HOW TO PHOTOGRAPH FIREWORKS
For my tip this month, I am going to give you all the details up front, then show you several examples of fireworks. All of my samples came from one shoot, this past Fourth of July over Lake Estes in Estes Park, Colorado, 2021.
Several years ago, I photographed their Fourth of July fireworks and was extremely impressed. I didn't know it until after the fact that they had commissioned the same company for 2021. They outdid themselves! I thought they did a great job before, but this year was the best I've seen--ever, and anywhere. I have photographed fireworks in Colorado, Texas, Arkansas, and Branson, Missouri.
Okay, so now that I have shared my excitement, let me talk about the techniques I use to create my fireworks images. First, shake off the notion that you're going for perfection. No. This is more art than science. Some of the 'works will be outside your viewfinder's view; some will be a little too high; some a little too low; some to the left. That said, my first tip is shoot, shoot, and keep shooting. However, don't be amateurish and just throw spaghetti on the wall, hoping some of it will stick. I am going to show you how to be artistically calculated; not random.
First, you need a tripod. Sorry, but you will need a good tripod. Not super expensive; just good-- not wobbly. It should extend four-five feet high, or higher, depending on your height. You need one that allows you to quickly adjust from vertical to horizontal, so you can vary your shots during the display. Most displays last from 15-20 minutes or so.
CAMERA SETTINGS:
Cable Release. I strongly recommend a good, reliable, quick, cable (or remote) release.
Lens. I recommend a zoom lens so you can be zooming in and out as needed. Obviously, if you are far away from the action, you'll need a stronger focal length. I like to be close to the action, like across the lake, where I was at Lake Estes. Throughout the evening, I used a range of 18mm to 40mm, with an APS sensor.
F/Stop. I like to shoot with a range of f/8-f/11. Why? As carefully as I manually focus where I think the 'works are going to explode, I'm never quite sure, so, that range of f/stop will assure me that everything will be nicely focused. For my Lake Estes shots, I kept mine at f/11 throughout the display. F/11 also keeps a lot of the fireworks from being overexposed.
Shutter Speed. I always use the BULB setting--that becomes my "shutter speed," as I'll explain later.
Exposure. Again, the BULB setting also serves as my "exposure."
Image Format. Believe it or not, I have always shot all my firework displays in JPEG large). I set my Picture Control to VIVID (your camera might have a different designation).
TECHNIQUE. Now that I have shared the left brain stuff, now let me share what I do once I have all the left brain stuff taken care off. I first wait until the first display--that gives me a hint as to where they have their equipment aimed, knowing that some will be off a little from that point. That is why I use wide focal lengths. I'd rather get a little more space than I need, then crop my images a little later, if I need to. I vary my focal lengths, positioning of my camera, and switching from horizontal to vertical during the evening.
Now, you might ask, what about that BULB setting? I usually take with me an opaque piece of material-- a camera manual, folded copy paper, etc. The key point is to take something to use as an improvised "lens cap." It needs to cover the lens in-between each fireworks display. This fourth of July, I thought I had my usual material in my camera bag, but I didn't! What to do? I used my hand instead. Hey, whatever works! The purpose of a piece of material, or hand, is that it becomes my "shutter speed."
Here is how I use my hand (or piece of paper) as my "shutter." For example, I have my hand carefully in front of my lens, so it won't receive any light. THEN:
1) I see a beautiful display go up in the sky. I take my hand away from the front of the lens and trigger my cable release at the same time. Right before the display dissipates, I cover the lens again with my hand, BUT I don't let go of the cable release--thus the shutter in the camera is still open. I then see another colorful explosion. I take my hand away again, then cover my lens again when that second display begins to dissipate. Then I take my finger off my cable release. I have, in essence, created a double exposure, combining two displays!
2) I repeat the above process, but this time I do it for three firework displays, just to be different. Now, I've created a triple exposure. I've combined three displays in the same image!
3) I then repeat the above process, but just do it for one burst/display.
I go back and forth between steps 1-3 above during the course of the evening, getting one, two, or three firework bursts in my images. It's fun, exciting, and can even be jaw-dropping.
Software fine-tuning. Most folks today call it "post processing." Actually, this process I follow requires only a little fine-tuning. All I do is crop (if necessary), burn, or dodge--darken some areas or lighten some areas of the images.
As Forrest Gump once said, "Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."
So, with that, I hope you enjoy seeing samples of my 2021 Lake Estes fireworks. Have fun!
