Fireworks Photography

[Desert Rose]

Hey Nichole, thanks for the great examples and EXIF info. I was hoping to catch the fireworks for 4th July celebration, but it looks like the desert will be having monsoon Saturday evening. I may have to try my hand at lightening strikes instead.

[tmphillips]

I haven't had a chance to shoot fireworks yet, but hopefully will this year.. I got this from Scott Kelby's book and it's the recipe I've been planning to try (and now will be trying it along with whatever I glean from reading Nicole's suggestions):

1) tripod
2) cable release to see the rocket's trajectory to know when to push the button (which I don't have and he says makes it more hit or miss when looking through the viewfinder)
3) use a zoom lens (ideally a 200mm or more) to get in tight and capture just the fireworks (unless you want a wider view, which I think most of us decide in the moment)
4) manual mode, shutter speed 4 seconds, and aperture f/11
5) If it overexposes in test shot, lower the shutter speed to 3 seconds, and retest
6) bulb mode if you have it and want to use it.. hold the shutter button down when the rocket bursts, then release when the light trails start to fade...

[Parry]

Me & My GF tried to do some firework photos in her backgarden... in practice for a firework competition that is held near us in september

unfortunately for her - they where a little too unpredictable, cos we were so close... fortunately for me, i had a fish eye...


EXIF is on the file - but i'm in work...
so don't have handy access to it...

Parry

[rsonnino]

Hi:
I am new to the forum, so please bear with me :-).
I have been shooting fireworks for decades, most recently with a Canon 5D, and most of my results are quite good. I do the usual things that are always recommended (tripod, remote, "B" setting, longish exposure, aperture f/11 to f/22, low ISO etc). The one situation I am still having problems with is the Grand Finale: even when I keep the shutter open for a shorter time, the colors seem to be washed out, and the superimposition of the fireworks makes them lose detail.
I should add that in many cases I have no choice but to be "too close", i.e. the setting is such that if I try to move farther away, I end up behind houses or trees. I have had less trouble with the Grand Finale when shooting from across a body of water (lake, river, sea) - see attached images.
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Roberta

[Nicole]

Welcome Roberta (and really nice shots there! I really like the reflections on the water and the city lights).

I can sympathise with always being too close to the fireworks because of the landscape of the area. I have the same kind of problems and I usually just wind up tossing the pictures from the grand finale because they so often are overblown. The one thing that I have done is to use a quicker shutter speed and a smaller aperture, but that has the effect of getting rid of any sort of background completely. So then what I have tried is combining multiple shots to create the setting. This would be the beginning of the finale so the fireworks weren't really over the top yet.



Still, more often than not, the finale just winds up with too many lights for me to effectively capture. I think you have the right idea being further away from the fireworks if you want to capture the finale.

[rsonnino]

Originally Posted by Nicole

Welcome Roberta (and really nice shots there! I really like the reflections on the water and the city lights).

I can sympathise with always being too close to the fireworks because of the landscape of the area. I have the same kind of problems and I usually just wind up tossing the pictures from the grand finale because they so often are overblown. The one thing that I have done is to use a quicker shutter speed and a smaller aperture, but that has the effect of getting rid of any sort of background completely. So then what I have tried is combining multiple shots to create the setting. This would be the beginning of the finale so the fireworks weren't really over the top yet.



Still, more often than not, the finale just winds up with too many lights for me to effectively capture. I think you have the right idea being further away from the fireworks if you want to capture the finale.

Hi Nicole:
Thank you for the suggestions (and yours is a spectacular image as well! Where was it taken?). I was trying to avoid combining shots, but of course that is always a possibility. I may try to use an even smaller aperture this Saturday (4th of July celebrations around here) and see what happens. I worry that a shorter shutter speed may not allow me to capture the multiple bursts, so I may try the smallest aperture I have, but still keep the shutter open for a couple of bursts.
Thanks again,
Roberta

[Nicole]

It was taken in Wellington, New Zealand.

And yeah, that's the only one I've combined because the fireworks are actually much further out in the harbour, so anyone who knows where the fireworks are would know that it's not an actual shot from the day. I find that the shorter shutter speed still works pretty well during the finale because they're shooting them off so fast. I'll have a dig through some of the old shots and see if I have any from the finales that turned out. There must be some somewhere If I find any I'll post with the EXIF etc.

[rsonnino]

Thanks again - I will try the shorter shutter speed as well , then.
Someday, I hope to make it to NZ!

[Nicole]

Ok, the finales are *much* smaller here. I had a look through to see if I had any that were from around the finale, and this was one of the better ones:

Camera:	Nikon D50
Exposure:	1 sec (1)
Aperture:	f/10
Focal Length:	18 mm
ISO Speed:	200

That also gives you some idea of how close I usually wind up to the fireworks (although that is cropped from horizonal to vertical, but still). It may just be that we're thinking of different exposure times when we each think of "short"

[Ishyid]

I just wanted to thank everyone for the replys. They are giving me a much better idea of what to do. Now only if it got dark out before 10pm I would definently take some pratice shots.

Nicole, you wernt kidding about it being windy where you live. every picture you posted, you can see the wind taking the fireworks away.