If you’ve been to a great aerial fireworks display, I’m sure you’ve heard the “oohs” and “ahhs” of the crowd, captivated by the colorful spectacle. Here in the United States, the Independence Day holiday is when many of us try our hand at fireworks photography. I’m sure if you live in other places in the world, you also have holidays celebrated with fireworks. So how can you capture those moments in a photo and elicit those same “oohs” and “ahhs” from your viewers and achieve better fireworks photos?
Great fireworks photos aren’t difficult, but you will not get them in Auto mode. You will need to put a little thought into this and learn to take charge of your camera controls. Try these simple tips, however, and I’ll bet you’ll come back with images that elicit “oohs,” “ahhs,” some likes, and maybe even “wows” from your viewers.
Here are the things we’ll cover for better fireworks photos:
- Location
- Equipment
- Camera settings
1. Location
You can make good fireworks photos with just an image of the colorful bursts in the sky. But great fireworks photos need something more – an interesting setting or foreground.
Think of displays you have seen taken with fireworks over the Statue of Liberty, the Sydney Harbour, the Chicago city skyline, the Golden Gate Bridge, or Victoria Harbor in Hong Kong. What makes those shots over the top? A couple of things; iconic city skylines and landmarks, and most often, water.
Not only are there interesting things in the shot besides the fireworks themselves, but often with water in the shot, there’s the benefit of colorful reflections.
If you are lucky, the spot where you plan to photograph your fireworks display will also have interesting foreground features and perhaps a body of water. If so, scout the area ahead of time so you can find a location to best capture those things.
2. Equipment
What will you need to make good fireworks photos? Let’s break down the basic equipment needs:
Camera
You can make fireworks photos with a cellphone camera if that’s all you have. However, the techniques will be different and the results likely not as impressive.
We won’t get into that here, so let’s assume you have a better DSLR or mirrorless camera with the option for manual control. Be sure to have a good-sized storage card, as well as a spare battery or two, as you’ll usually take lots of shots at a fireworks show.
Tripod
Fireworks photography will require a steady camera as you’ll be shooting in low light and taking longer exposures. Consider a tripod pretty much mandatory for this kind of work. An L-bracket on your camera or at least a tripod that will easily allow going from landscape to portrait mode easily is a good thing too. Often you will shoot in both aspects.
Lens Selection
Lens choice largely depends on how close you will be to the fireworks launch location. If you are really close, you may need a wide-angle to keep the larger bursts in the frame. If, however, you are a long distance from the show or want to compress the apparent distance between your foreground object and the sky bursts, a telephoto might be in order.
I typically use my go-to lens; a Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS as it covers a good range. You don’t need a particularly fast lens as you will be working with mid to small apertures and longer shutter speeds. Still, a sharp lens is always a good thing.
Cable Release/Remote trigger
The technique for photographing fireworks will be discussed in a minute, but trust that having a way to remotely trigger your camera will be a real help. One reason is you are presumably going to a fireworks show to enjoy the show. Having your eye to the viewfinder and your finger on the shutter button the entire time will lessen the enjoyment of “being there.” It will also introduce camera shake, something you don’t want.
3. Camera settings
If you’ve always worked in Program or one of the Auto modes with your camera, or even if you use Aperture (Av/A) or Shutter (Tv/S) mode, this will be the time to be brave and go to full Manual mode.
Here’s how you want to set up your camera for fireworks photography:
Raw Mode
Real photographers shoot in Raw mode. There are many articles why. If you never have done so before, here’s your chance to try it. You can work in Raw + Jpg if that makes you feel more secure. However, I’m betting you won’t use the .jpg versions.
Full Manual
As described. Be brave. You can do this.
White Balance
As you’re using Raw mode, (you are, yes?), white balance can be tweaked later so it doesn’t matter much what you set for shooting. I tend to leave my white balance in Faithful mode almost all the time.