Taking Photos of Fireworks

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chrisb1357

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Hi all,

New to the forum and not been into photo work for long but as Nov the 5th is nearly with us i thought about trying to take some photos of some local firework displays as i have alot of spare time this weekend. Problem is i have never taken photo's at night or of fireworks before and i know this is not easy and would like some advice if anyone can help me.

I have a Canon 350D with the following lens
Canon EF-S 18mm-55mm II Lens
Canon EF 75-30mm F/4.0-5.6 III USM Lens

I also have a tripod and a shutter release cable that i dont know how to use or work LOL.

Any advice on what settings to use and how to setup the SLR for this

Many Thanks
Chris
 
Have a play with the shutter realease before hand ;) as you are going to need it (or the cameras self timer) and your tripod. Try and setup somewhere you know there will be some fireworks, If they are going to be fairly close (prefferable) stick your 18-55 on and get all setup on the tripod aiming with the floor in the bottom third of the shot (maybe less) and the sky above.

Settings wise it kinda depends on the fireworks :( ISO 100 or 200, F11 area maybe and then try and focus manually as the first firework goes up (if the fireworks are going to be some distance away then focsing at infinity, IE the furthest distance, might be an idea) Shutter times will vary depending on how bright the fireworks are and your apature.

Deffinatley dont shoot on auto, you pretty much have to go manual to get the best out of them I have found, otherwise the camera starts metering for the black sky etc.

Most importantly have fun and dont forget to get too involved that you miss watching the fireworks yourself :)


Oooo one last point, I have found (and I use the 350D too) that if you have a shutter speed longer than maybe 5 seconds that the fireworks tend to loose all thier colour as the highlights blow and they just turn white :(
 
The generally accepted way to shoot fireworks is to get the camera set up on a tripod and keep the shutter open for one or several bursts. You can use either the aperture or ISO to control how bright the fireworks are in the shot and depending on how close to them you are, you'll need to adjust to suit. The best way to do this is to take one shot and then change your settings if needed.

Personally, I think it's quite fun to get the camera off the tripod and sort of wave it around at the fireworks to get something far more abstract.

Here's a couple I shot a few years back. It's al very random but you can get some really intersesting stuff if your lucky.

http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y5b3u6&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1

http://images.fotopic.net/?iid=y5b3uw&outx=600&noresize=1&nostamp=1
 
Thanks for all the advice. your photos are both great. I am now getting a bit worried about taking photos LOL and all them settings are over my head. The main Display is on Sat night which is the biggest in town

Chris
 
LOL i have notr got a clue how to setup to use the remote on the 350D. I know how to set to Manual on the dial and also manual on the lens. I guest i am best to have anything auto turned off

Thanks
Chris
 
if it makes you feel any better heres my 1st & 2nd attempts at fireworks. they were all shot using timer & it was a pain. I'm hoping 3rd time lucky & get some decent shots on the 5th as got remote now phew :lol:

1503489607_760465e77f.jpg


1503489147_2e9bf02a0a.jpg


1561680935_ed72948d2a.jpg


1561678033_abdfd20134.jpg
 
Nice Photos. I would say not bad for a first time.

What is bulb mode on the 350d

Chris
 
Turn the mode dial to 'M' and then adjust the shutter speed using the main dial until shutter speed reads 'BULB'
 
Personally the one and only time i tried fireworks i use a remote shutter and just held the shutter open during the burst of the firework.

I used my 17-40, iso100, f8. I shot in RAW so i didnt have to worry about white balance, using 'wrong' white balance settings can introduce nice colour shifts with the fireworks.

Enniskillen_Fireworks_1_by_mole2k.jpg


Enniskillen__Fireworks_by_mole2k.jpg


Im looking to do shots again of the fireworks this year and will be using similar settings. It really is a matter of trying a few different things and seeing what works at that time.
 
Can you only use the Remote for the 350D Under Bulb Mode to control how long to keep the shutter open for diffrent time lengths.

LOL Sorry to everyone on here for so many questions

Chris

Gofer said:
Turn the mode dial to 'M' and then adjust the shutter speed using the main dial until shutter speed reads 'BULB'
Click to expand...
 
In bulb mode the shutter stays open as long as you hold the button for. In other modes the button just triggers the shutter for the time its been set at.

You can set the shutter speed but I find its much easier just to have the exposure length variable as then you can hold it open for several fireworks if you want, or just get the start/middle/end of a burst. As the light sources are effectively moving once you have the iso and aperture balanced so it doesnt blow highlights you should be fit to hold the shutter open for relatively long peroids of time as the background light should be sufficently low enough to not affect the shots.
 
Id love to try out some firework shots! Unfortunatly, round here, their more than likely to be aimed at your @rse than the sky! LOL
 
Jimmy_Lemon said:
Settings wise it kinda depends on the fireworks :( ISO 100 or 200, F11 area maybe and then try and focus manually as the first firework goes up (if the fireworks are going to be some distance away then focusing at infinity, IE the furthest distance, might be an idea) Shutter times will vary depending on how bright the fireworks are and your aperture.
Click to expand...

