Shooting Fireworks - Tips

anonymouscuban

With the 4th of July on the horizon, I want to start preparing to shoot a fireworks show. I kind of have a basic understanding of how to shoot fireworks, like long exposure, use a tripod, scout your location, but I am a little fuzzy on a few.

• What meter mode should be used and what do you meter?
• Should I use bulb mode or select a long shutter speed based on what I've metered? So if I metered on the sky, should I use whatever shutter speed and aperture combo gives me the right exposure?
• I'm assuming I should use a mid to small aperture to get a nice DOF and then set my focus on infinity so I can set that and forget it... is that a correct assumption?
• Are there any other tips you can suggest?

Thanks,
Alex

pathfinder

Shoot from a tripod with a cable release. Make sure your tripod in on solid ground. Unfortunately, mine was on a heavy bridge surface, but when cars rolled across, it shook my tripod, even though I could not feel any movement at the time.

Try ISO 100, about f8, and 5 to 10 seconds or so.

Focus manually on infinity, with AF off, and leave it there.

My pictures are here



Remember to take a black felt hat with you, you can carefully cover the lens with the shutter left open if nothing of interest is occurring and then just remove your black felt lens cover to continue the exposure.

Turn off Noise Cancellation if you camera has it. You will be busy shooting and waiting for the card to be written to.

time2smile

Metering is usually always center weight for me.
I do any where fron 1/100 to 1.3 and F5 and below.
Focus is set on AF-C.
It really depend on the amount of light the show has.

Lately I like the close ups with trails showing.

I may put some samples up, over the weekend.

Here one from my slideshow 1/30 F3.5 24mm

anonymouscuban

Cool. The black felt hat is a good idea. I was thinking of using some black foam core to do the same but the hat is much eaiser and I will look cool too when it's on my head.

So using an 8-10 sec exposure is preferable to using bulb? I was thinking I can snap, hold shutter open, then release once the actions stops. I could also snap, hold shutter open, cover lens with hat when no action, then uncover, then release shutter to capture mulitple bursts. Do you think this will work?

Also, would you recommend using a wide angle or like a medium zoom lens? I'm think the wide angle but wanted to get some experienced opinions.

anonymouscuban

time2smile wrote:

Metering is usually always center weight for me.
I do any where fron 1/100 to 1.3 and F5 and below.
Focus is set on AF-C.
It really depend on the amount of light the show has.

Lately I like the close ups with trails showing.

I may put some samples up, over the weekend.

Here one from my slideshow 1/30 F3.5 24mm

Really? That is counter-intuitive to what I was thinking? Mind you, I've never shot fireworks but I have shot night city scapes and it would seem to me that I would shoot a much longer exposure, like several seconds. Also, as Pathfinder mentioned, I would think AF would be turned off and instead shoot in manual focus, prefocusing where you expect the action to be or set it to infinity.

Again, I've never done this so I may be wrong. Seems like what Pathfinder is recommending what would be intuitive to me.... gues there is more than one way to skin a cat, huh?

time2smile

Pathfinders shoots as always are spectacular.

His technique does make alot of sense for night photos.
I've always had to hand hold my camera, to crowded for a tripod, and my D50 does not have a shutter release, don't know what Nikon was thinking.

The AF I think will depend on the area of the show. Fireworks that go on over several hundred feet apart in all directions, sometime right over your head. Aunty Emm its raining mortors.... I find hard to prefocus.

Hopefully your area will have a show on the 3rd also, so you and try different things.

Good luck

ziggy53

From 2007:









Shot information:

Canon 1D MKII, Canon EF 17-40mm, F4L USM. Most were at f8 and 3 seconds, ISO 100. Like Pathfinder said, use a flashlight and focus manually to infinity.

anonymouscuban

Thanks Ziggy, but what is the flashlight for???

du8die

If you don't have a shutter release, set your timer to 2 seconds (if you can) and hit the shutter button. That way, the camera stops shaking (from moving your hand away from it) before the shutter opens. Takes a little forethought timing wise, but can be done.

anonymouscuban

du8die wrote:

If you don't have a shutter release, set your timer to 2 seconds (if you can) and hit the shutter button. That way, the camera stops shaking (from moving your hand away from it) before the shutter opens. Takes a little forethought timing wise, but can be done.

Good advice. I do have a remote shutter release so I should be good there. Just have to remember to bring it!!

davev

And remember to try different things in your post work.

F16, 8 seconds, iso 100

anonymouscuban

Nice shot. The B&W works very well here. Hopefully I will get some good shots to work with in Post.

pathfinder

anonymouscuban wrote:

Cool. The black felt hat is a good idea. I was thinking of using some black foam core to do the same but the hat is much eaiser and I will look cool too when it's on my head.
So using an 8-10 sec exposure is preferable to using bulb? I was thinking I can snap, hold shutter open, then release once the actions stops. I could also snap, hold shutter open, cover lens with hat when no action, then uncover, then release shutter to capture mulitple bursts. Do you think this will work?

Exactly, black hat, black foam core, something to cover the lens aperture to control exposure. Shoot bulb as the exposure is just as long as you need to capture the light display you want. My exposures of 3 - 10 seconds were not set in the camera, but done via bulb.

