Photogaphing fireworks can be very rewarding and provide some excellent wall art for your home and business. The Independence Day holiday weekend is an excellent time to photograph fireworks, but there are other opportunities as well. So, what makes an interesting photograph of fireworks, you might ask? First, it must be extraordinary, sharp and clear. Second, and arguably the most important thing to keep in mind is that usually a photograph of fireworks will not stand on its own. There must be something interesting in the photograph to help make it extraordinary. A cityscape, an interesting building or statue, an interesting bridge and even the reflection of the fireworks over water. The image must grab and hold the viewers' attention. The image I have included was photographed in Gulf Shores from the 7th floor balcony of the place we were staying and includes buildings and piers over water to help give it more interest and perspective.
Gear and settings are important as well. First, you need to be photographing from a tripod because these will typically be long exposures. Depending on the distance away the fireworks are being shot from you may need to use a telephoto lens or a wide-angle if they are close or your selected compositional "helper" is close. In the image here I was using a 500mm f/4 lens because the fireworks were being shot far down the beach around Flora-Bama. At the time I had never tried that focal length of lens before but I really loved the result. The situation you are in will dictate the focal length lens you select. Your aperture setting will be anywhere from f/8 to f/16, but I try to stay around f/11 for most of my shots. You can experiment until you find a setting you like. Shutter speeds can be anywhere from 3 - 20 seconds, but bear in mind that the longer you leave the shutter open the fuzzier look you will get, so if you prefer them to be a bit sharper then shorten you shutter speed a bit. The image here was 13 seconds. ISO can be 100 - 200 in most situations and work just fine.
Try to get a focus on an object where you know the fireworks will be prior to the show and turn off automatic focus. Try not to touch it after that. Some photographers put gaffer's tape on the focus ring of the lens to prevent movement. Some photographers like to use a remote trigger to prevent shake and shoot with the mirror up (DSLR and not a problem with mirrorless). I am not going into how I finish the images because that is really personal preference. The one thing I would remind you of would be to adjust your white balance to your taste. My preference is for a bit cooler white balance in most cases.
The most important thing is to play around with it to find what you think your sweet spot is and have fun. Don't forget to enjoy the show!
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