Tried to photograph Fireworks

[vfdbaker]

I took this at our local festival during the fireworks. My husband is a firefighter and we were lucky to get the best seats in the house right under them. My 3 year old got scared and snuggled to daddy for protection. I wasn't planning on doing a "photo shoot" but I did take the picture. I have only brightened it using PSP3. How could I have taken it differently? Is there any post production work that would make it look better?



Camera: Nikon D3000
Exposure: 0.017 sec (1/60)
Aperture: f/4.5
Focal Length: 30 mm
ISO Speed: 200
Exposure Bias: 0 EV
Flash: Auto, Fired, Return detected

[Cmoon]

Was your purpose to get the fireworks or your husband and child? Did you use a tripod?

[vfdbaker]

Originally Posted by Cmoon

Was your purpose to get the fireworks or your husband and child? Did you use a tripod?

Both actually. I wanted a sense of an action shot. I did not use a tripod. It was difficult to get and out of 20 shots only 2 came out decent.

[IABoomer]

You could do a longer exposure to get more trails of the fireworks. Set the flash to rear sync so it fires off at the end of the exposure to catch your family.

You could probably do an adjustment layer in Photoshop to bring down the exposure of the family a little, then mask them off so the fireworks don't get too dark.

[Maik]

I think a longer exposure would be better. Right now it looks like the firework is comming out of your husbands head. Was he running hot

[joeleszc]

I frequently shoot fireworks here on the beach in the summer. A long exposure is key to capturing the trails. Your family would have to be very still during the long exposure to include them in the photo. Tripod is a must. Joe

[BryanC]

I might be completely off the mark here, but I think this image is less about the fireworks and more about capturing the 'moment' between your husband and child, with the fireworks being a secondary part of the story. Again, I can be wrong, but I have the feeling that this image is special and important to you and your family, and sometimes that's all that matters. I can understand why, too. As you mentioned, the 3 y.o. being a little scared, snuggling up to 'daddy' for protection, head and arm on his shoulder. 'Daddy' in his Fire Dept. coat, surely an important part of your lives, and the little guy in his 'camo'. The fireworks in the background complete the story...the 'moment'.

You have been given some great tips on capturing fireworks and trails, and especially about how to expose foreground subjects during longer exposures.

As for this image, I did a little playing. I'm not sure how this will go over, and I hope you don't mind. If it's that bad, I'll remove it, just say the word...

I used Gimp, but I believe the processes are very similar in whatever versions of Photoshop as well. I wanted to even out the exposures between 'your guys' and the background, (the flash seemed a little harsh). After experimenting, I found that working with dad and son separately from the background was getting better results. I did this by quick masking them, making them a selection. I applied a duplicate layer in 'overlay' mode which took the harshness of the flash out. A little contrast adjustment, slight desaturation and a bit of sharpening. 'Invert'ing the selection to work on the background, I did some contrast adjustment and a little color saturation. Flattened and saved.

4671706864_f2db4453c8_b_editresize.jpg

[Jared S]

Originally Posted by vfdbaker

Both actually. I wanted a sense of an action shot. I did not use a tripod. It was difficult to get and out of 20 shots only 2 came out decent.

Would you mind sharing what tripod you are using? I'm in the market for a tripod for my newly purchased D3000.

[Camdixon]

Originally Posted by IABoomer

Set the flash to rear sync so it fires off at the end of the exposure to catch your family.

Which cameras are able to do this? I have a Digital Rebel, and I'm not sure on how to do this (if it even does). Any advice is welcome.

[sgeary]

I found a tripod at a second hand store for $5 and the piece that attaches to the camera was missing so I search it online and found it for $25 so for $30 I have a great tripod.