Also, would you recommend using a wide angle or like a medium zoom lens? I'm think the wide angle but wanted to get some experienced opinions.

Use whatever lens you want and need to capture the vista you need.

Most of my images were shot at 67mm with a 24-105 f4 IS L. I just adjusted the focal length to what I needed due to my position/distance from the fireworks. I wanted to capture the water and the reflections as well as the airbursts.

If you can get closer, go wider. If not so close, use longer glass. Use what you need to get what you want.

No need for mirror lock up with shutter speeds longer than 1/2 second or so.

2 second timer can be used in place of a remote release for much landscape photography - I do that frequently, but it really won't work for fireworks.

When the shells are launched, you don't have two seconds to wait. You will prefer the speed of a remote release.

It will also let you watch the fireworks, without your neck craned down trying to peer up through a viewfinder in the dark. Your neck will thank you for the remote release.

lilmomma

don't mean to butt in but how to you do infinity focus?

btw I love these fireworks shots!

Slinky0390

Not sure if this was said before, but I set my camera up on my tripod and do some test shots to set the aperture, and then set the shutter to bulb and trigger the camera with a remote release. I'll start the exposure just before the firework goes off and then end it just after it explodes and the fallout settles.

Slinky0390

lilmomma wrote:

don't mean to butt in but how to you do infinity focus?

btw I love these fireworks shots!

when you set your lens to manual instead of autofocus, at the far side of the focus ring there is a little infinity symbol, just manually set it on that.

lilmomma

AH I see! never seen that before but also never looked.. thanks!

anonymouscuban

lilmomma wrote:

don't mean to butt in but how to you do infinity focus?

btw I love these fireworks shots!

No worries. Feel free to add to conversation as much as you please. Just don't start talking about what Oprah just Twittered and we are cool.

lilmomma

anonymouscuban wrote:

No worries. Feel free to add to conversation as much as you please. Just don't start talking about what Oprah just Twittered and we are cool.

I don't do the twitter thing. Kinda silly if you ask me. I couldn't care less if someone is walking there dog!

back to business though, very informative thread... thanks for starting it!

Nikolai

Don't forget: search is your friend.
I have lost count of posts where the fireworks were the primary subject. We even had a class on them: http://www.dgrin.com/showthread.php?t=98517

ziggy53

anonymouscuban wrote:

Thanks Ziggy, but what is the flashlight for???

Fireworks are often shot when it's very dark out. It's kind of hard to see the focus marks on the lens without a flashlight.

Nikolai

ziggy53 wrote:

Fireworks are often shot when it's very dark out. It's kind of hard to see the focus marks on the lens without a flashlight.

Very true, if you shoot from a (non-lit) distance. Not so much if you're close in the urban (well-lit) environs.
When shooting from the dark I typically use the head-mounted light. During the last dgrin shootout in Utah I even picked up a fancy one with a red light option (I think all of us in Fab Four got one, except maybe F-stop:-), so it doesn't ruin your night vision as much.

anonymouscuban

Nice... I have a pretty cool LED headlamp already.

BTW Nik... I'm busted. I admit that I didn't bother at all with searching for this topic. I will check out the thread you posted.

Thanks,
Alex

rookieshooter

Anyone have any fireworks tips?
Figured I'd take a crack at it this Saturday

Bulb mode for 1 or 2 seconds, ISO 200, tripod mounted was sort of what I was thinking. Zoomed back so the ground and sky are in the frame.

If anyone has any experience with this (and example shots!) please post! Thanks!!

Cygnus Studios

5 to 8 seconds usually works best. ISO 200, cable or remote release and focused to infinity or close.

torags

what he said ^

Wil Davis

Lots of good advice so far.

Tripod is absolutely essential (plus remote or cable release); I'd bracket, although with digital it's so easy to sanity check as you go along.

Ignore any metering readings, use manual, and experiment before the main event until you get something you like (see sanity check).

I wouldn't bother too much about using a telephoto; depending on how far away you are, a standard or semi-wide angle will most probably be sufficient; you need to get the whole field of view of the display into the frame.

Don't forget to post some of your results here

Good luck -
- Wil

toddh39

here is a very good web page tell tips how to shoot fireworks.

http://digital-photography-school.com/how-to-photograph-fireworks

Angelo

rookieshooter wrote:

Figured I'd take a crack at it this Saturday

Bulb mode for 1 or 2 seconds, ISO 200, tripod mounted was sort of what I was thinking. Zoomed back so the ground and sky are in the frame.

If anyone has any experience with this (and example shots!) please post! Thanks!!

I moved your post over to the TECHNIQUE forum and merge it with an identical thread. If you use our "search" feature you'll find there are other good posts on this very subject. Good luck.

kdog

Nikolai wrote:

When shooting from the dark I typically use the head-mounted light. During the last dgrin shootout in Utah I even picked up a fancy one with a red light option (I think all of us in Fab Four got one, except maybe F-stop:-), so it doesn't ruin your night vision as much.

No, I absolutely had one there. In fact, I believe you have at least one shot with red streaks across it because of me. :haha