Fireworks

[F7v9Hinton]

Hi, can anyone recommend the best settings for good fireworks shots? I’m a beginner and just getting my head around ISO, speed shutter and aperture settings. Thanks in advance

 

[RVT1K]

Hello

The three settings you mentioned will all effect how the shot looks.

In a very general statement, you want a fairly slow shutter speed to get fiery trails and a faster shutter to freeze the bursts.

With the others fixed, raising the ISO (this emulates film, a higher ISO means the camera is more sensitive to light) will give a faster shutter speed for the same exposure (essentially how bright the picture is) and lowering the ISO will slow the shutter.

Opening the aperture more (lower f-number) allows more light to enter the camera and will allow you to speed up the shutter. Closing the aperture has the opposite effect.

I think most have the best success with getting fireworks shots by using a tripod to eliminate shake and blur due to the slow shutter.

 

[F7v9Hinton]

Thank you - can you suggest some setting numbers, please?


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[wfooshee]

Personally, I despise the long-exposure fireworks that everyone seems to like. Although the light trails are a nice effect, that's not what the fireworks look like in real life, so I don't shoot them that way. I'll shoot wide open, fairly high ISO, and quick shutter. Start around ISO 800, go up to 3200 if your camera can handle it without too much noise. Wide open on whatever lens you have; a kit lens will probably be f:4 to f:5.6, a prime might be down to f:2 or f:1.8. Keep your shutter around 1/250, no slower than 1/125. Work around those numbers and see what pops out as you review the shots on the LCD. You can't meter the fireworks to auto-expose, the camera will overexpose if it can.

If you want light trails, leave ISO and aperture alone, just run your shutter speed longer and experiment. The same light is coming into the camera, it's just moving, so no need to adjust ISO or aperture. Tripod needed, obviously.

 

[stk]

Thank you - can you suggest some setting numbers, please?

It's not that easy, even though it's not really that hard either. It does however take some test shots.

This is shot at f/5.6, 17mm (aps-c), 3 sec:

 

[SquarePeg]

I shot these a few months ago. Crop sensor, 18-55 lens at about 30mm, ISO 200, f/10, 6.5 seconds. Make sure you get your focus right. Manual focus. Use the first few shots to figure out if you need infinity focus or something else. Use a tripod and a remote trigger release.

Boston Harbor fireworks by SharonCat..., on Flickr

Harbor lights by SharonCat..., on Flickr

 

[Dacaur]

Best settings? No such thing.... But here is a good start...
Use a remote and use bulb mode. Hold the shutter open from the time the firework launches until the flower is at its largest or fading, then let it go. I like to get two or three in one exposure, depending on their size.
Set iso to 100-200, f5.6-11, for shutter speed, 2 seconds will probably be the minimum you will use.
The most important thing to remember is there is no "right" setting for fireworks. Ambiant light and how far you are from the show will affect the settings you need to use, so shoot, review, adjust, shoot, etc. Try different settings.
Make sure you have a sturdy tripod, and set your lense to manual focus, then focus on something far away and leave it there.

 

[Destin]

Best settings? No such thing.... But here is a good start...
Use a remote and use bulb mode. Hold the shutter open from the time the firework launches until the flower is at its largest or fading, then let it go. I like to get two or three in one exposure, depending on their size.
Set iso to 100-200, f5.6-11, for shutter speed, 2 seconds will probably be the minimum you will use.
The most important thing to remember is there is no "right" setting for fireworks. Ambiant light and how far you are from the show will affect the settings you need to use, so shoot, review, adjust, shoot, etc. Try different settings.
Make sure you have a sturdy tripod, and set your lense to manual focus, then focus on something far away and leave it there.

I started typing my own post and then read this. Pretty much exactly what I was going to say.

The keys are to keep your iso value low, use a mid range aperture for adequate DOF, and a shutter speed that captures the number of fireworks you want. Once you figure out what shutter speed is working for the fireworks, you can dial in your iso and aperture to get the foreground exposure where you want it.