Photographing Fireworks (Low Light Photography Tips)

By: Jim Sobek, P.E., Visibility & Lighting Expert

July 4th will find hundreds of thousands of people watching fireworks displays. Some will want to take photographs and most of those photographs will "come out" poorly because the photographer let the camera "do its thing." Here are a few tips to capture the magnificence of the evening.

 Plan ahead. Choose a place where you’ll have a nice background of a tree line or a large famous building to establish place.

 Find your tripod. You will need it because you’re going to be using relatively long exposure times

 If you have a remote shutter release (IR or cable release), dig it out, too. This will avoid jiggling the camera during the shot.

 Figure out how to disable your flash and do it. (A friend of mine told me of a time when we were both much younger when he was taking a photograph of the moon and his mother said, "Jon, shouldn’t you be using a flash?")

 If possible, choose a completely manual shooting mode

 Choose a reasonably low ISO ("film speed"), between 200 and 400. The "fire" itself is bright enough to expose the image.

　
 Set exposure time to 2 seconds to start.

 Set relative aperture ("f/stop") to the widest value, that is, the smallest number. Use 5.6 or lower, if possible

 Your autofocus cannot handle the task in darkness. So, before the fun begins, go to autofocus and focus on a distance object, say a street light or the horizon line. Then, switch to manual focus without disturbing the focus position. Leave the camera in manual focus for the entire show.

 Set your field of view (zoom) to capture the full width of any given burst. This will depend upon how far away from the show you are.

Now, you’re ready for some fireworks!

If you’re fairly close to the action, you can time your shots because you’ll hear the mortar’s "Thump!" when the shell is launched. Count to three and release your shutter. If you’re further away (and "zoomed-in"), you can often see the trail of the shell as it rises. Release the shutter when you detect it slowing down.

Once they are underway and you’ve got a few good shots, try out variations on the settings. Longer exposures to capture the longer-lived pieces. Wider or narrower field of view.

Try a couple of shots looking toward the audience and using the light from the fireworks to light their faces.

Good luck and Happy Independence Day!