First time shooting fireworks

[RobbyyKaiser]

This is the first time I shot fireworks i went to the boardwalk and were directly underneath them. i decided to use my 50mm lens cause I have fallen in love with it lately and this was the one of the best ones let me know what you think!

 

[Tomasko]

Image missing
Try this
http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/...15-how-do-i-do-pictorial-guide-using-tpf.html

 

[Robin Usagani]

Here you go

 

[RobbyyKaiser]

 

[noodles]

what settings did you use to take this ? i shot some last night in vancouver's celebration of lights...although some turned out well, i got too much smoke in the shots.... the smoke was lit up by the fireworks and doesn't look great.

 

[johnh2005]

what settings did you use to take this ? i shot some last night in vancouver's celebration of lights...although some turned out well, i got too much smoke in the shots.... the smoke was lit up by the fireworks and doesn't look great.

When shooting fireworks smoke is almost always a problem. The only time it is not is when the fireworks are VERY high quality. The best time to shoot the fireworks is right at the start. With cheaper fireworks the smoke is usually so bad at the end of them the Grande Finally is usually a giant ball of smoke.

 

[tirediron]

As John mentioned, smoke is the bane of the fireworks photographer. If you can, find out where the fireworks are actually being launched from and position yourself such that the prevailing winds will carry the smoke on the far side of the blooms.

Fireworks themselves are simple to shoot: Set your camera up on a tripod with a remote release (These two things are essential), and select a focal length which will ensure that you capture all of the blooms, and with any luck a little of the surrounding city-scape. The best fireworks shots generally have something in them besides just the fireworks.

Set your camera/lens to manual focus and focus on infinity. Set your camera to manual exposure, and select a medium to low ISO (<400). Use an aperture of f8, and start with a shutterspeed of 2 seconds. Watch the launch point (I bring binoculars for this purpose) and you usually tell when the firework has been launch by the trail of sparks going up from the launch point. Trip your shutter, and wait.

Once it's completed the exposure, review the image and decide if the trails are long enough and adjust your shutter-speed accordinly if desired. A shorter speed will result in smaller, more 'frozen' blooms and a longer speed, longer, more flowing blooms.

 

[PhotoSteve]

Here's an article I wrote recently that has some effective and easy-to-use tips for fireworks photography:

How To Photograph Fireworks - Free Photography Course, DSLR Lessons & Tips

I hope this helps with the fireworks photos! By the way, the advice above about the remote shutter release is very useful. Another tip that some photographers use is to tie a bag of rocks or something heavy to the center post of your tripod. This will also do a pretty good job of eliminating shake.

 

[480sparky51 50]

Another problem with shooting fireworks is the wind.... it tends to make the blooms 'drift' one way or the other, and makes them look crooked. Most people would expect the trails to aim for the bottom of the image, but when shooting in a good breeze, the trails don't 'fall towards the bottom'. So I tend to shoot with a wider-angle lens and rotate & crop in post.