How To: Photograph Fireworks

How To: Photograph Fireworks

Happy Independence Day!  Every Year on the 3rd we go to my Aunt and Uncle's cottage on the lake for family/friend time, fireworks, and amazing food.  There is usually some swimming involved too and last night was no exception.  We were worried the fireworks would be cancelled because of the rain, but the rain didn't even stop my kiddos from taking a dip in the surprisingly warm water.

If you are attending the fireworks this year, here are some tips to help you get some great images.

1. Use a tripod.  This is essential.  You need to use such a long exposure that it would be nearly impossible to hand hold your camera.  Most of my exposure times were anywhere from 2 seconds to 20 seconds.
2. Set your focus on your lens to infinity (shown below).
   
3. Set your camera to a small aperture (the larger the # the smaller the aperture which lets in less light).  Depending on the look I was going for, I shot between 6 and 20.
4. Set your shutter speed to BULB.  By setting your shutter speed to BULB, you will need to press the shutter to start your exposure and hold it the length of your exposure, releasing when you are done.
5. ISO:  I set my ISO to 100  to get images where I wanted the sky to be black.  If you would like some more of the background to be visible, increase your ISO.

   

   35mm f/10  ISO 400  8:00s
   

   
   

   
   

To capture this image I used an aperture of f/10. I set my camera to an ISO of 400 hoping that the fireworks would illuminate the sky enough to be able to see the lake and the silhouette of Liz sitting on the dock. I also used a longer shutter speed of 8 seconds to make sure that I got enough light from the fireworks.

35mm  f/22  ISO 100 15:00s

In this image, I wanted the sky to be black, so I used an ISO of 100.  Because my aperture was set to f/22 (letting in less light) and my ISO was set so low, and these particular fireworks weren't very bright, I used a shutter speed of 15 seconds.


I hope you are able to get out and take some great pictures of fireworks, while spending time with friends and family!