| These days there seems to be a firework display at | | | | How to set up your shots |
| almost every outdoor event, and there are also | | | | The intermittent and unpredictable nature of |
| plenty of other opportunities which you can use to | | | | fireworks means that the automatic exposure |
| perfect your Firework technique. The unpredictable | | | | systems will rarely give you good results. Instead |
| nature of the position, color and shape of each | | | | you'll need to set the camera to manual exposure |
| firework explosion means that no two shots will ever | | | | mode and set the shutter speed and aperture |
| look the same. But follow our advice and you'll be | | | | yourself. As it will be dark then bright as the |
| able to get some stunning fireworks shots. | | | | fireworks explode, it's also very difficult to use the |
| Capturing the spectacle of a firework display is all | | | | metering to gauge the exposure needed. Although |
| about predicting when and where the most dramatic | | | | you're working 'in the dark' when it comes to |
| events are going to take place. Try to find out | | | | exposure it's not as difficult as it first appears, as |
| where the main display at your event will be taking | | | | there are some handy tricks that will help you to get |
| place, and where the fireworks will be fired from. To | | | | the results spot-on. |
| capture the wider view of large public displays it's | | | | Using a Tripods |
| often best to avoid the most popular spots close to | | | | You'll need a longer shutter speed to capture several |
| the action. At popular events you'll struggle to find | | | | bursts than if there are loads of fireworks going off |
| enough room to set up your tripod - a necessity to | | | | in quick succession. For most displays a shutter speed |
| shoot the display - and you'll also often be too close | | | | of between 8 seconds and 30 seconds will give you |
| to the action. It's much better to find a spot that | | | | plenty of action. Your shutter speeds will run into |
| gives you a viewpoint over the whole display, to | | | | several seconds, so you'll need to put the camera on |
| allow you to capture as many of the individual | | | | a tripod and release the shutter using the self-timer, |
| fireworks as possible. It's worth going back to the | | | | or ideally a remote release to combat camera shake. |
| busier areas if you want to try some portraits of | | | | Select manual exposure |
| family and friends around the fire though. | | | | The light will vary from almost pitch-black to bright |
| When searching for a place to shoot the display, look | | | | during your exposures, so you need to select the |
| out for things to use to enhance your images. | | | | manual exposure option and ignore any reading from |
| Flood-lit buildings are great for giving a sense of place, | | | | the metering. With very little light you'll find that the |
| while water can create amazing reflections to add an | | | | auto-focus will struggle, so set the camera to manual |
| extra element to your pictures. | | | | focus. As you'll be some distance from the subject |
| Unless you've been to the same display before, | | | | set the focus on the lens to infinity. The shutter |
| trying to predict where many of the fireworks are | | | | speed is more about the number of bursts that you |
| going to explode can be tricky. Some rockets can go | | | | capture than the exposure of the result. When it |
| hundreds of feet in the air before they create their | | | | comes to ISO, set the camera to the lowest ISO |
| light show. The wide-angle end of a standard zoom | | | | possible lo minimize noise. You can try fast settings |
| will give a broad enough view for most displays, but | | | | such as ISO 800 or 1600 to allow you to shoot |
| if you have one it's worth taking a wider lens just in | | | | portraits using the glow of the bonfire, but expect |
| case the rockets go much higher. While the results | | | | plenty of noise or grain. |
| can be pretty hit or miss, the unpredictability can lead | | | | Aperture & shutter speeds |
| to some great results. Don't expect every shot to be | | | | With the camera set to ISO 100 you should try |
| a winner and make sure you shoot plenty! | | | | exposures at apertures of f/8 and f/16. As a guide, if |
| If there's a fire (or floodlights) near to the fireworks | | | | you're close to the fireworks use f/16 and if you're |
| display you can include the light from this to give | | | | shooting from a distance use mainly f/8. If you're |
| your shots an extra glow, rather than simply | | | | using ISO 200 then set f/22 for close subjects and f |
| recording the fireworks against a black sky. As the | | | | 16 for distant displays. The shutter speeds are less |
| subject is much brighter than the surroundings the | | | | critical than the aperture for the brightness of your |
| exposure times are a little more hit or miss than for | | | | image, but they do affect how many bursts and how |
| just the fireworks themselves, so experiment with | | | | much of the display you will record in a single frame. |
| shutter speeds and aperture settings. | | | | |