How to photograph fireworks

Every year, July 14 is the occasion to attend a fireworks display near you. For the occasion, we will remind you some basic rules to take a good photo of fireworks. On this occasion, I also invite you to re-read our article to improve the sharpness of your night photos.

Without a tripod, no salvation

In addition to your device, the main element to use for this type of photo is of course a tripod. Without it, it will be almost impossible for you to take a good photo of fireworks, because you will need a fairly long exposure time. Of course, you can use the small wall next to you, but I’m not sure that’s very practical, and especially fireworks often bring together a lot of people, so imagine if your device is jostled …

A good spot is better

Have you ever found yourself with a big head in front of you, or worse, a child on dad’s shoulders during the fireworks, blocking your field of vision? It is recommended come to the place before (still it is necessary to know in advance where it will take place), history of choose some strategic points. Prioritize the heights, to avoid having distracting elements in your field of vision. But afterwards, it depends on your vision: if you want to have external landmarks or not. It will also be necessary to pay attention to the wind, but there, difficult to predict…

You can also watch images of fireworks from previous years to find out roughly where it will be fired from.

A little practical advice: it is better to arrive in advance at the place on the day of the fire, to kindly squat your place and avoid finding someone else in the same place. And don’t forget to check that you have all your equipment ready and loaded before leaving, nothing more annoying, for example, to forget the tripod attachment at home and to realize it once there.

Choose your goal wisely

During the show, I advise you not to change your lens, because with the world you may have around you, and the risk of missing a beautiful blue, it is best to know in advance what you are going to take. If you want take only the details, go for a telephoto lens. Otherwise, to have the whole panorama (for example the reflection of the fire on the sea), opt for a wide-angle lens. It’s stupid but you have to think about it, there’s no point in taking all your panoply of lenses, and your back will thank you.

If you are lucky enough to have a stabilized lens, consider disable optical stabilization before shooting on a tripod, because contrary to popular belief, this stabilization is harmful when the device is on a tripod. It seeks to compensate for movements that do not exist, and therefore risks creating blur on your image.

You can find a selection of best camera lenses in Timeout photo buying guide.

Manual, all manual

If you don’t have the opportunity to use the manual mode of your device very often, this is the perfect opportunity. I advise you to do your infinity focus then to no longer touch the manual focus, to set aperture to f/11 and of choose an opening speed of around 2 to 4 seconds. In this way you can have beautiful streaks of light on your pictures. The first photo will allow you to make an exposure test, and to compensate by modifying your aperture or your speed. In any case, keep ISO low to avoid noise build-up. This won’t be a problem because the light from the fire will be bright enough to illuminate the scene, especially with an exposure time of a few seconds.

Also remember to turn off your flash (obvious advice for some, but not necessarily assimilated, according to the number of people using it to photograph the sky at night).

With a remote control, it’s better

I can only advise you touse a remote control for this kind of photos. Once your device is properly adjusted (and oriented towards the correct area, which you will have memorized), all you have to do is trigger when the rockets take off and let the device do its thing. If you don’t have a remote control, you can use the self-timer mode of your device, but at your own risk to synchronize with the rockets… A wired remote control does not cost that much, so why deprive yourself of it?

Even better, in pose B (Bulb)

For those whose devices offer the pose B option (Bulb, see your manual), I recommend it. Coupled with a remote control, you can choose to trigger when rockets are fired (or when the fire explodes), and release when streaks fade. This will give you a magnificent shot, I assure you!

In pose B, you can even combine several lights on your photo by using trickery. Place a black card in front of your goal at the end of the first fire, and wait for the next explosion to remove your card. Just be careful not to jostle the device during this maneuver.

Here, I think you are ready to go on an adventure and bring us back beautiful pictures of fireworks.

Cover photo credit: © La Bretagne à Paris