How To Shoot: Fireworks

[MarkBarbieri]

This is the first of a series of posts focused on how to shoot different shows, attractions, rides, and events at Disney Theme Parks. The purpose is to help people learn how to shoot those things with their camera and what they can reasonably expect from their camera. If it works as well as I hope, it can also be a way for people to see what they might get for spending more money and learning time on different cameras.

On this forum, we run the gamut from cell phone cameras to high end DSLRs with rediculously large lenses. I'm hoping that we'll get a variety of posts from people with cameras in all ranges. Even if you feel that your photos don't measure up to what others have posted, please post some samples anyway. We're all at different levels of gear and skill and we can all learn from each other. A typical S3 user will probably learn more from your S3 shot than they will from Oblio's latest masterpiece.

Other posts in this series include:
How To Shoot: The Safari Ride
How To Shoot: Parades
How To Shoot: Indoor Shows
How To Shoot: Cinderella's Castle
How To Shoot: SpectroMagic
How To Shoot: Dark Rides

This first subject is probably the most asked about photo opportunity on this forum. How do I shoot fireworks? Sadly for me, it's also one for which I don't have any decent digital photos, so I'll be primarily a spectator.

Please post your tips on how to shoot fireworks along with examples of shots where you followed those tips. Don't be afraid to show screwups either. We can learn just as much from seeing what not to do and we can from seeing what to do.

[MarkBarbieri]

OK, I guess I'll get things started with some "not-to-do's".

Here's a shot i took with my Canon 10D using a 17-40mm lens at f/4.0, an ISO of 800, and a shutter speed of 1/4s. Obviously, I was shooting handheld.

Some things that I did wrong include:

1) Shooting with an obstruction in my way. I can't remember if I was just careless or didn't have much time to get a good spot. It's important to stake out a place where you'll have an unobstructed view of the castle and the sky around it.

2) Not using a tripod. If you want good fireworks shots, there is no substitute. You can use a small one and put it on a trashcan or some other object. You can use a gorillapod and wrap it on something.

3) I think the exposure was OK, but if I had a tripod I would adjust the parameters a bit. I'd probably have shot at ISO 400 to reduce noise and f/5.6 to gain a little sharpness. That would leave me with a shutter speed of 1 second, which is plenty of time for nice firework trails. As a general rule, I'd try to be a stop down from wide open, at an ISO level that shows no noise, and let the shutter speed make it work. If the shutter speed got too long, I'd sacrifice aperture before I'd give up on ISO.

4) It looks like I was shooting in program mode, which is something I wouldn't do again. I'd meter on the castle, switch to manual, and underexpose by 2/3 stops. I'd check the histogram frequently. I would try to get as brightly exposed as possible without getting blinkies (over-exposed parts). It's easy to overexpose the firework trails and lose the color in them.



An interesting technique that you might use if you have room is to shoot someone in the foreground. The trick is to use the flash to illuminate them while still exposing for the castle and the fireworks. Set up your exposure for the castle and the fireworks. The camera should, if all goes well, illuminate the foreground object with the flash and keep the shutter open long enough for the castle and fireworks to expose properly. I've never done that at WDW, but here's a shot of a friend lighting some bottlerockets. It's a scan of a film shot I took with a Minolta 7i about 20 years ago. The flash captured him in the moment he was lighting the bottlerockets and then he ran off while the rest of the photo was exposed.

[Michele]

I have a few recent shots. I have a Digital Rebel and right before our trip in April I got a new lens, Canon 50mm f/1.8. Unfortunately, I am not knowledgeable enough to explain exactly how I got these pics, I can provide the exif info. I usually change up the setting, kind of trial and error. These are all handheld. My location for these first 2 shots was too close for the 50mm, so I could only get part of the castle in the pics. I like the look of it in these two though.
f1.8 1/200 sec. ISO 100 I guess this one is not really a fireworks shot, but I like how the castle is illuminated by the fireworks.


f1.8 1/100 sec. ISO 100



Our trip in May I stood a bit further back from the castle and got these. I wish the castle was brighter in these.
f/5 1/320 sec. ISO 800



f/5.6 1/400 sec. ISO 800



And here is my favorite from Hallowishes last September.
f/10 2 sec. ISO 100

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

My first time at taking fireworks pics with our new Rebel XTi was during Wishes this past May, and unfortunately I can't share how exactly I took these as I was just "playing" with the settings. All were handheld (would definitely use a tripod or gorillapod next time) with continuous shooting using the kit lens. I ended up taking almost 200 photos during the show, with probably 75% of them turning out OK.

f/5.0 1/40 sec 1600 ISO


f/4.5 1/10 sec 1600 ISO


f/4.0 1/4 sec 1600 ISO


f/7.1 1/80 sec 1600 ISO



I welcome any criticism and suggestions on how to improve.

