MAKING THE MOST OF YOUR FIREWORKS PHOTOGRAPHY
When it comes to photography, I think everyone who has ever picked up a camera and thought seriously about improving their picture-taking skills has a desire to capture some really nice shots of fireworks. But if you’re like me, you’re early attempts were disastrous!! However, with a little pre-shoot preparation you can find yourself capturing some very pleasing images this Independence Day!!
First, you must have a tripod!! I cannot stress this enough because contrary to popular thinking, your shutter speed is going to be slow – not fast.
Next, you should have a remote shutter release cable. You can get by without this piece of equipment, but it’s a little more of a hassle. If you don’t have a shutter release cable, you will need to pre-set your shutter timer for a 2 second delay. This will allow you to trip the shutter, but delay the action for two seconds – allowing any vibrations to settle before the shutter actually opens.
Of course, you will need a camera that allows for shutter settings, aperture settings, ISO settings, and well…you get the picture, don’t you? You’ll need an SLR or a DSLR camera.
For this particular shoot, I decided upon my settings prior to my set-up. This allowed me to prepare my camera before leaving my house. Here’s what I did:
You may choose to experiment with your settings, even lengthening the shutter speed to 10 seconds to capture the complete fireworks trail. It's entirely up to you! So, have fun!
Now I have to say, I have the luxury of seeing fireworks every night of the year! Because of this, I knew I didn’t want to experiment in the field. Yes, I was going to succeed or fail with these settings!
So again, my camera specifics for these images are: Canon 50D, 56mm or 75mm, f/11, 4 sec, ISO 100.
First, you must have a tripod!! I cannot stress this enough because contrary to popular thinking, your shutter speed is going to be slow – not fast.
Next, you should have a remote shutter release cable. You can get by without this piece of equipment, but it’s a little more of a hassle. If you don’t have a shutter release cable, you will need to pre-set your shutter timer for a 2 second delay. This will allow you to trip the shutter, but delay the action for two seconds – allowing any vibrations to settle before the shutter actually opens.
Of course, you will need a camera that allows for shutter settings, aperture settings, ISO settings, and well…you get the picture, don’t you? You’ll need an SLR or a DSLR camera.
For this particular shoot, I decided upon my settings prior to my set-up. This allowed me to prepare my camera before leaving my house. Here’s what I did:
- Disengaged the stability feature on my Canon 28-135mm zoom lens – the stability feature can actually cause minor distortion attempting to allow for vibration that won’t be there
- Disengaged the auto-focus feature on my Canon lens – you don’t want your lens trying to auto-focus in the dark
- Manually pre-set my focus to infinity
- Pre-set my camera to manual (M) – you must be in total control
- Pre-set my aperture to f/11 – you want a nice depth of field in case there are fireworks exploding in the background
- Set the ISO on my Canon 50D to 100 – a high ISO will only add distracting noise to your image
- Set the shutter delay for 2 seconds
- Set the shutter speed for 4 seconds
You may choose to experiment with your settings, even lengthening the shutter speed to 10 seconds to capture the complete fireworks trail. It's entirely up to you! So, have fun!
Now I have to say, I have the luxury of seeing fireworks every night of the year! Because of this, I knew I didn’t want to experiment in the field. Yes, I was going to succeed or fail with these settings!
So again, my camera specifics for these images are: Canon 50D, 56mm or 75mm, f/11, 4 sec, ISO 100.
