Beginner taking shot at Fireworks over Hudsons on 4th of July

MohaimenK · Jul 8, 2010

Hello guys. I am not a professional but while preparing for our NYC trip on the 4th of July, I've been reading on taking pictures of fireworks. Here are a few samples of what I've done. Please let me know what you think?

Camera Used: Sony DSC-T900 on a tripod

I'm putting original pics as "before" then I went through photoshop with some of the images which will be right after each original versions.

*I have more on my Facebook page*

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tirediron · Jul 8, 2010

I think you have some nice captures there. I would suggest cropping out the rather distracting bit of (I assume) roof in the upper R.H. corner of many of the images. As well, don't forget to level your images in post.

MohaimenK · Jul 8, 2010

tirediron said:
I think you have some nice captures there. I would suggest cropping out the rather distracting bit of (I assume) roof in the upper R.H. corner of many of the images. As well, don't forget to level your images in post.

OMG don't even get me started with the roof. Cops had everything blocked and after walking and walking I found that little spot which was blocked off by that huge building. Then on top of that I had to keep telling people to move out of the way. But as far as the fireworks, do you think they came out well?

Also, what is "don't forget to level your images in post"?
I also realized that I didn't process the original photos on Photoshop. They were the low resolution images I saved from my FB album. I suppose the pics would come more clear if I process them from original high resolution images.

tirediron · Jul 8, 2010

MohaimenK said:
Also, what is "don't forget to level your images in post"?

Several of your images have a noticable lean to them. One of the most important things you can do in post-processing (There are lots of inexpensive to free post-processing applications) is to level and crop your images so that the horizontal and vertical elements are, respectively, horizontal and vertical.

I do think your fireworks came out well, especially given the conditions. Good job!

MohaimenK · Jul 8, 2010

Thanks. I see what you're talking about. Hopefully next year I'll be able to get some nice shots for the DC 4th of July. There's always better view available there. I am also looking into getting the Canon Rebel XS soon. But maybe I'll wait till they launch a new one in August (so I've heard)...I think XS will be just fine for me.