suggestions work for you. But the beauty of photography is that it's all about experimenting and finding your own solutions with your camera.

Things You'll Need

  • A digital or film camera with a very long exposure time is required. A time exposure of 30 seconds or more is good. Digital cameras have the advantage that you can see the results while the show is going on. You can see your mistakes or success on the spot, and correct for them immediately.
  • The use of a tripod to hold the camera steady is mandatory for good results. It does not have to be an expensive one; the cheapest you can find will do. Table top models are available for little money.
  • Bring a flashlight--it's dark outside! You can check the progress on your pictures and access your setting to reset, if needed.

Related Articles

Sources and Citations

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Michael Freeman, Mastering Digital Photography, p. 90, (2008), ISBN 978-1-905814-42-8
  2. ↑ John Hedgecoe, The new manual of photography, p. 73, (2008), ISBN 978-1-4053-3476-1
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 John Hedgecoe, The new manual of photography, p. 105, (2008), ISBN 978-1-4053-3476-1
  4. ↑ Michael Freeman, Mastering Digital Photography, p. 91, (2008), ISBN 978-1-905814-42-8
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