What Do You Bring With You?

You Should Invest In a Tripod

The first thing you will need is a tripod. When you are shooting fireworks, exposures can run anywhere from 2 to 30 seconds, so you’ll need a tripod to make sure that the bursts are sharp. Using a monopod might not work for you; you may want a tripod for stability and to free up your hands for the possibility of making multiple exposures.

Purchasing a tripod can be a pricey proposition, but are a very wise investment if you shoot a lot. A decent tripod set-up should cost you around $200, but you can get a much cheaper, much less sturdy version for as little as $20. A good model purchased second-hand may come with the ball-head and the set of legs sold separately. Things to consider when purchasing a tripod include weight, size, sturdiness, and ease of use, weighed against the price of the set and how often you will use it.

If You Don’t Have a Tripod…

Shooting fireworks successfully without a tripod can be challenging, but here are a few tips:

• Hold your camera steady. This may sound basic, but make sure you have a good solid grip on your camera with both hands,  keep your elbows tucked in, and support the front of the lens, especially if shooting long.

• Lean on something. You can always find a wall, tree, fence, or other solid object to lean against, and press your weight into the object to provide the most stability. Also, getting down low to the ground, sitting, or kneeling may help.

• Put your camera down. Find a clean, dry, and stable place to put your camera down. A flat surface will give you limited ability to aim your camera, so some photographers travel with a bean bag for this situation.  A small bean bag sells for around $15.

• Use a Self timer. Using your camera’s self timer can be tricky when shooting fireworks. It can be too difficult to time the bursts of the display to coincide with the countdown of the timer, but you may get lucky!

• Know your camera settings. You can set your camera up in a way that helps alleviate camera shake. You can’t rely on using faster shutter speeds when shooting fireworks, but you can switch on the image stabilization or vibration reduction. Try some creative exposures to get motion blur, and if all else fails, just go with it and have fun!

Get a Cable Release

Using a cable release will make shooting fireworks a whole lot easier. Without one you will have to keep your finger on your shutter button for the length of your exposures. But with a release, you can click the shutter and still enjoy the show, plus have your hands free to capture multiple bursts. Shutter release cables are available for all major DSLRs and some point-and-shoots, with traditional cables costing around $10, and the more recent wireless models around $28.

Which Lens Do You Use?

Make sure you bring a variety of lenses with you to try different focal lengths, because you never want to be caught without the right lens. But the type of lens you select depends on where you are in relation to the fireworks and the desired effect you wish to achieve.

• If you’re relatively close and you are looking to fill the frame with the bursts, then a short telephoto in the 85mm to 200mm range may work well for you.

• If you want overall views of the scene, then a more normal lens, around 50mm to 80mm, may work a bit better.

• And if you want to include people silhouetted in the foreground, then you’ll want to use an even wider lens, like a 24mm to 35mm.

Also, remember to check your lens and remove all polarizing or ND filters. Protection/ UV haze filters are fine, but you don’t want any filters that reduce exposure/effect.

One of the most difficult aspects of shooting fireworks is knowing where to point your camera. You want your camera pointed on the right part of the sky at the right time, because once the display starts there is little time for recomposing or changing lenses. This is especially difficult if you’re shooting with a longer focal length and are trying to crop in. Instead try shooting with a variable focal length lens. Start at a wider focal length, then during the display zoom in for a few tighter shots. Don’t start by shooting in too tight, you may miss! And if your zoom will not get you close enough, keep in mind that you can crop your wider angle shots later to get a similar effect. So remember to shoot big enough file sizes that cropping is an option.

Tips for Shooting Fireworks

Make Sure You Are Prepared

• A fireworks display cannot be duplicated, so make sure that your camera bag is fully stocked. Make sure you have fully charged/or a fresh set of batteries and double check that you have all your memory cards/film, and that the memory cards have been formatted.

• Make sure you have all the lenses that you need, that they are clean, acclimated,  and that the filters have been removed.

• Don’t forget your tripod’s quick release plate!

• Bring something to cover your lens for multiple bursts.

Get There Early

Planning is essential with fireworks. Get to the location early in order to get an unobstructed view and maybe even scope out location ahead of time for the best angle. Remember to plan for both the foreground and background of your shots.  Make sure you won’t have people’s heads blocking your view, but also be considerate of those around you and don’t block someone else’s view.  Also consider at this time what focal lengths you might want to use, rather than in the middle of the display.

