Helpful hints for those 4th of July photos

A guide to photographing fireworks

So this year you are ready, ready to venture out and capture those awesome fireworks with your camera.  Here are some helpful tips and tricks to get the best possible outcome.

1. Vantage Point – For me the difference between everyones photos and what I want mine to look like is your vantage point.  Remember you and your 1,000 closest friends will be in the popular viewing points, so if you really want to get those awesome photos, you’ll need a unique vantage point.

2.  Steady, steady, steady – While most of you may not have a tripod, you’ll need some type of steady balance for the camera.  Just holding the camera will cause too much shake and blur of the fireworks.  Try bracing yourself against a wall or even placing the camera on a steady surface.

3. The Camera – This day and age any camera and most cell phones can get you some pretty interesting fireworks shots, so don’t fret if you don’t have a “professional” grade camera.  Keep reading and we’ll show you how.

4. Camera Settings –  Auto “A” – If you’d like to play it semi-safe and still keep an eye on those kids running around, use your “Fireworks” setting.  This will automatically tell your camera to slow your shutter speed down to either 2″ of 4″ seconds.  This will also close your Aperture (the eye of the camera) down give you the most viewing depth as possible.  Most cameras should allow you to adjust how many seconds your shutter speed is open for.  So feel free to play with it a bit to see what you like the most.

5. Go For it on Manual – Ready to take the plunge, here is what you’ll need to know on Manual.

ISO, Shutter Speed, Aperture and EV

 Your ISO should be between 100 – 800 max depending on your skill level and familiarity with your camera and how well is does on those setting.

Shutter Speed – Depending on vantage point (looking straight up or straight on), the shutter speed should be somewhere between 1 and 4 seconds.  You’ll need to play with this setting depending on how fast they are shooting off the fireworks, your vantage point and timing the shots.

Aperture – Again, this setting will depend on your camera’s abilities but a helpful suggestion will be somewhere between 11  and 22 depending on how far away from the actual fireworks you are.

E/V Setting – This is one of the most under used settings in my opinion but will be necessary to adjust to how bright the fireworks may be compared to the night sky.

A few other settings you can play with (depending on your patience level) Sharpness, NR – noise reduction and white balance.

My best advice is to photograph a few of the first blasts on your auto-fireworks setting to see what the camera is suggesting then venture from there and please remember…

To enjoy the moment, you may or may not capture the most perfect firework but making the memories is what it’s all about.