Fireworks Photography

[krish_g]

Hello All

This is my first ever post on this site and I am also quite new to photography. I am willing to learn so that I could improve my skills. Recently I took around 200 pictures of fireworks, but none of them came out good. I have attached a few pictures. Please let me know how I can improve on them and also whether I shall be able to improve these pictures in Photoshop, if so how to do it.

I took the pictures with my Canon Digital Rebel XT with Sigma 55-200MM NON IS Lens. All the pictures were taken with the following settings on a tripod.

Exposure Programme - Aperture Priority
ISO - 400
Lens Aperture - F8
Metering Mode - Pattern
Focal Length - 55MM

I also have a Canon 18-55MM IS Lens.

Thanks in advance for your comments.

I have posted all the pictures below in my response to Samanax

[Samanax]

Can't see your pictures. Clicking on the link takes us to a page that says: krish_g doesn't have anything available to you. You have to make your photos available to anyone (public) so we can see them.

To imbed a picture from Flickr, go to the picture you want to use from Flickr and click on "All Sizes" (above your picture). Select the Medium size and then look below the picture for the #2 box that says "Grab the photo's URL:". Highlight and select it. Right click on your selection and hit Cut (or Copy). Now go back to the DPS post you want to imbed the image in. Click on the yellow icon above the message box (the one that looks like a mini-landscape). In the box that pops up, paste the URL in box (make sure you only have 1 "http://" in the URL line before you hit the Ok button). Hit the Ok button. Click on the "Preview Post" button to see if your picture is imbedded in the post.

[krish_g]

Thanks Samanax for the information. I have done that.

[mdanivic]

Hello!!!

From Portugal here comes my first post and I would like to see your critiques on this firework shot in Lisbon near the 25th of April bridge.



Canon 450D (XSI) + Canon EF 28-80mm f3,5 - 5,6 USM + tripod
ISO = 100
F = 28mm
f = 11
t = 8 seg

[DannyTheNiceGuy]

I'm a beginner and I never took pictures of fireworks yet. I think shutter priority would benefit more so you can control how much of the light trails after the fireworks explode in the sky. A lot of the smoke is distracting so maybe cropping can make it look better. The article here on DPS about being upwind or something can help with the smoke so try that out although I don't have experience in that. Bulb setting for shutter speed can help so you can control exactly how long to expose it to please how much of the light trails after the fireworks explode.

[Quazology]

Howdy. definately set your camera to Manual mode, not aperture priority. I dont think the camera is going to be able to meter the fireworks display very well.
Considering that several of the shots are over exposed, I would say you could tone down your ISO or go with a smaller aperture, f/11 or f/16. Hope that helps.

[ricklumpas]

Originally Posted by mdanivic

Hello!!!

From Portugal here comes my first post and I would like to see your critiques on this firework shot in Lisbon near the 25th of April bridge.



Canon 450D (XSI) + Canon EF 28-80mm f3,5 - 5,6 USM + tripod
ISO = 100
F = 28mm
f = 11
t = 8 seg

Welcome to DPS!

You can start your new thread on this OTHER Critique section so that all critique will be for your fireworks shots.

[krish_g]

Originally Posted by Quazology

Howdy. definately set your camera to Manual mode, not aperture priority. I dont think the camera is going to be able to meter the fireworks display very well.
Considering that several of the shots are over exposed, I would say you could tone down your ISO or go with a smaller aperture, f/11 or f/16. Hope that helps.

Thanks for your response. I will definitely your suggestions the next time. By the way is there a way to improve these pictures using Photoshop.

[natek313]

Originally Posted by krish_g

Thanks for your response. I will definitely your suggestions the next time. By the way is there a way to improve these pictures using Photoshop.

Yes, definitely take Quazology's advice into consideration. I photographed fireworks for my first time last week. Not all of them turned out that great, but some turned out really good. My Flickr (click here) has the best ones. Feel free to check them out.

What I did was set my camera to manual mode. Fireworks are pretty bright, so you don't really need to bump up your ISO or increase your aperture (lower f-number). I had my ISO set at 100 and my aperture at f/11. I left my focal length at a pretty wide angle (21mm) so that way I captured a larger area in the sky. I set my focus at infinity because I was setup a little ways back, but I had some objects I could use as a guide for my focus. Once I had those settings all set, I left them alone for the rest of the night. All I had to worry about was the shutter. I put my shutter speed on the bulb setting, so that way I could control how long the shutter is open. Start the exposure before the firework shell explodes and leave it open until the explosion is over and fades away.

It's not very difficult to do, but there is some technique to it especially when it comes to anticipation. There is a good article here on DPS that gives tips for photographing fireworks. If I can find it, I'll post the link.

Now, as far as being able to fix the photographs in Photoshop, you might be able to. Did you shoot the photos in RAW? If you did, just open the RAW file in Photoshop, and there will be a processing window that opens up with all of your settings (exposure being one of them) that you can adjust. If you shot the pictures in JPG format, open the file in Photoshop and use an adjustment layer to change the exposure. I know you can do it in Photoshop CS3 (that's what I use), but I don't know if you can in earlier versions. I would guess you can.

I hope this helps! And, of course, welcome to DPS!

EDIT: Here is the article I metioned: How To Photograph Fireworks

[krish_g]

Thanks Natek313. I have learnt something new today. One question regarding the bulb mode. Does it mean that once I start shooting in bulb mode I dont have to do anything and the camera will take pictures at frequent intervals until I release the click button? I am not having a remote.

I am using Adobe Photoshop Elements 7.

Oh by the way, your pictures are looking great. How did you manage to take those pictures without any smoke?