Fireworks

[RobinP]

There is a big display up the road from me so I get a free show from the patio and I thought I would have a go at a few photos.

I've read some articles about it and decided to go for hand-held with a small zoom lens, ISO 100, F8 and a slow-ish shutter speed.

Would anyone care to comment further? (politely please).

Cheers

Robin

[Kayleigh]

Look forward to the results..

[Tringa]

Although you are going for handheld, is there somewhere you will be able to support the camera and or yourself?

F8 and an ISO of 100 will give you a very slow shutter speed at night. I think it will be very difficult if not impossible to avoid camera shake.

If possible I'd use a tripod, set the lens to infinity and then experiment with various manual settings (if possible) and check how the photos look.

Dave

[Geoff F]

If hand held is the only option I would use Shutter Priority (Tv) and set for the slowest shutter speed which you can hold steady. Possibly as much as 1/60 might be needed but 1/40 could work.

Increasing the ISO to 400 will give more flexibility over settings. Let the camera choose an aperture.

Even on a tripod, I have found Tv at 1/30 and ISO 200 works reasonably well. Those very long exposures which are often recommended can be difficult to get right.

If taking both 'ground fireworks' like Roman Candles etc and 'starburst rockets' which are at different focus distances, I usually prefer to use auto focus. But there is always some risk of not obtaining a good focus in sufficient time.

Remember it is possible, with a little skill, to edit together a number of shots which lack individual impact to create one stunning image. Place the shots as layers and adjust the Blend Mode so the 'different shades of black' merge together.

I take a few deliberate 'background shots' with plenty of free space for the 'additional fireworks'.

[fairplay]

But are these fireworks Truly Wild ?!

Now Jumping Jacks (anyone remember them ?) really were wild, they were totally unpredictable and quite often would land in the box where all the other fireworks were kept and set the lot off in one go.

Me and my brother laughed our heads off at the time, but it was dammed dangerous and I can see why they are not made any more.

Neil.

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by fairplay

But are these fireworks Truly Wild ?!

Now Jumping Jacks (anyone remember them ?) really were wild, they were totally unpredictable and quite often would land in the box where all the other fireworks were kept and set the lot off in one go.

Me and my brother laughed our heads off at the time, but it was dammed dangerous and I can see why they are not made any more.

Neil.

I hated jumping jacks, they would chase me whatever way I ran..scared the living daylights out me..
I still hate fireworks if I don't have a safe place to run lol

[RobinP]

Sorry, forgot where I was for a minute suppose the only wildlife connection is they are scared s**tless by fireworks.

As for the pictures, they were rubbish!

Robin

[Kayleigh]

Originally Posted by RobinP

Sorry, forgot where I was for a minute suppose the only wildlife connection is they are scared s**tless by fireworks.

As for the pictures, they were rubbish!

Robin

Aww never mind its really hard to get good shots unless they are of industrial scale even then its hit and miss.

[Geoff F]

As for the pictures, they were rubbish!

Well there is always next year.

Before then, have some practice at taking lights at night.

Just as an example of combining multiple shots, which weren't that good on their own, this image is a combination of 5 different shots; from 2 years ago.

[cosmicma]

well fireworks have more or less come n gone for this year but for future reference ( next year maybe ?? ) i will tell how i usually photograph fireworks

a tripod is pretty much essential for fireworks and a cable or remote shutter release wouldn't go amiss either

typical camera settings would be ISO 100 F9 and an 8 second shutter speed
i would use quite a wide angle lens 24mm or below because fireworks can take up quite a lot of sky

assuming your using a DSLR all the above is quite easy to achieve but most compacts/bridge cameras shouldn't struggle either

when it comes to focusing i would use the first firework to set focus hopefully it should be set for the rest

iv'e managed quite reasonable results using the above method but i came to the conclusion that if you really want to capture a firework display video is the way to go
with a tripod of course