How to shoot fireworks

[10dedfish]

Awesome Pictures man. I know when I went for the NSSHP the Hallowishes show was excellent. Nothing like 20 minutes of fireworks to get the old blood pumping.

Matt

 

[senecabeach]

Spectacular photo's...Thanks for sharing !!

 

[hoosiergirl7]

subscribing

 

[stenogoddess]

Thanks for all the great info!

 

[handicap18]

Nice photo Kyle! I was wondering, do you start your exposure when there are no fireworks going off? I mean, your exposure time is 6.4 seconds! I am relatively certain that my camera would have a WAY overexposed shot even at f11 if I had it open for 6.4 seconds. There would have to be time in the photo where there are no fireworks going off at all for me to accomplish that. I'm certain that the 6.4 sec got you the nice castle exposure though as all of mine had terrible castle exposure. They were WAY too dark. Most of mine were for like 1 or 2 seconds at f8 (I think). Also, most of mine went in the computers recycle bin!

Andy, sorry I just saw this reply. I'm confused with what your saying in bold above.

I listened for the PFFFTT to go off, then opened the shutter. I closed it when I thought there had been enough fireworks and color. First time I used BULB mode with fireworks. I don't see how you would get a way over exposed shot at f/11 for 6.4 seconds with your camera unless your using ISO1600 or 3200 at 6.4 seconds. Night shots are what they are. You need a long exposure to get the light. And the low ISO to get the clear image (no/little noise).

The ISO for some reason is stripped in the EXIF data (its a Nikon D50 thing with some programs... ??) anyway, for that shot I used ISO 200 (lowest ISO on the D50).

 

[PinkTink63]

If you weren't there, the fireworks at the Magic Kingdom were the best show I've ever seen. At the end the sky was lit up with the same brightness as the afternoon! I brought my tripod; unfortunately it was so packed I couldn't put my camera on it. So I turned the ISO to 1600 and hoped for the best.

I have a total of 26 pictures that you can check out here: http://matt.codders.org/gallery/main.php?g2_itemId=485

Those are AMAZING photos! Can I ask what kind of camera you used?

 

[Gdad]

Nice work- a buddy of mine went to New Years Eve a year ago and said it was insanely crowded. You could barely walk much less set up a tripod.

 

[MattJL]

Those are AMAZING photos! Can I ask what kind of camera you used?

Canon Digital Rebel XTi with the Kit 18-55 EF-S Lens. I'm pretty sure I just set it tor time exposure and set the time at 1/60. Unfortunately I didn't get my 18-55 IS lens until a few days after. I could have used 1/30.

Nice work- a buddy of mine went to New Years Eve a year ago and said it was insanely crowded. You could barely walk much less set up a tripod.

Strangely enough, I was able to set up a tripod... about 10 minutes after the fireworks were done. So the last few pictures were using a tripod.

 

[JKYlovesRuss]

All I can say is "WOW" beautiful pictures!

 

[msr709]

This thread is just so full of information, I'd like to thank each of you for your input and what beautiful pictures.

I have an EasyShare A70i I just bought recently, it has a setting specifically for fireworks. My question is while on the tripod how do I time the fireworks, I tend to move the camera when I click to take the picture (I don't have a remote), will that ruin the picture? I haven't seen any fireworks to test this and probably won't until I get to WDW. Any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA

 

[Groucho]

This thread is just so full of information, I'd like to thank each of you for your input and what beautiful pictures.

I have an EasyShare A70i I just bought recently, it has a setting specifically for fireworks. My question is while on the tripod how do I time the fireworks, I tend to move the camera when I click to take the picture (I don't have a remote), will that ruin the picture? I haven't seen any fireworks to test this and probably won't until I get to WDW. Any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA

This is a real problem and one that there's no good solution for. What the DSLR shooters do is use a remote shutter release, that way there's no camera movement as the photo is taken. Plus it allows the use of "bulb" mode, which most point-n-shoots don't have, where the camera takes the photo as long as you hold the button down. With a point-n-shoot, you have to determine beforehand how long the shutter will be open. With fireworks, the proper exposure changes constantly, depending on how many fireworks, how brightly the castle is lit (which changes often), etc.

(There are, I believe, a couple high-end point-n-shoots that do have bulb mode and support remote shutter releases, but those are rare, so I'm ignoring them at the moment.)

If you bobble the camera slightly as you press the button, the fireworks themselves may be OK (if you start the photo right as they're launched, the camera will probably be steady for most of the trail and the explosion), but the background (eg, castle) will have a slight blur to it.

What you can do is set a 2-second delay on the shutter, this should give you a nice sharp castle, but it will be extra hard to time your photo with the fireworks.

 

[Pooh_Girl]

This thread is just so full of information, I'd like to thank each of you for your input and what beautiful pictures.

