Crash! Bang! Boom! 8 Tips for better fireworks photography

The Fourth of July means fireworks here in the U.S. Fireworks means a chance to pack up the family for some visual and audio stimulation. Fireworks also provides an opportunity to capture some truly stunning photographs.

Here are a few tips to elicit “oohs and ahhs” long after the fireworks display is over:

1. Set your camera’s zoom to the widest setting to ensure you capture plenty of colorful bursts. You can always crop your pictures later.

2. If you can, set your focus manually to infinity. On many cameras, the autofocus mechanism will not work properly in the dark, or will work too slowly to capture a fast-moving fireworks display.

3. Fireworks happen in the dark (duh), so you’ll need long exposures to capture the action. Use a tripod to avoid blurred pictures. A small flashlight can help you see to maneuver through your camera’s settings in the dark.

4. If your digital camera has a Fireworks mode, it will take care of the settings for you.

5. If you’re shooting film or don’t have a Fireworks mode, try this – manually set your camera to ISO 200, aperture f/8 and choose a shutter speed of about 4 seconds for starters. In the middle of the fireworks display, this setting will capture two or three bursts. Longer exposures will capture more bursts. A second or two is all you’ll need to catch the action during the finale, when the explosions come fast and furious.

6. As the display begins, adjust your tripod to aim the camera to where most of the action is occurring in the sky. You’ll most likely have to make adjustments throughout the show, so be familiar with your tripod’s controls.

7. Try to include some of the surrounding scenery in your photo. The fireworks will beautifully light up the park, stadium, lakeshore or whatever spot from which you are viewing the display.

8. Shoot often! A hundred shots may yield only a handful of keepers. But those spectacular shots will be picture perfect for sharing with friends and family.

Photographs © 2009 James Jordan.

The twilight zone

Just because the sun’s gone down doesn’t necessarily mean it’s time to put the camera away. Some of the most remarkable shots you’ll ever take will be captured in the fading light of day. The above shot of the Wind Point Lighthouse near Racine, Wisconsin and the planet Venus was taken about 45 minutes after sunset. The small beach shot was taken about a half hour after sunset.

Here are a few things to keep in mind should you decide to catch the last light of the day:

The sky slowly takes on a deeper blue cast as night approaches. From about 20 to 40 minutes past sunset is the ideal time to catch the deep indigo color of the sky.

You’ll need a tripod or some other device to keep the camera stock-still during the exposure, which will be quite long.

The rule of thumb I use in positioning the camera – set up low. I usually stay within 14 inches of the ground when shooting night and twilight scenes. The low angle adds to the drama.

If you have a camera with manual settings, I use a one-second exposure at f5.6 using 100 ISO. If you’re using a digital point and shoot, set the exposure to about -1.5 to -2. Autoexposure will want to lighten the photo. Don’t let it.

Embrace the blur. If you can, stop down your lens and increase exposure time. Moving clouds will be rendered as streaks of light in the sky. Waves on the beach will become a ghostly mist.

It takes a fair bit of experimenting to become adept at twilight shooting and many mistakes will be made. But learn from them and over time, catching low-light photos will become second nature.

Shoot the moon

Earth’s companion in the night sky has inspired dreamers and poets since time immemorial. It also makes for great photos. Here are a few tips for shooting the moon.

The correct exposure for the moon high in the sky follows the “Sunny 16” rule – Shoot at f16 and use a shutter speed closest to the inverse of the ISO of your film or camera setting. If using 100 ISO, then your shutter speed should be as close as possible to 1/100 of a second – in most cases, 1/125. Follow the same scenario for 200 ISO, 400 ISO, etc.

When the moon is visible during daylight hours, Sunny 16 works like a charm. Both the moon and earthly foreground objects will be in harmony as far as exposure is concerned. It gets trickier when shooting in twilight or darkness and you wish to also capture some foreground detail. Properly exposing the foreground will blow out the moon. Conversely, properly exposing the moon will make your foreground too dark.

Some options:

A. Pick a foreground object that offers an interesting silhouette and forget about capturing details (top image). Use the Sunny 16 rule to determine your exposure, then bracket one stop up and down for safety. Try to shoot within a half hour or forty five minutes after sunset when the sky is a deep indigo color.

B. Concentrate on the foreground and forget about details in the moon (second image). This exposure was 180 seconds at f5.6. It blew out the moon, but given the interest in the rest of the photo, is not that a big deal.

C. Shoot the full moon as soon as it comes up as possible. It will not yet have reached full light power and you can get away with a longer exposure. You have about 10 to 15 minutes after the moon appears above the horizon before it becomes too bright to capture this way. Use a graduated neutral density filter to darken the moon and sky while keeping the foreground light enough to register (third image). A two-stop grad ND filter kept the detail in the moon while allowing for a long enough exposure (about 20 seconds) to catch the motion of waves among the rotted pilings. Keep in mind that the moon is a moving object. Too long of an exposure (more than 30 seconds) will render it as an elongated object, not round.

D. Make a blended image using two or more exposures and combine them in Photoshop. The lighthouse photo (fourth image) was comprised of three exposures – one for the moon (using Sunny 16), one for the lighthouse tower (20 seconds) and one for the light in the lantern room (5 seconds). Sometimes there is just no other way to capture an image.

Of course, you need a sturdy tripod, camera with a bulb exposure setting and a locking cable release.

Take the Nike approach to shooting moon photos – just do it. Note the results, then make adjustments and learn as you go. Have fun!

Click on photos to enlarge. Photographs © 2007 James Jordan.