Follow us on Facebook

Go

Items:  Total: 
  Home  

Photographing Fireworks

Checklist to get ready ahead of time

  • Tripod - prevents blurriness due to camera movement
  • Remote control - prevents shaking the camera when pressing the shutter
  • 800 speed film - records more light, reduces camera shake
  • Review your camera settings, and stop by any Creve Coeur Camera store to ask any questions you may have.
  • Take a small flashlight to see what you are doing, plenty of batteries, film and/or memory cards
  • Prepare your equipment:

If you have an SLR

  • The lens you choose will be determined by how far away the fireworks are. If you are close, you may want to choose a wide angle lens to capture all of the bursts. If you are, for example, across the river from the Arch, you may wish to use a telephoto lens.
  • Experiment with different exposure lengths. You can isolate one fireworks burst by ending the exposure after the burst reaches its full size, or you can capture multiple bursts on the same frame of film by using a longer exposure time.
  • On a digital SLR, change the sensitivity setting to the highest number available in the menu. Turn on ‘noise reduction’ if your camera has that optional feature.
  • If you are shooting shorter exposures, maybe 3-5 seconds, you could choose an aperture around f4 or f5.6. For longer exposures, you may want to close the aperture down to f8 so the exposure doesn’t get too light from any street lights or city lights!
  • V For ISO 200, try f/16 at B or bulb, or 4 or more seconds.

If you have a point & shoot camera

  • You will probably get the best result with your lens at the widest setting.
  • If your camera has a fireworks mode or a night mode, put it on that setting, and make sure the flash is turned off.
  • If your camera has a bulb setting, you’ll be able to do some longer exposures.
  • On a digital point & shoot, change the sensitivity setting to the highest number available in the menu.

Getting ready at the fireworks event

  • Scout out a good location.
  • Decide if you want only fireworks in your photograph, or if you want some background subject.
  • Look through the camera’s viewfinder to make sure you have the desired perspective.
  • Shoot early in the fireworks show, as there will be a lot of smoke as you near the conclusion

No matter what type of camera you have, when you have your images printed, be sure to tell the lab that you have fireworks pictures!