Larry J

I am going to a concert at a minor league ball park with fireworks after the show. Going to be in a place that I can use a monopad or a tripod. I have a Nikon500 with several lens. Thinking of my Nikon 16-80 2.8 to 4
zoom or my Tamron 10-24 3.5-4.5. I know I will be giving up some speed with the Tamron. Questions are using mono or tripod and which lens. Secondly what settings usually work capturing fireworks... sorry this is such a long question... thanking all of you in advance for your input

jameyward Loc: North Carolina

You must use the tripod with 3-5 second long exposures. Set your aperture to f8-f11. Adjust your ISO accordingly. I also like to use a cable release or a 2 second timer. Enjoy!!

khorinek

Shooting fireworks is the opposite of shooting fast moving subjects. Normally you would shoot fast moving subjects with a fast shutter speed. With fireworks you want to capture the light and color of the "explosion". I shoot fireworks with my 70-200 f/2.8, with Image Stabilization on, shutter speed 60-100, sometimes slower, aperture 2.8. ISO 1600 - 3200 (too much ISO and you will start seeing background like trees, buildings, etc.). I try to anticipate where the fireworks will go off at it's fullest and aim my lens in that area, (hand held). I shoot in burst and when I think each fireworks are about to go off I start shooting.

Notorious T.O.D. Loc: Harrisburg, North Carolina

I shoot with a 24-70 or 70-200 depending on distance away. 2-3 second exposure with a remote trigger on the shutter. When I hear the fireworks shot I will trigger the shutter. Have to use a tripod for support. Maybe a beanbag on something stable if a tripod is not an option. Monopod will not help much.

Larry J

All of you have certainly given me some ideas to work with ... thank you so much. This is a great group of shutter bugs

jims203 Loc: Connecticut

Use a ten second setting for the finale to really capture all its glory.
A tripod and cable release are a must.

d2b2 Loc: Catonsville, Maryland, USA

I got these some years ago with my D300 and a 50mm length on a zoom lens. The camera was set at ISO 200, shooting f13 for 1.6 seconds. Definitely on a tripod.

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Tea8 Loc: Where the wind comes sweeping down the plain.

I've shot fireworks photos from my towns fireworks display over the last several years and there are a few things I've kind of learned and are now my preferences when shooting fireworks. My personal preference is to shoot in shutter priority on a tripod, which has a two way control head. I lock the horizontal tilt, but keep it open to do vertical tilting so I can track the shells as they go up to burst. I like to shoot shutter priority because from the fireworks displays I've been at the rate at which the shells explode and the time of day my city likes to start vary. (Sometimes they like to start before the sun is completely set) So, sometimes I have to start with a faster shutter speed to get the effect I want from them and then slow down once the sky darkens. My city also has times of where they set off a whole bunch at one time and then times when just one or two shells are going off at once, so my shutter speed changes during this time. The tripod definitely gives me the stability to shoot any of these times at the shutter speeds I need. I've gone anywhere from a shutter speed of 1/100th to 4 and 8 second shots to try and get several bursts in one shot. (The 1/100th was when a bunch were going off at once and it was very bright.) I don't think there is just one set of settings that we could give you for great fireworks shots. You're definitely going to have to experiment a little bit and see what is giving you the type of shots you imagine.

I want to say that like jims I've shot with a remote release for them so I wasn't disturbing the camera, but not always and I've gotten plenty of images I'm happy with from it. (It's been a couple of years since I've had the chance to shoot fireworks because of my work requiring us to work holidays, so I'm fuzzy on when the last time was I tried to shoot with a remote release)

Depending on how far you are going to be away from the fireworks is really what is going to determine which lens you want to use. In years past I only had an 18-55 and a 55-300 to choose from and because of how close we could get the 55-300 couldn't allow me to zoom out enough and my 18-55 couldn't allow me to zoom in enough for some shots. I would think the 16-80 would be the better option simply for more zoom range.

Larry J

I appreciate all the suggestions... hopefully I will be able to post some "keepers" after the show

14kphotog Loc: Marietta, Ohio

Mount camera on a tripod, 200 iso, f-11, lock shutter open, have a coffee can painted black inside to place over lens between bursts. Use a 3-5 second exposure for each one. You can put up to 5 3 second bursts on 1 frame. Use a lens wide enough to cover the burst size. DO NOT allow can or what ever you use as a cover to touch lens.

Kaib795 Loc: Maryland, USA

This is such fun, taking fireworks. Nice shots as well.

When we were in Epcot at night they ran out some fireworks and I setup a tiny camera on a light tripod and weighted it down to keep it steady. I set the camera on manual and allowed a lot of time for each shot. I captured the wildest streams of light but the real trick is to allow enough time for more than one fireworks to be captured. If you go to Disney World and end up at Epcot at night the fireworks are great and you'll have a ball. I'll try and find some of these shots to show you. They are buried on another computers HD. I hope to inspire

Kaib795 Loc: Maryland, USA

Great shots.

Resqu2 Loc: SW Va

If you have time play with the bulb setting also. I got some really neat shots during the last show I went to.

d2b2 Loc: Catonsville, Maryland, USA

Thank you, sir!

Scruples Loc: Brooklyn, New York

Get a sturdy tripod. Attach your camera bag to the weight hook to steady the tripod. Work with the widest possible lens (starting at 10mm and progress through to 15mm and end up at 20mm). Open the aperature wide perhaps 4.0 or wider. Set your shutter speed for long time. Longer than 4 seconds is optimal. Set your ISO to 6400 or lower. Higher ISO will bring out the background. Use an electronic shutter release and burst several shots at a time. Don't be afraid to experiment and bracket your shots. Each camera is different. Remember that fireworks are really slower than a speeding bullet. You should not think you need small aperature, short shutter speeds and high ISO. just the opposite.