How to Photograph Fireworks :
Would you like to learn how to take photos of the fireworks displays? With New Year’s Eve still month away you have plenty of time to practice your technique. So read on for my quick and dirty Fireworks photography tutorial.
Fireworks are tricky things to capture on a standard digital camera or even expensive SLR if you do not know what you are doing. For amateur photographers it is all just colorful blurs of light. It doesn’t have to be that way! You’ll be happy to know that it’s not hard to capture amazing firework pictures on your camera. All it takes is making sure that you are going about things correctly. Below are some tips on how to capture great photos of fireworks that aren’t just squiggly lines.
Pick Your Place and Time :
Your best bet at getting the best photos is to turn up early and get yourself in the best position for viewing. At firework displays for New Year’s Eve, many people turn up early to a good spot for picnicking. This isn’t a terrible idea because ultimately the location will provide you the opportunity to decide things such as framing and composition.
Use the Tripod :
The abstract images that most of us produce are down to a shaky hand as well as the movement of the fireworks. If you have it, use a tripod. The image stabilization features won’t help you at all as you will need a slow shutter speed. Securing your camera is particularly important as you will be using longer shutter speeds – this helps to capture the movement of the fiery display and, unfortunately, the slightest movement of your hand.
Shutter Speed :
Your best bet is to turn the image stabilization feature off completely and use the delay shutter shooting setting instead. Ideally, set the camera to take a photo about 2-3 seconds after you press capture and let it do all the work from there.
Keep Trying! :.
Keep in mind that that you won’t be getting a perfect shot every time and that your results will be left down to pure chance. Think of photographing fireworks as a game of trial and error. Discovering the top settings for you and your camera can be fun brain teases that in the end can help you learn about exposure and predicting movement. Take a few shots to start off with and see how you get on. Experiment with perspective and including people in your shots as you feel more comfortable.
