It’s not hard to photograph fireworks, and it is a lot of fun. I’ll explain how. You may need your camera’s manual to check some of the settings I’m going to describe.
If you have an SLR camera (the ones that can change lenses), here’s what you do:
1. Set the camera’s FOCUS mode to manual, and the EXPOSURE mode to manual. Then set the focus distance to infinity.
2. Turn off the flash.
3. Use a tripod. If you don’t have a tripod, set your camera on something stable (like a cooler, picnic table, chair, etc.) If you have any camera movement while photographing fireworks, your photos will look like a streaked mess.
4. Set the camera exposure to “B” for “Bulb.” When you do this, the lens will stay open until you remove your finger from the shutter button. You want to have the lens open for several seconds to capture many bursts of fireworks in one exposure. Your camera might have a setting called “T” which means that you press the shutter button once, and the lens will stay open until you press it again.
5. If your camera does not have any of the settings I just described, see if it has a manual exposure of several seconds. That will work, just not as well.
6. Set your camera’s ISO for 100 or 200. Don’t use Auto ISO, because then the camera will try to make everything bright, including the night sky. When it does that, the fireworks will turn totally white because they are overexposed.
7. Now set the aperture setting. This controls how much light comes into the lens. Think about it like squinting. Wider apertures, which are lower numbers, are like no squinting, while smaller apertures, higher numbers, are like squinting. So the higher the number, the less light will enter your lens. So start with an aperture setting of f/5.6 (no squinting).
8. Look and see where most of the fireworks are bursting in the sky and point your camera in that direction. Leave the lens open for several bursts of fireworks, and your photo will be full of amazing color, light, and light trails!
9. Check your exposure. How do the fireworks look? Too bright? Change the lens opening to, say, f/8 or f/11 (like squinting with your eyes). Fireworks too dark? Open your lens more, try f/4 or whatever widest opening you have.
If you do not have a SLR camera, but instead use a pocket camera, your options are more limited. But try using the same principles I describe above as best you can. The important thing to remember is to experiment, and have fun. Don’t get frustrated, and enjoy the night!
Can you photograph fireworks with your smartphone? Yes, but the results will vary wildly, and you will need to download a camera app specifically designed to photograph at night. The one I use is Camera+ It works great, and gives you options to change your smartphone’s camera settings in ways that the native apps do not. The other things are the same: stable camera, turn off the flash.
The other really cool option with your smartphone is to take a video of the fireworks, then extract a frame to use as a photo. The resolution will be low, so you won’t be able to make prints from it, but most people will share their fireworks online anyway. For that, it should be fine.
Before you venture out, spend some time getting familiar with your camera’s settings, or download apps that will help with your smartphone. The last thing you want to do is fiddle with your camera settings while the fireworks are happening. You could miss the whole show!
So have fun on the 4th, and email me some of your shots! I’d love to see them! If you Instagram, post them up with the hashtag #cbcfireworks and let’s see what we get!