Bonny

[Groucho]

I prefer "bulb" mode to "manual" mode (I believe some cameras don't have a separate mode for bulb, but set it as a shutter speed instead.)

The big difference here is that you determine how long you want your shot to be. For example, you can start the shot during one particular burst and stop when it's done, not when the camera's done. Example:



The thing that makes this a little different is that because you don't know what the shutter speed will be, you can't perfectly predict the exposure. This is OK IMHO, because the very nature of fireworks means that exposure changes dramatically from one moment to the next. If there are many fireworks going off at once, you take a shorter picture... and if it's a quieter moment, you can hold the shutter open longer. Of course, with the castle in the foreground, there will be times when the castle is properly exposed and the fireworks are over or underexposed, and times when the fireworks are perfect but the castle is over or underexposed. This is, again, unavoidable due to the ever-changing light. Here's an example of a nicely exposed castle and overexposed fireworks.



Here's one with a slightly underexposed castle but more properly exposed fireworks.



Of course, this technique pretty much requires a remote shutter release. I was able to set the camera on the tripod before the fireworks, then just stand back and hit the button on the remote to fire off the shots, no need to even check the viewfinder. The camera itself was set for F8 and ISO 200 and manually focused.

One thing to also think about is maybe trying to shoot from a different location. The obvious place is right center in front of the castle, but I've seen some really interesting photos from other angles. Next trip, I hope to take some from behind the castle - say, Tomorrowland or Frontierland. You can also get some neat photos completely outside the MK. These are from the beach at the Polynesian - we weren't staying, we just visited one night.





Also - most of these techniques are assuming that you're trying to shoot Wishes (or Remember... Dreams Come True), but they should work fine for any fireworks, including Illuminations - but that one is a bit trickier as you're closer to the action, so if using a tripod, you either need a very wide lens, or you may want to re-frame the camera sometimes, to capture the fireworks at water level or the ones in the sky.

[nbodyhome]

I took these, handheld on auto with my S2:







They aren't the best fireworks shots I've ever taken in my life, but I thought they were great for being essentially point and shoot!!!!! I plan to take my tripod when I stay in September and will have plenty of evening time to take photos. I have more of the fireworks ones here: http://www.mousesteps.com/index.php?...d=23&Itemid=37

I used to take my SLR and a tripod to the parks, a number of years ago and have a few beautiful shots still laying around. But the computer that held all the scanned images died a few years back, and most are gone.

[SharonLowe]

Before it gets too busy, scope out your location; make sure no obstructions are in your way; make sure you have something of interest in the foreground. And, of course, check the wind since you don't want all the smoke filling your photo.

1. Use a tripod. **Watch your horizon** Tilted horizons/castles do not make for appealing photographs! Also decide on horizontal or vertical - vertical gives the most pleasing image usually but when fireworks are spread out, a horizontal format might work better.

2. If digital, use your lowest ISO; if film, Tungsten 64 is the most recommended type for night/fireworks - gives a cooler color so your sky won't be muddy brown. Setting your white balance to tungsten or something similar is also a good idea.

3. Set your focus manually and leave it there.

4. Use a remote if possible.

5. Use bulb or if not available, at least set your mode to manual.

6. Apertures of f/8 to f/16 are typically the best if shooting ISO 100.

7. Don't go for overly long exposures - they will blow out your highlights and the fireworks won't be crisp. If using bulb mode, open the shutter before the burst to get some light on the subject (take a meter reading off Cindy's castle for example to find out how long to keep it open for good light on it) and then keep the shutter open long enough for one burst. If you want to have multiple bursts, the best way to do it is to bring a peice of black foam core or black felt. Open the shutter and then cover it between bursts with the foam/felt. If using manual mode, experiment with exposures of 1 to 4 seconds.

8. Go for the fireworks in the beginning of the show - toward the end, you will mostly get smoke.

Trick for post processing to reduce noise if you choose a higher ISO. Shoot a totally black frame (eg., one with your lens cap on). In PS, drag the black frame over your background image of the fireworks to create a new layer. Set the mode to "difference" and you will see a big reduction in the noise.

Another trick for a good exposure on the foreground object is to take a photo of it without any fireworks. Then, you can blend in that good exposure with your fireworks exposure if you foreground subject is too dark in the fireworks shot.

