It’s amazing to see how many people have Digital SLR cameras (the ones with interchangeable lenses). If you’re one of those fortunate people then you have the tools to capture fireworks like a pro. Here are a few tips:
- First of all, make sure that you are not downwind of the show. If you are, you'll be taking pictures of smoke and not fireworks!
- USE A TRIPOD. If you don’t have one then you’ll have to support your camera on top of your car or the arm of your chair. Don’t bother hand holding because the quality will be crap.
- Pack a range of lenses and experiment with what works best for you. 55-200mm is a pretty common lens... if you have that one then you should be set. Wide angle lenses aren’t going to do you any good unless you’re REALLY close to the action. Try to fill the frame as best as you can.
- Set up your camera properly:
- Turn your flash off.
- Set your camera to Manual Mode (M)
- Set your ISO to either 400 or 800
- Set your Aperture to F4
- Experiment with Shutter Speeds of 3, 5, and 10 second exposure to see what you get. Typically, you'll be better off using a long exposure for the individual fireworks and a shorter exposure for the grand finale (since there is so much light in the sky with all the bursts). Remember that the longer the exposure, the more of a "trail" you'll see for each burst and the more likely you're to catch multiple bursts in one image.
Comments