I have an EasyShare A70i I just bought recently, it has a setting specifically for fireworks. My question is while on the tripod how do I time the fireworks, I tend to move the camera when I click to take the picture (I don't have a remote), will that ruin the picture? I haven't seen any fireworks to test this and probably won't until I get to WDW. Any suggestions would be appreciated. TIA

I know my husband came across this same problem for our trip last December. He recently purchased a Pentax K100D after the advice of some great guys on here, but was having some difficulties keeping it steady. Having said that, the best investment (other than the camera) that he bought was a tripod and remote. The tripod was less than $100 and the remote was less than $10. He also had some problems with bulb mode, so before the show started he set up his tripod, chose a 2 sec shutter, and then lined everything up to where he wanted, ie focus, exposure, etc and then LISTENED TO THE MUSIC. Disney puts a lot of work and effort into their shows, and one of the biggest components is the music. If you pay attention to the music you can time it pretty well on when to snap the pictures. Here's a couple of his:

 

[wdwensel]

I was finally able to get some good fireworks photos on my trip in October '07. I was just back again this month (Feb '08), and I took what I learned from the last trip and improved on it. There are a few simple basic things that I have learned that worked wonders for me.
1. That tripod thing everyone seems to mention? Do it. Do what ever you can do to make it happen. I have a full sized tripod, and I've done everything from keeping it in a locker all day, to using a guitar strap and carying it on my back, to just putting the camera on it and taking it around with me.
2. I've found using an ISO of 200 has worked best for me and my camera.
3. I set my exposure to 2 seconds.
4. A remote is a must.
5. Always shoot horizantal. This way you capture all of the wide fireworks, and you can then crop in close to the ones that are perfectly behind the castle.
6. Practice is a good tool, but if you don't have fireworks shooting off all the time, practice is hard to do. So I studied other peoples fireworks photos, well, more specifically, studied their exif data of thier fireworks photos.
7. And finally, HAVE FUN! You're watching fireworks, at Disney. Enjoy them.

Here are some of mine that I just got from this February trip:

The same basic settings also worked well at EPCOT's Illuminations

If you want to see more, I have a page full of them on my photo site. The exif data is provided on all of them. You can see them here.

 

[labdogs42]

I tend to take fireworks pictures at a fast shutter speed. I like the look of capturing the bursts, and I like not having to use a tripod. It seems that every website and book about photographing fireworks recommends a tripod and long exposure time. Am I doing something wrong? It also seems that Wishes is so bright, anything close to a 1 second shutter speed is just so washed out, it doesn't even look good. (I have a 20D if that matters). Anyway, here are a few of my pictures. Do you think they are weird?

 

[AndrewWG]

I see nothing wrong with your photos. Do you like them? That is the question. Don't worry so much about the "rules" of photography. It is, afterall, an art. I see nothing wrong with your fireworks shots. The exposure seems quite nice, so I don't think you are losing anything by not having the trails in the photos.

Also, alot can be said about a photo that you didn't have to lug a tripod around the parks to get!

 

[boBQuincy]

Weird? No, not at all. Some like the long trails, some like the short bursts, some like both. I have taken many fireworks photos at WDW with and without a tripod from maybe 1/60 to 4 seconds. It mostly depends on what effect we are looking for.

This one was about 1/15 with a monopod.

 

[CiaoBelle]

They are all wonderful shots. What you shoot should be what you like, not what someone else thinks is the right way.

 

[Groucho]

I tend to take fireworks pictures at a fast shutter speed. I like the look of capturing the bursts, and I like not having to use a tripod. It seems that every website and book about photographing fireworks recommends a tripod and long exposure time. Am I doing something wrong? It also seems that Wishes is so bright, anything close to a 1 second shutter speed is just so washed out, it doesn't even look good. (I have a 20D if that matters). Anyway, here are a few of my pictures. Do you think they are weird?

Like others said, the only thing that matters is if you like it!

In terms of shutter speed, chances are that you're using a wider aperture than the tripod shooters. There's no exif data in the photos so I can't see what the settings were, but I'm suspect that they're fairly low. That, and you're also probably shooting at a higher ISO level.

When using a tripod, you usually set it closer to F8-F11 and a low ISO like 100 or 200. This allows you to take a longer photo without it blowing out. For example, this photo was 2.4 seconds and still a little dark, thanks to F8 and ISO 200.

Regardless, if you don't want to use a tripod, you pretty much have to do shorter shutter speeds, and it looks like you've got a good handle on those.

 

[labdogs42]

Like others said, the only thing that matters is if you like it!

In terms of shutter speed, chances are that you're using a wider aperture than the tripod shooters. There's no exif data in the photos so I can't see what the settings were, but I'm suspect that they're fairly low. That, and you're also probably shooting at a higher ISO level.

When using a tripod, you usually set it closer to F8-F11 and a low ISO like 100 or 200. This allows you to take a longer photo without it blowing out. For example, this photo was 2.4 seconds and still a little dark, thanks to F8 and ISO 200.


Regardless, if you don't want to use a tripod, you pretty much have to do shorter shutter speeds, and it looks like you've got a good handle on those.

I do like them, but I'd like to try taking them other ways, too. I checked the data and I shot ISO 1600, F2.8, 1/20s for these pics. I think if you click on the picture, it will take you to smugmug where you can see the data (well, it works for me, but maybe because it is my account?).

Thanks for the info about your settings, I like that shot a lot. I don't think I ever set my aperture that high, maybe that's why all my long exposures are blown out. I'll have to try that!

 

[jann1033]

i actually like the bursts..just don't use a slow speed handheld...that=wiggly snakes of light( from my own experience i might add ) it's kind of like shooting water, sometime you want a blur, sometimes you want droplets, neither are bad.