[nbodyhome]

Originally Posted by SharonLowe

1. **Watch your horizon**

That is my very worst fault, I think. I just started taking up photography last year (after a number of years away for the most part). It's getting better, but sometimes I have to line something up at the bottom of my photo, because I have camera-lean!

[SharonLowe]

Originally Posted by nbodyhome

That is my very worst fault, I think. I just started taking up photography last year (after a number of years away for the most part). It's getting better, but sometimes I have to line something up at the bottom of my photo, because I have camera-lean!

If your tripod doesn't have built in levels, they sell a bubble level that fits into your hot shoe slot on an SLR (or DSLR). A bit pricey but worth it in my oppinion.

[MarkBarbieri]

If your tripod doesn't have built in levels, they sell a bubble level that fits into your hot shoe slot on an SLR (or DSLR). A bit pricey but worth it in my oppinion.

I have a leveling base on my tripod and I use a hot shoe level. With a ballhead, having the base level doesn't indicate that the camera itself is level.

[nbodyhome]

Originally Posted by SharonLowe

If your tripod doesn't have built in levels, they sell a bubble level that fits into your hot shoe slot on an SLR (or DSLR). A bit pricey but worth it in my oppinion.

I have a tripod now (an okay one), but for daylight shots too - especially when a walkway has patterns, it can take me a while to get a shot right! I am getting better, but the farther away something is, the harder it is for me.

[steery1]

Just wondering how to cope with crowds when shooting the Wishes show.
Ill be there in July and the crowds will be real heavy. Ill have a tripod but am concerned about people knocking into it and ruining my shots or worse.
Any suggestions?

[handicap18]

Here are my rule's of thumb for what I've done for photographing Wishes.

For tripod shots (doesn't matter if you have a dSLR or PnS, settings are going to pretty much be the same). I brought with me a travel tripod that when closed is about 13.5 inches tall and when fully entended is about 42 inchs.

I took pics on 2 seperate nights. First night I got myself a spot just in front of the Walt/Mickey Statue. Problem with this area is that 99% of the people are sitting and since you are close you have to angle the camera which puts the LCD monitor facing the ground, not really a great angle for reviewing.

I first focused on the castle then switched to manual focus so each time I would release the shutter it wouldn't try to refocus. Problems I ran into this night was 1 guy decided that even though everyone around him was sitting, he would stand. He just so happened to be just in front of me to my right. GRRRR So I had to re configure the camera from landscape to portrait and that threw me all off.



The horizon got tilted, the focus got thrown off I had the wrong focal lenth. Just a mess.

I made a few adjustments and got some better shots, but they were still slighty out of focus:




All were pretty much shot with the same settings. Manual mode: ISO 200, 4 seconds f/8

Since I was very disappointed in what I got I decided I would go back the next night.....

[handicap18]

The next night I wanted to get a good spot. Wishes was scheduled for 10pm so about 7:45 I started scouting out locations in the area between Casey's and the hub. I ended up with a trashcan right next to the information board. Since Spectro was 9, there were already a few other people getting thier spots.

I set my tripod up on top of the trashcan, opened but not extended at all. Ended up being a great height for me (also gutta love that Dinsey provided trashcans with flat tops!!).

The only thing I did wrong this night was not check my ISO. I should have had it on 200, but because of some other pics I was taking before this I had it on 800. With my camera this didn't turn out to be bad. Thankfully.

I was able to get the horizon checked, the focal length I wanted, just about no obstructions from other people. Things worked out excellent for me on this night.

My standard settings were: Manual mode, f10, 3-6 seconds. (again can be the same for dSLR's and PnS camera's)



I think this night I would check my focus every now and then. Always focusing on the castle.


These are my 2 favorites:

[steery1]

Originally Posted by handicap18

The next night I wanted to get a good spot. Wishes was scheduled for 10pm so about 7:45 I started scouting out locations in the area between Casey's and the hub. I ended up with a trashcan right next to the information board. Since Spectro was 9, there were already a few other people getting thier spots.

I set my tripod up on top of the trashcan, opened but not extended at all. Ended up being a great height for me (also gutta love that Dinsey provided trashcans with flat tops!!).

The only thing I did wrong this night was not check my ISO. I should have had it on 200, but because of some other pics I was taking before this I had it on 800. With my camera this didn't turn out to be bad. Thankfully.

I was able to get the horizon checked, the focal length I wanted, just about no obstructions from other people. Things worked out excellent for me on this night.

My standard settings were: Manual mode, f10, 3-6 seconds. (again can be the same for dSLR's and PnS camera's)

Some good tips there and photos turned out great.
What lens did you use for the trashcan location?