I'd echo what Mr Lemon says, start off in manual, lowest ISO at about 5 or 6 secs @ f11, on a tripod and hopefully with a remote of some sort. Focus on the first explosion, and then switch to manual to stop the camera trying to focus on every shot. If you move the zoom, you'll have to re-focus. I'd also add that if there is a building in the scene, meter beforehand to get the correct exposure for the building.
DSC_7466NCResize2.jpg


Once you have a nice exposure, you'll only after check every few shots to check how things are going, or when the display gets more or less busy.

Towards the end of a display I close down the aperture, and shorten the shutter for the inevitable big bangs at the end when they seem to let everything off, otherwise you'll end up with a big white ball of overexposure. ;)

If it is a long display, you can try the abstract moving around of the camera, or maybe zoom into the explosions.
DSC_6145Aresize.jpg


Oh. and watch out for the wind direction. ;) :lol:
 
chrisb1357 said:
LOL i have notr got a clue how to setup to use the remote on the 350D. I know how to set to Manual on the dial and also manual on the lens. I guest i am best to have anything auto turned off

Thanks
Chris
Click to expand...


The remote plugs into the port below 'video out' on your 350
Press in halfway to autofocus and down to take the photo.
 
I find taking pictures of fireworks hard too, I find that if I use bulb, I tend to either not hold it long enough, or hold it too long so that the fireworks seem to lose their definition.

Good tips.

^_^
 
OK so when on Manual Mode keep the lens on Auto Focus for the first photo to get the focus range correct. Once i have got the focus mode correct change the lens to Manual Focus and do not move the zoom.

If moving the zoom then i would need to change back to Auto Focus to reset the range and then back to manual

Am i Correct :-)

Chris



redhed17 said:
I'd echo what Mr Lemon says, start off in manual, lowest ISO at about 5 or 6 secs @ f11, on a tripod and hopefully with a remote of some sort. Focus on the first explosion, and then switch to manual to stop the camera trying to focus on every shot. If you move the zoom, you'll have to re-focus. I'd also add that if there is a building in the scene, meter beforehand to get the correct exposure for the building.

Once you have a nice exposure, you'll only after check every few shots to check how things are going, or when the display gets more or less busy.

Towards the end of a display I close down the aperture, and shorten the shutter for the inevitable big bangs at the end when they seem to let everything off, otherwise you'll end up with a big white ball of overexposure. ;)

If it is a long display, you can try the abstract moving around of the camera, or maybe zoom into the explosions.


Oh. and watch out for the wind direction. ;) :lol:
Click to expand...
 
One tip I'd add, based on my extremely incompetent attempts at shooting fireworks last year.

Make sure you know exactly which button on your camera is which, and what you need to do to change settings. It will be dark, and your camera will probably be pointing skywards on a tripod, so it won't be very easy to see what you're doing. (Having a torch with you would help though.)

I didn't have a torch, and I hadn't had my 350D very long so I wasn't totally familiar with it like I am now. I wanted to turn on the LCD backlight in order to check that I'd set the camera up properly. Unfortunately I accidentally pressed the button next to that one. Yes, it's the timer. So every time I pressed the shutter, nothing happened for 10 seconds. It took me ages to work out what was going on, and I didn't get any decent shots.

I'll be better prepared this time!
 
chrisb1357 said:
OK so when on Manual Mode keep the lens on Auto Focus for the first photo to get the focus range correct. Once i have got the focus mode correct change the lens to Manual Focus and do not move the zoom.

If moving the zoom then i would need to change back to Auto Focus to reset the range and then back to manual

Am i Correct :)

Chris
Click to expand...

Correct Chris. :)

Good luck when you try it all out. :thumbs:
 
Good Luck to Myself as well :lol:

I have just been given access to a big display on sat via the event organizers as i thought there is nothing wrong with asking to access a good area and they have given me the go ahead.

Chris
 
Just another question i take it its best to shoot in RAW mode as well with the 350D.

What setting would i need to set the Metering Mode and AF Mode

Chris
 
chrisb1357 said:
What sort of Fouse area is best as in centre points or all and is OneShoot, AI Focus or AI Servo Better needed
Click to expand...
Remember, you don't really want the camera trying to focus on the fireworks every time they go up. The best bet is to get it to focus on something very distant, and then leave it there. The depth of field with a wide angle at f/11 or whatever will be enough for the fireworks to be sharp. You could use AF to focus on something suitably distant (a building or a tree if there's enough light, or the first fireworks), but you might do just as well setting the focus manually.

If you must use AF:

Do you trust the camera to know what you want in focus? No? Then don't use all AF points. Ever. Select the centre point or one of the others if that's more convenient.

AI Servo is for things which are moving towards you or away from you. One Shot is for things which aren't. AI Focus is a sort of half-baked in-between mode where the camera tries to guess what you want. Would you trust it?

If you want to use AF to focus on the first fireworks then One Shot is your best option.
 
I've got some really good ones from last week at Magic Kingdom, Florida. I experimented with ISO 1600 as I didn't have my tripod, so rested onto of a small statue plinth. About 1/20th sec at 4.5, with my 18-55mm at approx 30mm was perfect.

