How Do I Photograph Fireworks?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Photographs of fireworks are spectacular, colorful, and fairly easy to do once you know the tricks. For best results, you will need: an SLR camera, tripod, cable release, 1-2 rolls of film, a long lens, and plenty of patience.
Since you don't know exactly when the fireworks will explode, and you are aiming to capture their trails, you will need to hold the camera shutter open for 2-30 seconds. Compact cameras donÕt offer this long exposure feature so you will need an SLR camera with a manual exposure mode called 'Bulb' (often marked 'B').
To get sharp images, you must keep the camera perfectly still. Propping your camera on a wall, car-top or table may suffice, but nothing beats a good, solid tripod. You'll also need a cable release to activate the shutter without touching and moving the camera.
Despite the low light, the best film is actually slow film as it holds stronger colors. Use 50 or 100-speed print film or, if you want to publish your results, a 50 ISO slide film. I use Fuji Velvia.
Waterfront settings are good as you can include the reflections of the fireworks in your shot. Cityscapes, landmarks, or people add context to the shot, but remember that theyÕll come out as silhouettes, so don't include faces or other details. High viewpoints, upwind from the smoke, are usually best. Get there early to secure your spot and select a lens (usually a telephoto) that will fill the frame with trails. Use the first burst to focus the lens (don't rely on your 'infinity' setting).
To photograph the fireworks, open the shutter, wait for some bursts, then close the shutter. That's it! Shoot off a whole roll of film to get a few good shots. Try different apertures (f8 is the safest) and different zoom settings. Include only a few bursts to fill up the frame; too many will look messy. To reduce the effect of street lighting, cover the lens between bursts with your hand, a black card, or a black cap.
Looking for a truly spectacular shot? You can double-expose your film to include the full moon with the fireworks. In 1998, full moons appear on June 9 or July 9. To double-expose, shoot a full roll of film of your subject (moon or fireworks), then rewind the film and re-use it to photograph the alternate subject.