Use Your Camera in the Manual Mode

If you have an SLR or DSLR, you should shoot fireworks with your camera in the manual mode. In this mode you have full control of both aperture and shutter speed. If you have a point-and-shoot digital camera, shoot fireworks with your camera in the night mode, but still be sure to use a tripod. Don’t shoot in the automatic or program mode, and don’t use a flash.

A Word about Using Flash

When shooting fireworks it is best to turn your flash off. A flash, especially an on-board flash, is only effective up to a certain distance and will have no effect on a fireworks display, but may overexpose any subject in the foreground. Having your flash turned on will make your camera  think it needs a short exposure time if you are using a point-and-shoot.

Approximate Exposure Settings for Fireworks Displays

It is usually recommended that you set your shutter speed to BULB, and set your f/stop to the following:

• If you are using ISO 50, then set your aperture to f/5.6 or f/8.

• …ISO 64 ,  then set your aperture to f/5.6 or f/8.

• …ISO 100, then set your aperture to f/8 or f/11.

• …ISO 200, then set your aperture to f/11 or f/16.

• …ISO 400, then set your aperture to f/16 or f/22.

It Helps to Remember Some Basic Rules of Photography

• Remember that slower film speeds, or ISO 50 or 100, are less sensitive to light, so they will need more light for accurate exposure.

• Faster film speeds, or ISO 400 and higher, are more sensitive to light and will need less light for exposure, but have will show more grain, or noise.

• Shooting at a low ISO is always preferable to guarantee the cleanest shots possible.

• When shooting fireworks, shoot with a wider aperture with slower film speeds, and stop the lens down for higher ISOs.

• People mistakenly think you need a fast lens to shoot fireworks, but they actually very bright don’t really need that much exposure.

How long do you hold the shutter open?

Fireworks require a long exposure, so shoot with your shutter speed on bulb, the mode that allows you to keep the shutter open for as long as you hold down the shutter.

Using this technique you hit the shutter as the firework is about to explode and hold it down until it has finished exploding, generally a few seconds. But don’t keep your shutter open too long, as fireworks are bright and it doesn’t take  much to over expose them. Be especially careful of overexposure if your shutter is open for multiple bursts in the one area of the sky.

Always check your exposure

Slower shutter speeds will give you motion blur with headlights, moving water, or the fireworks themselves. Again, because shooting fireworks is not an exact science, there is a certain amount of trial and error involved. It helps to work systematically and it may help to keep notes. Digital photography has made this whole process easier, and much cheaper than it used to be.

Look at your first few shots

…. if they are too dark, then you need more exposure, and should keep the shutter open longer.

…..if they are really light or bright, then you are overexposing, and should keep the shutter open a shorter amount of time.

Remember to check your histogram if using a digital camera; don’t rely on your LCD (though it is going to look  flatter over the  areas than normal).

Throughout the fireworks display periodically check your results, but you shouldn’t need to check after every shot once you’ve got things set up. Just monitor yours shots occasionally to make sure that you’re not taking a completely bad batch of images.

Capturing Multiple Bursts in One Frame

To capture several bursts, wait for the sound of the shell being launched, and open your shutter. Then wait for the burst to disappear, cover your lens, and wait for the sound of the next shell being launched. Uncover your lens, wait until it’s over, and then cover your lens again. It’s literally that simple. To cover your lens, try using a thick black baseball cap, a dark cloth, or even your hand…. Just don’t move the camera or your photographs will be blurry. Be careful though, you don’t want too many bursts in one frame because it can start looking busy.  Most people find that simpler, one burst shots are best.

Still Shooting Film?

Of course you can shoot fireworks with any type of film: negative, transparency, or even black and white if you mainly concerned with design and not color. Some photographers recommend using tungsten film for shooting fireworks, while other photographers use daylight film. Daylight balanced film will have a warmer look to the fireworks than a tungsten balanced film, so I believe it is down to personal preference. As always, don’t forget to set your film speed if you have to!

Shooting with a digital camera?

If you shoot digitally, shooting RAW will give you more exposure latitude. However, some cameras are still too slow when shooting RAW. If your camera is fast enough in RAW mode, shoot RAW.  High quality JPEG images are very good now (when printing up to certain sizes), so if you find that RAW is holding you back, don’t hesitate to shoot in JPEG. Just remember your output and shoot large files.

What About White Balance?

Daylight balance will give you true to life colors. Avoid Auto White Balance as it can change from frame to frame as it tries to correct the changing color temperature from the bursts. If you shoot RAW, leave your camera set to Auto White Balance because you can change it later.

Tips For Better Fireworks Photographs

• Watch your backgrounds…While you’re waiting for the fireworks to begin, take a good look at any lights that may be behind the fireworks.  It is easy to miss a street lamp until you see a glowing light in all of your frames.  By scoping out the background first, you may have time to move or switch lenses to avoid the light. Of course digital photography makes it much easier to remove it in post-production, but you should always correct in the shooting, rather than relying on fixing it later.

• Include landmarks for a sense of perspective...Try to include landmarks or people in the foreground to give a sense of place, time, and perspective.  Photographing fireworks as they’re fired out over a lake, river, or harbor allows you to capture the beautiful reflection of the fireworks in the water.

• Slower shutter speeds let in ambient light, so shoot earlier if you can for brilliant blue skies.

• If you have the option, use reflections in water to make dramatic images.

• Watch the wind…Always try to be upwind of the fireworks display. As the show progresses and the smoke builds up, it can obscure the fireworks. Smoke from a display can be interesting, but most of the time it is a nuisance.

• Focus on the bursts…It’s best not to always rely on setting your lens to infinity to shoot fireworks displays. Instead, when the first firework goes up, focus on that burst, switch to manual focus and use that distance through the entire show. This will ensure that your bursts are sharp and within the range of your depth-of-field.

• Shoot verticals and horizontals….Many photographers automatically hold the camera horizontally when they shoot, not remembering that they can turn the camera vertically as well. The camera will be on a tripod, making it a bit more complicated, but switch it up and make some shots vertically and others horizontally. Both can work well in fireworks photography but sometimes a vertical perspective is better for burst isolation, as there is a lot of upward motion in fireworks. Horizontal shots can work if you’re going for more of a landscape image with a wider focal length, or if you want to capture multiple bursts of fireworks in the one frame.

Miscellaneous Tips…

Try using colored filters to lend even more color to the bursts if you are shooting film, or try different white balances if you are shooting digitally.  Try slowly zooming in during the exposure for a blurring look to the burst patterns. For a couple shots, take the camera off of the tripod and try some swirling patterns, but expect blur! If you are shooting digitally, you can always play around with your images in post-production. You can superimpose multiple bursts or add a full moon next to the bursts in Photoshop (or whatever editing software you use). Just remember to have fun, and take full advantage of digital photography’s low processing costs to shoot lots of images.

Just wanted to say thank you to all of you who have shown your support in our first few months of being open…we’ve had some really good shoots for local celebrities including musicians Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and comedian Big Black, and several for publications such as Jacksonville Luxury Living. So look for our Gallery of Work by Grafton Studios Photographers coming this fall. And if you have shot anything interesting in the studio, be sure to share and we’ll include you in the gallery with a link back to your site. Send your images to info@jaxdarkroom.com

And thanks again to everyone who came out in April to make our opening night a success! It was a wonderful opportunity to meet great people in the industry and to reconnect with old friends. It felt really good to show off our new space! So Follow us on Facebook for all the new developments.

Once again thanks for showing your support and for making our opening a success. We hope you will think of us in the future when you need studio space or when you find that roll of mystery film…..and spread the word!

Thanks again,

All of us at Grafton Studios and Jax Darkroom
www.jaxdarkroom.com
www.graftonstudios.com

We also wanted to say Congratulations to the people that won our Opening Night Drawing…..

Rachel Shrader- Digital Print up to 24″x36″
Deanna Novotasky- Digital Print up to 24″x36″
Kim Kirk- Half Day Free Studio Rental at Grafton Studios, use of lights included
Lynda Smith- 2 Hour Block of Studio Time, use of lights included
Stephanie Sasseville- Half Day Free Darkroom Rental at Jax Darkroom

Congratulations!