Img_3303s.jpg
 
Ok well i think i am going to try the Auto Focus on the first photo to get the correct focus. if not then its all Manual for the first time :-)

Thanks to all who have gave info on this and in helping me

Chris
 
Hi all,

Well a local small firework display was on tonight so i thought i would give my first try of taking firework photos. I am ok with the outcome but a few turned out a bit blured and could be better but it was my first time. I also think i was to near to them as well. Your feedback is welcome.

Also the below photos when i was taking the images there was a red dot in the view finder hair which i think means centre focus. Should this show even that i was using manual focus also the white balance was set to Auto

Thanks
Chris

1816866264_60a1f24bd5_o.jpg


Shooting Mode: Manual
Shutter Speed: 7
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18.0mm
White Balance: Auto

1816867468_f0fe03cda3_o.jpg


Shooting Mode: Manual
Shutter Speed: 5
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18.0mm
White Balance: Auto

1816025583_8c5e5d99bf_o.jpg


Shooting Mode: Manual
Shutter Speed: 5
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18.0mm
White Balance: Auto

1816870234_cf15564e27_o.jpg


Shooting Mode: Manual
Shutter Speed: 6
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18.0mm
White Balance: Auto

1816028061_71418eb056_o.jpg


Shooting Mode: Manual
Shutter Speed: 3
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18.0mm
White Balance: Auto

1816029273_822db0eab8_o.jpg


Shooting Mode: Manual
Shutter Speed: 3
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18.0mm
White Balance: Auto

1816873802_cd93292621_o.jpg


Shooting Mode: Manual
Shutter Speed: 4
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 100
Focal Length: 18.0mm
White Balance: Auto
 
Well for a 1st attempt, they are quite good Chris, better than my 1st attempt by far. Number 3 is the stand out for me. If that was as wide as you could go, then you may have been a bit close. Being that close though, and generally for most fireworks pics unless there is something else of interest in the picture, I would have turned the camera to portrait view. The fireworks may have filled more of the frame.

I would shoot in Raw by the way, in answer to your earlier question. It can give more flexibility after the fact, so to speak. :)
 
I think i was near to them as i could see them on the ground, maybe 50 meters away.
 
Good Morning. :wave:
I want to ask a question that'll make you all wonder how anybody quite so ignorant dares to even be looking at this forum, but please bear with me, I'm REALLY new (couldn't even manage to make my pic bigger than a postage stamp at my one attempt so far to post a photo on here) but I will learn, I promise. That's why I'm here.
Question - I only have a compact (Pentax M20) - can I set the shutter speed manually or do I have to just live with the camera deciding for me?
Reading all these bits of advice above about Apertures and ISOs etc is like martian to me at the moment. I've managed to master the manual focus settings and a few other things but I don't even know whether it will let me do any of the other stuff.
My fireworks shots will NOT be appearing here!! But any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks. :thinking:
 
melanie said:
Question - I only have a compact (Pentax M20) - can I set the shutter speed manually or do I have to just live with the camera deciding for me?
Click to expand...
Hi Melanie. In order to take photos of fireworks, you really need a camera that allows you full manual control of the exposure. Some compact cameras do. But as far as I can tell your Pentax M20 doesn't offer that. (I found the specs on the Pentax web site here.) It seems to have an amazing variety of programmed exposure modes, but no manual one. Sorry.
 
Do you find that taking photos of firworks with alot of white makes them blur as in my First Pic above.
 
chrisb1357 said:
Well a local small firework display was on tonight so i thought i would give my first try of taking firework photos. I am ok with the outcome but a few turned out a bit blured and could be better but it was my first time. I also think i was to near to them as well. Your feedback is welcome.
Click to expand...
They're much better than my first attempt!

As you can see, timing them right really is a bit hit-and-miss. I suspect that it's probably better not to trip the shutter until the instant that firework explodes, so that you don't get pictures dominated by the trail it makes on the way up (like #2 and #4). It looks like you caught it nicely in #3. That's the great beauty of digital though: you can take as many as you like and it doesn't cost anything!

I agree with redhed17 that you were probably a bit too close, and that portrait orientation would probably have been better. And of course something in the foreground, even if it's only a silhouette, really helps. (See the great shots by mole2k earlier in the thread.)

Good luck for Saturday!
 
Yep i was to near but did not know how they would turn out but u learn new things everyday. I am out again tonight doing some more so will try a good distance away this time so i get some foreground in and also a display on sat is the city big one over a lake on a park.

I did find the timming hard as to when to press the button on the cable. I thought should i press when i hear them launch or press as soon as they explode LOL

Chris
 
:woot: My neighbours that live immediately over the back have been round today to let me know that they are having fireworks tomorrow night [they have a dog like us and wanted to warn us in case dogs get jumpy], so thats me not having to leave the bedroom to have a go :lol:
 
dakid said:
Love those photos. Can't see any EXIF data though. What settings where they using? Specifically Fireworks and Graves, 1 and 3.
Click to expand...

Thanks,

I pretty much shot all those on F8 at 20second exposures, that has caused quite a bit of the colour to burn out though, so over the weekend I will probably be going for shorter burtsts like 4-10 second exposures.
 
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