FIREWORKS!!!! Tips & Tricks Thread.

[bvar22]

Any good advice out there?

I love fireworks.
My first impulse is to get as close as possible and shoot straight up.
However, the most interesting fireworks photos I have seen have always had something in the background, like a city skyline.
So this year, I'm looking for a location that gives me a little distance and elevation.

I had an opportunity for a warm up last night. There was a fireworks display over the Mississippi River in Minneapolis to celebrate the opening of the new Guthrie Theater. I found a great location on a bridge with a pedestrian walkway about 1 mile upriver that would have allowed me to frame the new theater in the background plus maybe even get some reflections on a stretch of still water. I arrived early (by bicycle), claimed the best spot, set up, and waited for the show fanticizing about how GREAT these shots were going to be. 10 minutes before the show, the Minneapolis police closed the bridge and ordered all pedestrians off the walkway (rotton pigs..Police State...fascists...grrrr)

Anyway, I was able to pack up and move before the show started (love the bicycle). Unfortunately, the new location was under the fireworks. A great place to watch, but impossible to get any skyline in the background.

SO, Tip #1:
Scout out a good location, and get there early!


If I remember correctly, I joined this forum 1 year ago looking for advice on photographing fireworks. :party:

At that time, I was using an Olympus 750 UltraZoom, and loved every picture I took. :)

NOW, there is something wrong with every picture I take. :(

Progress? :shrug:

[JeffR]

1. Wish my pics has "something wrong" with them like this one does...

:smoke:

[intheflow]

2. Tip #2: Check out old Photo Group threads on the topic.

Fireworks - a short tutorial by ConsAreLiars

Hmmm... I could have sworn there was another thread with more links, but no matter.

And notice how I have to refer you to other people's posts. That's because I'm completely and utterly clueless about taking firework photos. Am planning to try it out for real next week. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Fireworks here on the Fourth of July

are kind of anticlimactic. They just don't play as well in a daylit sky. That's why our biggest fireworks displays are at the State Fair (September), New Year's Eve, and Fur Rendezvous kick-off in February. You have to freeze your butt off to get good fireworks shots here. :)

[regnaD kciN]

4. Tip #3 (and beyond)...

Here's what I did last year, using a Nikon 5700:

1) Use a tripod (this should go without saying).
2) Set camera to manual focus and exposure.
3) Set focus to infinity (unless you're very close to the fireworks, in which case, you're on your own).
4) Set shutter speed to 2 seconds.
5) Set ISO to 100 or 200.
6) Where to set the f-stop is a bit tricky, since an f8 on a digital minicam may be the equivalent of f22 on a DSLR, but I suggest starting somewhere in the middle of the range (f11-f16 on a DSLR).
7) Before the fireworks start, take some test shots and review them on your camera's LCD. Hopefully, your framing will include some of the city's skyline at the bottom of the frame -- if not, pan down temporarily so you have it included. Check the test shots to make sure both that the sky looks black and the skyline lights look normally-exposed. If they don't look right, adjust the f-stop and/or the ISO until they do. You should now have the proper parameters for exposure.
8) When you take each picture, remember to keep your hands away from the camera and tripod until the shutter closes. Seriously, for the first few images I took last year, I was unconsciously brushing my hand against the tripod while the shutter was open, making each shot a study in camera shake. Assuming you don't make the same mistake, review each of the first shots after taking them and adjust the f-stop and/or ISO until what you're seeing looks good. Don't worry if it takes several tries to get it right -- generally, most fireworks shows won't get the most impressive sequences at the very beginning.

You can find my results from last year here. (The last shot on that page was one of the early ones where I forgot to keep my hands away from the tripod -- it works as an abstract image, but as a real example of fireworks photography, not so much.)

[NashVegas]

5. Some Tricks to Try

1. Use a cable to set off the shutter, so you won't have to touch it and risk jiggling.

2. For multiple explosions on one frame use the "B" setting, and keep the shutter open (again, with a cable) for indefinite periods of time while you remove and replace the lens cap (you don't have to snap it on all the way).

[intheflow]

6. "B" setting?

What's that?? :shrug:

And how does one remove and replace a lenscap without jiggling the camera? :shrug:

[NashVegas]

7. B = Bulb

For shutter speed. The shutter will remain open until you let up on it.

As for the other, mainly it's just putting it up to the lens w/out attaching it.

[intheflow]

8. Ah!

Thank you for the enlightenment!

[intheflow]

9. I may not get a chance to try these tips out this year.

Fireworks bans are on all over drought-ridden, tinder-dry Colorado. :(

[Immad2]

10. Great fireworks picture, bvar22. Hopefully I'll get to try some of these

great tips this July 4th.:wow: :thumbsup: :applause:

[bvar22]

11. Yes, lots of good ones,

and I will have 3 successive nights to try them out. St Paul is sponsoring fireworks every night until the "big one" on the 4th.


Another TIP:

Check the wind direction. You want to be up wind for the best photos.
Most displays are pretty smokey, if the smoke is blowing toward you, the shots can be partially obscured.

Side winds can result in a blown over look, as this photo from last weekend demonstrates.

This was a 6 sec exposure, which was way too long to capture the sparkle shower (the blurs).
I'm going to try some faster exposures tonight for the shower/ sparkle clouds.

[Immad2]

12. Whoa! That's nice! Great capture.

:thumbsup: :wow: :applause: :bounce:

[Robb]

13. Got noise? Robb's tip:

Sometimes you get those lovely dots in digital cameras when light is low. In shooting a black sky, the fix is easy:

Before you start shooting, put the lens cap on and fire away. That's your "noise" shot.

Paste that over your "keeper" shots in Photoshop, then make that layer a difference layer. Photoshop subtracts the noise, and presto! All those little dots become black, which is what you're after. :hi: