How I shoot fireworks: There are many methods that work and I am giving you the method that has worked for me over many years. How I shoot fireworks Things you will need…. A camera...

grandpaw

There are many methods that work and I am giving you the method that has worked for me over many years.

How I shoot fireworks

Things you will need…. A camera that will shoot in manual mode, A tripod, Flashlight,and the knowledge of how to change shooting modes and settings on your camera. Don't wait until you get to the show and it is about to start to try and figure out how to change the settings on your camera because it is too late at that point.

I have been taking fireworks photos for many years and if you follow my instructions I guarantee you will come away with a bunch of exciting and colorful images even if it is your first time.

Choosing your location… Do you want to capture just the bursts of fireworks in the air or add a foreground element, such as some trees or buildings. Once you have made that decision we can work on getting the settings where you need them on your camera.. Whether you are near or far from the action of the fireworks they will cover a very wide area so make sure you bring a wide enough angle lens to capture as much of the color and excitement as you can. It is easier to crop out dead space than cut off half of the fireworks.

These are the settings that I use and they never fail to produce great images. Manual mode, ISO 100, F16 and a 10 second exposure. When the first blast goes off I take a shot at maybe 1/30 of a second and check to make sure my focus is spot on. At that point I switch to a 10 second exposure and what that does is allows me to get several blasts in one image, making it more interesting and colorful. I press the shutter down and at the end of ten seconds when I hear the shutter click I just press it again and start my next exposure, and repeat this during the entire show. This will give you about five exposures a minute so if the show is about 20 minutes long you will end up with approximately a hundred images.

Using ISO 100 will eliminate the grain and give you the best color. Using F16 will give you much more definition in the streaks and bursts. Using a 10 second shutter will give you more blasts in each image and eliminate you having to time your shots. Remember this is all done on a tripod.

Hope this helps. Sorry I didn't post it earlier but I have been in bed sick all week.

ImageCreator Loc: Northern California

An example would be helpful.

grandpaw

ImageCreator wrote:

An example would be helpful.

How about this one

(Download)

Orphoto Loc: Oregon

Every year, the same post regardless of how many other threads on the same topic are running.

User ID

grandpaw wrote:

There are many methods that work and I am giving you the method that has worked for me over many years.

How I shoot fireworks

Things you will need…. A camera that will shoot in manual mode, A tripod, Flashlight,and the knowledge of how to change shooting modes and settings on your camera. Don't wait until you get to the show and it is about to start to try and figure out how to change the settings on your camera because it is too late at that point.

I have been taking fireworks photos for many years and if you follow my instructions I guarantee you will come away with a bunch of exciting and colorful images even if it is your first time.

Choosing your location… Do you want to capture just the bursts of fireworks in the air or add a foreground element, such as some trees or buildings. Once you have made that decision we can work on getting the settings where you need them on your camera.. Whether you are near or far from the action of the fireworks they will cover a very wide area so make sure you bring a wide enough angle lens to capture as much of the color and excitement as you can. It is easier to crop out dead space than cut off half of the fireworks.

These are the settings that I use and they never fail to produce great images. Manual mode, ISO 100, F16 and a 10 second exposure. When the first blast goes off I take a shot at maybe 1/30 of a second and check to make sure my focus is spot on. At that point I switch to a 10 second exposure and what that does is allows me to get several blasts in one image, making it more interesting and colorful. I press the shutter down and at the end of ten seconds when I hear the shutter click I just press it again and start my next exposure, and repeat this during the entire show. This will give you about five exposures a minute so if the show is about 20 minutes long you will end up with approximately a hundred images.

Using ISO 100 will eliminate the grain and give you the best color. Using F16 will give you much more definition in the streaks and bursts. Using a 10 second shutter will give you more blasts in each image and eliminate you having to time your shots. Remember this is all done on a tripod.

Hope this helps. Sorry I didn't post it earlier but I have been in bed sick all week.

There are many methods that work and I am giving y... (show quote)

I do almost the opposite. Fireworks pretty much paint their own picture regardless of what we do to them. Sample attached.

No tripod, relying on OIS lens @17mm, infinity focus, 1/40@f:6.3, ISO 10,000.

(Download)

adedeluca Loc: holbrook ny

Nice

Architect1776 Loc: In my mind

grandpaw wrote:

There are many methods that work and I am giving you the method that has worked for me over many years.

How I shoot fireworks

Things you will need…. A camera that will shoot in manual mode, A tripod, Flashlight,and the knowledge of how to change shooting modes and settings on your camera. Don't wait until you get to the show and it is about to start to try and figure out how to change the settings on your camera because it is too late at that point.

I have been taking fireworks photos for many years and if you follow my instructions I guarantee you will come away with a bunch of exciting and colorful images even if it is your first time.

Choosing your location… Do you want to capture just the bursts of fireworks in the air or add a foreground element, such as some trees or buildings. Once you have made that decision we can work on getting the settings where you need them on your camera.. Whether you are near or far from the action of the fireworks they will cover a very wide area so make sure you bring a wide enough angle lens to capture as much of the color and excitement as you can. It is easier to crop out dead space than cut off half of the fireworks.

These are the settings that I use and they never fail to produce great images. Manual mode, ISO 100, F16 and a 10 second exposure. When the first blast goes off I take a shot at maybe 1/30 of a second and check to make sure my focus is spot on. At that point I switch to a 10 second exposure and what that does is allows me to get several blasts in one image, making it more interesting and colorful. I press the shutter down and at the end of ten seconds when I hear the shutter click I just press it again and start my next exposure, and repeat this during the entire show. This will give you about five exposures a minute so if the show is about 20 minutes long you will end up with approximately a hundred images.

Using ISO 100 will eliminate the grain and give you the best color. Using F16 will give you much more definition in the streaks and bursts. Using a 10 second shutter will give you more blasts in each image and eliminate you having to time your shots. Remember this is all done on a tripod.

Hope this helps. Sorry I didn't post it earlier but I have been in bed sick all week.

There are many methods that work and I am giving y... (show quote)

Looks like a good method.
I always hand hold. But as you show you can get multiple bursts which is really great.

kerry12 Loc: Harrisburg, Pa.

Orphoto wrote:

Every year, the same post regardless of how many other threads on the same topic are running.

Are you complaining or complimenting. A lot of new people to the forum every year. Repeating it helps the new people who may be wondering how these beautiful photos are achieved.

badapple Loc: Twin Lake, Michigan

kerry12 wrote:

Are you complaining or complimenting. A lot of new people to the forum every year. Repeating it helps the new people who may be wondering how these beautiful photos are achieved.

Helpful for the “old people” too.

kerry12 Loc: Harrisburg, Pa.

badapple wrote:

Helpful for the “old people” too.

Me included.

Russch

Thanks for sharing

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

[quote=User ID]I do almost the opposite. Fireworks pretty much paint their own picture regardless of what we do to them. Sample attached.[

Sorry, I prefer his. It is superior.

grandpaw

As in everything there are many ways to accomplish the same thing, so use whatever method that works best for you. I post this every year because there are a lot of readers or members that haven't tried shooting fireworks and I thought this might be helpful. This works for me and it should work for anyone that tries it but by no means is the only way to take fireworks photos but I know that it has worked for many that have tried it over the years. Happy shooting!!!

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

kerry12 wrote:

Are you complaining or complimenting. A lot of new people to the forum every year. Repeating it helps the new people who may be wondering how these beautiful photos are achieved.

Very well said and I am one of those people.

Heather Iles Loc: UK, Somerset

Orphoto wrote:

Every year, the same post regardless of how many other threads on the same topic are running.

Does it really matter?