HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH FIREWORKS

Hopefully we will all get a chance to watch fireworks on the 4th of July, 2020.

If you do find a good safe spot to watch them, here are some tips that will help you go home with some great shots you can hang on your wall, share with friends, or share on social media. All you need is a few basic tools.

1) A basic digital camera, on a good sturdy tripod. It doesn't have to be expensive,
   just as long as it has a 'BULB' setting (read your manual).

2) A telephoto focal length for most, not all, shots. 200 mm to 300 mm should be good 

    enough. It will depend on how far you will be from the fireworks.

3) A piece of material big enough to cover the front of your lens. It can be something as 

    simple as a piece of copy paper folded in half, your camera manual, etc.

Now let me show you how they all work together. 

CAMERA:
ISO--I like to set my ISO at 100
F/Stop: My f/stop will be at f/8-f/11. If my images are coming out too bright at f/8, I quickly switch to f/9, f/10, or f/11--whichever is giving me the best exposures. I just experiment with the first 1-3 blasts, check my display screen, and adjust accordingly.
Shutter: I set my camera to BULB. My piece of paper becomes my shutter speed (I'll explain that shortly)
IMAGE FORMAT: I usually shoot JPEG Fine and Vivid, but any format works--TIFF, RAW.

LENS (no need for IS or VR setting):
Focus: I like to shoot most of my fireworks blasts way out high in the sky, when they hit their apex and go "boom." That's when all the cool streams of color begin to flower and open up!

Forget Auto Focus--sorry. I set my focus to near infinity since all fireworks will be several yards away from you, way up in the night sky. That's where f/8-f/11 come in-- if you're a little off on your focus point, f/8-f/11 will cover any margin of error. In other words, that f/stop range will cover several yards closer or farther than the actual fireworks location.

Once you feel that all shots are looking good and not out of focus, stay with that f/stop throughout the 20-30 minute show! The only reason I would change the f/stop is if the images are coming out too bright--then I might switch to f/9--f/11.
TRIPOD: You can't do this without a good sturdy tripod--one that goes up at least to eye level. You can't do this on a mono pod or resting your tripod on a boulder or your car's roof.

PIECE OF PAPER:   Yes, I've used a piece of 81/2 x 11 piece of paper folded in half. As long as the material you're using is opaque so as not to allow light to hit the lens. Besides, there won't be much light hitting the lens when you're aiming at the dark sky. I've used my camera manual or a small piece of cardboard. 

THE PROCESS:  Okay, so I've got all the tools I need, now how do I pull this off? First, I don't expect every single image to be perfect. This is why I just shoot, shoot, shoot as much as I can until the show is over. Some bursts will be out of view; some will be just a flicker;
some will be only partially in the viewfinder. That's okay, I know I will get several great shots during the night. My process has never failed me.

Now, here is the fun part--the process I use during 20-30 minutes of fun colorful bursts.

I place my camera on the tripod and adjust all my settings as mentioned above. I aim my camera toward the general area I believe the bursts will be. I'll adjust later once the fireworks start. I use a wide enough coverage to make sure I will cover most of them. This is an estimate; not science. I know I'll get several chances to get it right. 

I always use my 3-foot cable release so I'll be ready and quick when the show starts. I keep my lens cap on until showtime. I also have my "cover" (piece of paper, cardboard, etc) ready for action. 

When the first burst comes up, I take my lens cap off and aim my camera to where I saw the first burst. I keep it there, with the tripod head loosened. When the next one comes up I keep adjusting both my focusing and focal length until it seems like I'm covering the bursts just about right, knowing that some will still be off to the side, etc. 

When I think I've got my aim just about right, I lock my camera in place and I'm ready to start capturing the fun, knowing that I might make adjustments if necessary. But I have to be quick in making those adjustments. 

So, now I have my lens cap off and cover my lens with my cover (the piece of paper). When the next burst goes up, I quickly release the cover and click my cable release. When the burst starts to dissipate, I quickly cover my lens with my cover, BUT I still have the cable release depressed! In other words, my lens is still open--it's just covered up with my cover.
When the next burst goes up, I then take away the cover again. THEN I release the cable release. In essence, what I've done is taken a double exposure--two bursts on the same image!! 

I continue this process until the show is over. Sometimes I'll do two bursts, then I'll do three, then I'll do just one if it's an awesome one. Back and forth, back and forth. 

At the end of the night I will end up with three bursts on the same image, or two, or just one. 

Now that I have explained at length the tools, techniques, and process I use, let me share some of the results from several 4th of July displays I have photographed. 



This was two bursts on the same image. The fun of it is that you never know exactly what you're going to get, but you know it's going to be fun. But, if we don't plan, we won't get lucky. 

This one was three or four different bursts. I don't want to zoom in too tight. I want to leave myself some breathing room around the edges just in case something like this happens. If the bursts are a little off, I can always crop the image to center them as needed. 

This was a fun one! This also had to be three or four bursts on one image. 

This one was surreal and Star Trekish.

Sometimes I do use a wide angle lens just for something different, as I did for this shot.
You can see fireworks and nearby buildings and structures. The fireworks smoke comes from me doing close to the fireworks platform. It adds to the feel of the image. 

I loved this patriotic red, white, and blue display. Some pyrotechnic companies get very creative. 

If you are lucky to find a fireworks display near a body of water, take advantage of of it! Sometimes, if I think the venue is appropriate, I will get some fireworks vertically.   

These two beauties showed off this particular night. Note the cropping.

You just never know what surprises you're going to get during the night. Just keep shooting--1, 2, 3, or even 4 bursts. I believe this one was 3 different bursts. Sometimes, when you do more than one single burst, they don't even look like fireworks.

As a finale, don't forget to find fireworks displays over a lake if you can--it adds an extra dimension to the excitement of 4th of July. This one looks like a neon palm tree on psychedelic steroids. 

Surely you feel patriotic by now. I hope you get a chance to see some fireworks this July. Copy and paste as much of my blog and take it with you before you leave for your fireworks night show. 

I sure hope we won't have to "ZOOM" our fireworks this year!  😮